A Week in Coron, Palawan, Philippines

The second of the yearly SCAMMERS February trips, this could be one of the best (if not THE best) beach trip for me so far.  Pristine beaches, unspoiled local spots and fresh seafood-- just a few reasons why Coron is one of the most popular destinations for Filipinos and foreigners alike.  When you're taking a vacation here, be sure to visit the hot springs at night for a relaxing dip.  Take a boat to the small "survivor island" and isolate yourself from the ever-busy town.  Rent a motor boat to go snorkeling on the well-preserved reefs or go resort-hopping if that's your kind of thing!


This is the first time I brought a companion to Lucille, my D90.

Our plane.

Touchdown at the Francisco Reyes Airport in Busuanga (USU)

We arrived with a bit of time to spare before our first tour activity, so we decided to walk around the seemingly endless resort.

We walked too far, i guess, and we had to hitch back to our resort. haha!

The hammock.

The first part of the tour was a visit to the highest point in Coron, where a giant cross is standing.  The goal was to arrive at the top and catch the sunset from there-- and so we did.

A photo of the port from the hill we were climbing right before the sunset.

The next days were all sun, sand and seafood!

Yep, sea urchins.

This was the house of the caretaker of a reef.

Shaggy from Scooby Doo. XD

The Seas and Beaches of Bohol, Philippines

We woke up early in the morning to head to the sea.  I must say, sunrises are as equally stunning as sunsets.

When we got there, a lot of boats were already heading out, all of them with the same itinerary as ours-- dolphin watching.

It's quite hard to catch a shot of these marine mammals because you don't know where and when they'll jump out of the water.  Here's one of the lucky shots I made.  This dolphin was also way too close to our boat.  Most of them are at least about 10 meters away.

As most of you know, there are so many good beaches in the Philippine archipelago.  But there are only a few protected reefs like this one above.  It's a snorkeling area maintained and funded, I believe, by the local government.

The Snake Island, named obviously after its shape.  It's not strictly an island; it looks more like a very wide sandbar leading to an island.

The parking lot.

Knee-deep water and grainy, white sand.  See how clean the water is?

Local kids enjoying a swim and doing flips off of the bamboo pontoons of the bangkas.

I don't know how this tire got here, but it made a good element for composition.