Planning a trip to Coron? Put Coron Ultimate Tour at the top of your list. If you have just one full day in town, it’s THAT tour that you must take. It’s called “ultimate” for a reason.

There are dozens of tour agencies in Coron so you should not find it hard to get a package. You can even get it one day before the scheduled trip. I booked mine at Be Cool Travel and Tours located at Don Pedro St., Poblacion 2.

After checking a number of agencies, I found it to be the one that offers the best deal at P1,200 for six of Coron’s most popular destinations plus buffet lunch. I’m glad I booked with them! The tour guide, Kuya Brian, was simply the best. The experience was beyond wonderful.

The expected pick-up time was between 8 to 9am. Since it had been raining since dawn, I was worried that the tour will be cancelled. There was no typhoon advisory and the weather got a bit better at past 9am so we pushed thru with the tour.

Siete Pecados

First stop was Siete Pecados, the tour destination closest to Coron Town Proper. The boat ride from the pier near Lualhati Park to Siete Pecados took 10 minutes.

Three of the seven pecados

It is a group of seven small islands, the surrounding waters of which are rich snorkeling grounds. Legend has it that the islands are what remained of the seven daughters who went against their mother’s wish and drowned. Lesson: listen to our mothers.

We stayed close to one of the islands and snorkled. I can only imagine how beautiful the marine life is because with very poor eyesight and my goggles on, I couldn’t clearly see what’s underneath. My tourmates seemed satisfied and one kid was ecstatic over seeing Nemo and friends.

Kayangan Lake

Next stop was THAT lake Coron is known for, Kayangan Lake.

At Kayangan Cove. Excited to dock!!! 

I was hungry already by the time we docked. Good thing they sell banana cue there for just P10. I had one before starting the trek and another one when we got back to the docking area. They also sell coconut juice, au naturel style.

Per our guide, there are 367 steps, combination of up and down the mountain going to the lake. If you’ve been to Mt. Tapyas, you are more than prepared for this trek.

On the way to the lake, just before taking the steps downwards, is the Kayangan Cove view deck where you will see the most popular image of Coron.

Just behind the view deck is a cave which very few take notice of because of the competing view in front of it.

And now, the lake that has bewitched many….

There were 50+ tourists when we got there. Still, there was more than enough room for 19 more from our group.

The lake’s water is called brackish, a combination of fresh (70%) and salt (30%) water. You can clearly see small needle fish and if you look closely, you may see shrimps and small crabs hiding behind the rocks.

A few reminders when you go to Kayangan Lake: smoking and bringing of food are not allowed. Water and non-alcoholic drinks are permitted. There is a “No Life Jacket, No Swimming Policy.”

Banol Beach
It was noon already by the time we left Kayangan. We headed to Banol Beach and had lunch there.

The buffet included rice, grilled fish and pork, pinakbet, cucumber salad and ripe mangoes. It was a simple lunch but seemed like a feast because there was more than enough food for everyone, the earlier activities were tiring and the beach view was spectacular.

We had one kayak for the group so my tourmates took turns riding it. There are good spots for snorkeling.

Coron Youth Club (CYC)

Our tour guide described the beach as a public beach where many locals hold birthday celebrations, reunions or other gatherings. There is no entrance fee. People are even allowed to stay overnight. They have to bring their own tents though.


The highlight of my stay in this destination is eating buko-flavored iced candy which costs P10 each. A man in a small boat was selling it. Someone made a joke that almost everything in Coron costs P10 – tricycle ride, barbecue, banana cue and iced candy to name a few.

Many in the group swam and took turns riding the kayak. I stayed in the boat and chatted with the rest.

Green Lagoon

Per our tour guide, the most pleasant and supportive Kuya Brian, the lagoon is called such because the water is green. It could not be more literal than that.

2/3 of the Italian group who joined our tour. One of them is far already, three minutes after the boat’s engine was turned off. They were always the first ones to get to the water.

How do I describe the place? The term beautiful is an understatement. This is my favorite in what I’ve seen and experienced of Coron so far. I loved it so much probably because we were the only group there so there was only nature’s best in front of me. Plus three good-looking Italians!

This is me, doing what I very seldom do. In Coron, swimming is the natural thing to do.

Swimming, not playing dead

Twin Lagoon

Some of the best things in life come in pairs and it’s very true with Coron’s Twin Lagoon.

There are two lagoons, separated by karst walls. The bigger one is where the boats pass, with deeper, darker waters. The smaller one can be reached by swimming through an opening in the karst walls which is visible only during low tide. During high tide, the way to cross and reach the other side is to climb the ladder over the wall.

Same with Kayangan Lake, the water is a combination of fresh and salt water, this time it’s salt water that’s 70% and fresh water that’s 30%. In some areas it’s warm and other areas it’s cold; or one area is warm at one point then gets cold the next minute. Isn’t that great?

We were not able to go to the smaller lagoon because everyone was satisfied just staying in the bigger one. We were in the water for almost an hour but there was actually more talking than swimming. We had life vests anyway!

We went about with stories of personal lives, celebrity gossips and opinions on US and Ph politics.

Finally, as with all things in life, the tour ended. I went back to the lodge not quite the same person as when I left in the morning. It was my first time joining a group tour by myself and I thought I’d be on my own the whole time and not be able to talk to others, being anti-social and all. In the end, I saw not only some of nature’s best works but also the human side of life.

That’s what travel does to you. It changes you and how you see yourself and the world. Xx