Coron Ultimate Tour, the Best Coron Island Hopping Tour

Twin Lagoon near Coron, Philippines

The best way to explore the beauty of the Philippines and its islands from Coron, Palawan, is to join the Coron Ultimate Tour. This tour is a Coron Island-Hopping Tour that hits all of Coron’s highlights, including Kayangan Lake and Coron’s Twin Lagoons. 

Many of the iconic spots around the Philippines are only reachable by boat, which basically forces you to join an island-hopping tour. For the number of sights and experiences you have on the Coron Ultimate Tour (also called the Coron Super Ultimate Tour) I thought the tour was 100% worth the price.

Several Coron Island-Hopping tours leave from Coron Town including Coron Island Tour ACoron Island Tour BCoron Island Escapade Tour, and the Coron Ultimate Tour. Many of these Coron island-hopping tours hit the same beautiful lagoons, snorkeling spots, and islands. When I asked around in Coron which tour was the best for snorkeling and area highlights, the Coron Ultimate Tour was the answer. 

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Limestone cliffs on Coron Ultimate Tour, Philippines

The Coron Ultimate Tour includes a trip to Kayangan Lake, one of the most famous spots in the Philippines, and the Coron Twin Lagoons where cold fresh water mixes with warm salt water from the ocean. On the tour, you’ll snorkel a small ship wreck and some coral gardens, plus hang out at two secluded islands. A life vest, snorkel gear, lunch, and snack were provided, as was a tricycle pick up and drop off at your guesthouse. 

Together with Marty from Intrepid Road, we booked the Coron Ultimate Tour for 1300 pesos per person. The standard cost across for the Coron Ultimate Tour across all Coron tour companies is 1300-1500 pesos ($25-$30 USD). If you’re visiting the Philippines in the high tourist season, I recommend booking the tour ahead of time

Marty and Erika

How to Book the Coron Ultimate Tour

Klook is a travel and activity booking platform that allows you to book a spot on a Coron Ultimate Tour before you arrive in the Philippines. The cost of joining a tour through Klook is $30 USD. If your visit to the Philippines and Palawan is on a tight schedule, I recommend booking the tour ahead of time. Booking ahead means you won’t miss out on this epic island-hopping adventure!

If you prefer to book a private Coron Island-Hopping tour that goes to all of these Coron highlights, Klook gives you options and prices for private tours also. 

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Coron Ultimate Tour Packing List

  • Underwater camera – I used my waterproof GoPro
  • A Quick-Dry Towel because you’ll be in and out of the water multiple times throughout the day
  • Water bottle & snacks
  • Sunscreen – make sure it’s reef and marine-life friendly!
  • Money to buy water, snacks, and alcohol offered during the tour
  • Flippers*
  • Water shoes*
  • Snorkel*

*Some companies may provide these, or you may be able to negotiate renting them in the price. Many shops near the catamaran port in Coron rent these for a reasonable price as well.

Check out my other Philippines travel blog posts:
Coron Ultimate Tour what to expect Philippines

Starting the Coron Ultimate Tour

8:00am pickup

The designated pickup time from our guesthouse was between 8-8:30 in the morning. Of course the pick-up was a bit later than that, but we were put on a tricycle to be taken down to Coron’s catamaran port.

Dozens of catamarans are lined up along the shore here, all departing for various Coron tours. Two or three more are often tied to the backs of the front catamarans, conga-line style. Tricycles and vans pull up left and right at the port to drop off tourists. Local tour operators rush around shouting in Tagalog, pointing in every direction. It’s a hectic scene for so early in the morning! 

When we were dropped off by our tricycle, a man from our tour company popped up out of nowhere pointed us towards a row of four catamarans. “Last boat, last boat”, he said, and ushered us forward. 

Although a snorkel mask and life vest were included in the tour price, flippers were not, so we made a quick detour to a shop that exclusively rented flippers. We rented them for 150 pesos ($2.80 USD) per pair, before heading to our boat. After passing through three other boats, we settled into ours which had about 20 other guests on board.

Coron Ultimate Tour what to expect Philippines

9:00 am 10:00 am departure

At 10 am (not 9 am like advertised) all the catamarans started to leave from the port, each one detaching from the one behind it. 

A local man stood at the bow (front) of our boat and used a massive bamboo stick to push the boat move away from shore. When we were a hundred yards off land, the engine roared to life at ear-splitting octave, propelling us across the water. 40 or 50 boats in total took to the open sea at once, like colorful seagulls ripping over the waves.

We were finally off to discover Coron and Palawan island’s incredible natural beauty! Coron, Palawan is known known for its limestone rock formations that jut aggressively out of the water. At the base of these formations are coral gardens and caves, sometimes sandbanks.

Coron Ultimate Tour Stop 1: Coron's Twin Lagoon

Twin Lagoon near Coron, Philippines

Our first stop on the Coron Super Ultimate Tour was the Twin Lagoon. The boat pulled up to where two limestone cliffs stand side by side, with a shallow sandbank between them. We were required to wear life vests before getting in the water, and took a pair of snorkels out of a communal bucket on-board. Our guide recommended that we wear water shoes because of the sea urchins and stone fish that call this place home. Since most people didn’t have shoes, we took our flip flops.

We had 30 minutes to spend here and the only way to start was by jumping about five feet down into the water! 

It was a quick swim to the sandbank, where the water was shallow enough to walk through. The rocks below our feet were sharp, and the sand that was kicked up every step we took made it near impossible to see our feet. I prayed there were no sea urchins or stonefish in front of me as my flip flops dragged through the water with each step. 

Soon the water was too deep to walk in again. As I started paddling, I looked up in awe at the massive limestone rocks that surrounded this lagoon. The lagoon was crowded with floating tourists all wearing their orange life vests. In a sense it added to the beautiful colors of the landscape – the turquoise blue of the water, the green of the forest, the brown and gray the rocks, and the bright orange dots of tourists floating like confetti on the water.

We swam under a rock overpass to reach the second lagoon, which was filled with more catamarans and tourists coming in from that direction too. We spent our time in the larger first lagoon, where depending on where you’re swimming, feels cold or warm.

The fresh water mixes with the ocean water here, creating currents of different temperatures. The water was actually too warm in most of the lagoon to see clearly with the snorkels, so there wasn’t really a point in bringing them along with us.

Stop 2: CYC Island and Las Islas De Coral (and 7-Eleven)

CPC Island near Coron, Philippines

Our next stop  checked off two spots off of the Coron Super Ultimate Tour itinerary: CYC Beach, and Las Islas De Coral. The main attraction here was the island that CYC Beach is on. The tiny island has a large sandbank in the shape of a boomerang that stretches towards the tourist boats. Some locals were hanging out on the island, waiting for tourists to come so they could try and sell some souvenirs.

Our guide told us there was a 7-Eleven on this island, a popular convenience store throughout Southeast Asia. When our guides dropped the anchor, two local guys on paddle boats, each with a trash bag full of chips and a cooler of beer and cola pulled up on either side of the boat. “7-Eleven is here!” our guide joked. Almost everyone reached over the edge with pesos to buy beers and snacks from the paddle boaters. 

Man on 7=eleven boat on Coron Ultimate tour, Philippines

Half of the people on board decided to stay dry and rest while consuming their newly purchased 7-Eleven goods. The other half of us dove into the water with our snorkeling gear. We decided to skip visiting the island and just swim around it to explore the corals. 

Unfortunately the coral here was pretty bleached. A few lonesome fish were swimming around, but the colors were nowhere near as impressive as when we were snorkeling in Bohol. The only common creatures were black sea urchins with stingers over 10cm long.

Bleached corals on Coron Ultimate tour snorkeling Philippines

Stop 3: Skeleton Shipwrek and Coral Gardens

Our next stop on the Coron, Palawan island-hopping tour was way better for snorkeling. Again it combined two separate spots: the Skeleton Wreck, and Coral Gardens. Though the Skeleton Wreck was included in our itinerary, we were happy to have gotten a bonus location, the Coral Gardens, which appears in some of the other tour itineraries.

As the boat was approaching this next island, we could see a swarm of people life vests and all, circling a very small spot in the water. Our guide told us they’re swimming above where the Skeleton Wreck is. Luckily the people cleared out by the time we jumped in and swam over.

Skeleton Shipwreck Coron Ultimate Tour, Philippines snorkeling

It took us a couple of minutes to find the ship. I expected a massive pirate ship in the water, flag and all, something straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean. When someone finally pointed out the shipwreck to me, it was a unsurprisingly a bit smaller. A small, pointed section at the front of a ship was the easiest to spot, and it had been in the water long enough to basically look like a triangle of corals. The water was too murky to see much more of it, but some people were diving down to get a closer look. 

We spent most of our time here at the Coral Gardens. 

Messing with a school of fish while snorkeling on the Coron Ultimate Tour, Philippines

The coral was in great shape here. We could see the blues, reds, greens, and yellows that covered the uneven ground, sticking out in all shapes and directions. There were still sea urchins, but also schools of fish swimming through anemones and the coral. 

A massive school of fish was chilling around the corner all frozen in space. Their eyes were bulging from their small bodies, watching us and reacting just in the nick of time when we swam towards them. When we swam up to them with outstretched arms, their collective group changed shape to avoid us. They didn’t scatter, they just flowed around us in a synchronized motion.

Messing with a school of fish while snorkeling on the Coron Ultimate Tour, Philippines

Once of the guides who was in the water with us told us our 30 minutes were up, and in a single-file line, we swam back to the boat. Only when I climbed up onto the safety of the vessel, I heard someone say, “Did you see that sea snake?”

“What? What?” people’s heads started turning. “Yeah, a sea snake! About this big,” someone motioned with their hands that it was over a meter long. “Brown and white stripes, just swam past us out of his hiding hole.” A guide and another swimmer who was next to him confirmed the sighting. 

Before starting the tour, Marty and I were irrationally afraid of sharks (which are of no concern here). Then we were warned by the guides about sea urchins and stonefish. No one had even mentioned sea snakes! One bite from these creatures will kill you in 20 minutes.

Stop 4: Atwayan Island for Lunch

Atwayan Island stopover for lunch, Coron Ultimate Tour, Philippines

1:30pm – Lunch

Buzzing with excitement because of the sea snake sighting, the boat left for our lunch destination on the Coron Ultimate Tour: Atwayan Island. This island was beautiful and surrounded by other limestone island cliffs. The water was bright blue, shallow and warm, the sand was soft, and many large bungalows were set up along the beach where tour groups would come and have their lunch. 

We all sat in big bungalow built over the water, and the tour guides started to bring out our food: grilled fish, chicken, pork, vegetables, rice, and some pineapples and watermelon. For vegetarians, stir-fried vegetables of mostly green beans and kabocha pumpkin was available, along with the fruits and rice. For the omnivores, the fish and meat smelled wonderful! The guides had been cooking everything on a grill at the back of the boat throughout the day, so it was all fresh.

Stop 5: Kayangan Lake

Our next stop on the Coron island-hopping tour was the famous Kayangan Lake. This lake is arguably one of the most famous spots in the Philippines because of its blue waters and dramatic limestone cliffs that surround the lake. To get to a famous viewpoint there was a bit of a climb, but it was the most beautiful view of the day when we got to the top. 

Down another set of stairs leads you to Kayangan Lake, where we were required to wear life vests again. Some people just hung out at the wooden boardwalk that surrounded a part of the lake. Others jumped in the water and swam to the edge of a roped-off area, where the lake opened up to a larger body of water. It was nice to just float around a little bit – there wasn’t much to see with the snorkeling mask.

As the boat pulled away from the Coron Ultimate Tour’s Kayangan Lake, the guides gave us each a cup of Coca-Cola, and a Philippine donut as a snack.

Stop 6, Coron Ultimate Tour's Last Stop: Siete Pecados

Siete Pecados Ultimate Coron Tour, Philippines

The last stop on the Coron Ultimate Tour was one of my favorites. Siete Pecados means Six Islands in Tagalog, and this is a protected coral area where no bleaching has taken place! The whole area was pretty shallow, so we had to be careful not to hit the ever-present sea urchins or the coral. We were reminded multiple times to not touch the coral, or else we would be fined 500 pesos by the sea marshals, wherever they were. 

Many different, interesting fish species call this place home. Beautiful corals branched out in all directions. The only downside was it was the end of the day when the sun was setting. The water was no longer a bright blue from the sun right above us. 

Siete Pecados Ultimate Coron Tour, Philippines, Intrepid Road Marty swimming

4:30pm – back to Coron

When we returned to the boat, the sun was setting over some islands in the distance, and the sky was turning a brilliant red and orange. Our boat was one of the last catamarans to shore as we locked on to a train of them that were already abandoned for the evening. 

A swarm of tricycle drivers were waiting to pick up passengers. After a little bit of back and forth, we were all sent back to our guesthouses. We were back by about 5:30 pm

Sunset over Siete Pecados, Coron Ultimate Tour Philippines

Coron Ultimate Tour Summary

Cost:

Tour: 1300 pesos, incl of snorkel mask ($25 USD)
Flippers: 150 pesos extra to rent a pair for the day ($2.80 USD)
Extra Snacks & Water: ~300 pesos ($5.50)

Time:

Pickup between 8:00-8:30am
Tour starts at 9am (more like 10am for us)
Tour ends at 5pm
Drop-off to guesthouse by 5:30pm

If I was to visit Coron, Palawan in the Philippines again, I would absolutely join another Coron Super Ultimate Day Tour. I don’t doubt that it’s the best island-hopping tour from Coron because of the number and variety of amazing sights we saw. The experience was well worth the price of the ticket, and I highly recommend this on any future trip to the Philippines! 

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Are You Prepared For The Coron Ultimate Tour and The Philippines? 
  • Read my Philippines Island-Hopping Itinerary to plan your perfect Philippines itinerary! 
  • Book Your Flights – To find the cheapest flights, flexibility is key. I use both Google Flights and their low fare calendar, and Skiplagged, which uses airfare loopholes to get the lowest prices. 
  • Book Your Accommodation – Check out Booking.com for the largest selection of accommodation around the world. For backpackers, Hostelworld.com is also a favorite. 
  • Buy Travel Insurance – It’s better to protect yourself from mishaps when traveling. Get a quote from World Nomads to see how much it’ll cost to get you covered! 
  • Check Visa Requirements – From E-Visas to Visas-on-Arrival, iVisa has all the info on country visa requirements. If one is required, you can order one hassle-free through their site.  
  • Book Local Excursions – Don’t miss out on world-class experiences by booking tours and tickets online, ahead of your arrival. GetYourGuide and Klook both have fun experiences from around the Philippines like Island-Hopping in El Nido, a Boracay Island Tour, and the Coron Ultimate Tour.
  • Pack Your Essentials – Check out my posts about Long Term Travel Gear, and Carry-On Luggage Packing Essentials.

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