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For the strangest swim of your life in Kayangan Lake, and some of the best wreck diving in Asia.
Add Coron to my journeyCoron is the name everyone uses, but it covers three things: Coron town, a working harbour on Busuanga Island; Coron Island across the water, a wall of black-and-green limestone that is ancestral land of the Tagbanua people; and the scattered islands and reefs of the Calamian group around them. The town is functional rather than pretty. The point is what lies a short boat ride away.
That means lakes of brackish, glass-clear water held inside cliffs, white-sand islands on the outer reefs and a fleet of Japanese supply ships sunk by US aircraft in September 1944. Divers come for the wrecks; everyone else comes for the lakes and stays for the islands. Three or four nights is right for most people.
Coron feels wilder than El Nido. The cliffs of Coron Island are taller and darker, the lakes are unlike anything elsewhere in the country, and you can snorkel over a shipwreck in a few metres of water without a dive certificate.
The trade-off: the town is not a beach town, and the best sites are shared by many boats at peak hours. Leave early, or stay on one of the outer islands.
Your choice is between convenience and seclusion.
Coron's tours combine Coron Island's lakes with beaches and reefs. Kayangan Lake involves a climb of around 150 steps to a famous viewpoint before you descend to the water. Barracuda Lake is known for its thermocline, where warm and cool layers meet at depth. The Twin Lagoon is two bodies of water joined by a gap you swim or squeeze through, depending on the tide.
For beaches, take a separate day to the outer islands: Malcapuya, Banana Island and Bulog Dos are around 1.5 hours away by boat and far quieter.
In September 1944, US Navy aircraft attacked a Japanese supply fleet sheltering in Coron Bay. Around a dozen wrecks now lie between roughly 10 and 40 metres, covered in coral and full of fish. Some, like the Skeleton Wreck and the Lusong Gunboat, are shallow enough to snorkel.
Wreck penetration requires the right training and a careful guide. Most dive centres run two-tank trips daily; advanced divers can plan several days here.
Busuanga is a big island, and a day on land is a good break between boat days.
Coron town eats like a harbour town: grilled fish, seafood by weight, kinilaw and cashews from Palawan. On boat days, lunch is grilled on board. In town there's a small range of cafés and restaurants around the main road and the harbour; for a good dinner, the hillside spots with bay views are usually the better choice.
November to May is the dry, calmer season. From June to October the southwest monsoon brings rain and rougher seas; boat trips and the El Nido ferry can be suspended for days at a time. Wreck diving runs year-round when conditions allow.
Insider notes
12 days · Essential / Boutique / Premium
Manila • Coron • El Nido • Port Barton • Puerto Princesa
One island, three speeds: Coron's wrecks and lakes, El Nido's lagoons, then Port Barton, where Palawan still feels like a fishing coast. Joined by sea and road, not airports.
From €2,000per person ·
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13 days · Essential / Boutique / Premium
Manila • Banaue • Sagada • Coron
The mountains of the north first: the rice terraces of Batad and the caves and pine forests of Sagada. Then Coron's lakes, reefs and limestone islands.
From €2,000per person ·
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20 days · Essential / Boutique / Premium
Manila • Coron • Malapascua • Moalboal • Dumaguete
Four of the best dive areas in the country: the wrecks of Coron, thresher sharks at Malapascua, the sardine run at Moalboal, and Apo Island and macro diving at Dauin.
From €2,600per person ·
View journey →19 days · Essential / Boutique / Premium
Manila • Coron • Linapacan • El Nido • Siargao
Five days by traditional boat from Coron to El Nido through the remote Linapacan islands, sleeping in simple island camps. Then El Nido and Siargao to finish.
From €2,600per person ·
View journey →Use this journey as inspiration. Change the islands, hotels, pace, activities or number of nights.
Add Coron to my journeyNo. The lakes, lagoons and several shallow wrecks are all accessible with a mask and fins.
By fast ferry, about 4 hours in good conditions, or on a multi-day expedition boat. Flights go via Manila.
It's practical rather than pretty. Choose a hillside view or an island resort if atmosphere matters to you.
Three nights for lakes and islands; four or more if you want to dive the wrecks properly.
Inside
The Philippines' best-known lagoons, set in Bacuit Bay's 45-odd limestone islands, with beaches that look unreal and a small town that grew up fast around them.
Inside
A long, thin island of karst lagoons, empty beaches and slow coastal towns, stretching 450 km between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea.
Tell us when you're coming. We'll help design the rest.