Blogs from Palawan, Philippines, Asia

Coron Town So after an hour long flight we finally land at Coron just on sunset. Phew! Any later and the plane would have turned around and gone back to Manila; no lights on the landing strip we are informed by a local. A throng of folk waiting to leave are lined up on the runway and it’s all hands on deck to get the bags off so the return flight can go back to Manila with some daylight in the sky. Baggage collection is done in 5 mins – quick or what (we’d had to put it in the hold as we’ve stashed away a bottle of rum for the boat trip; it’s election time in the Philippines and there’s a ban on alcohol sales for 4 days starting today!!). Outside the tiny ... read more

It was with a heavy heart that we set sail from the port of El Nido for supposedley the 6-7 hour boat journey to the island of Coron, which is famous for it's Japanese wrecks and diving. The journey started well enough; we quickly bagged a space on the open air top deck and got talking to a nice Canadian couple (Kevin and Brandie) and a girl from America (Frieda) and just relaxed in the sun. After an hour or so, passing some of the most breathtaking landscapes we have seen to date, we were served a basic lunch of noodles/spaghetti and soft drinks. We were informed that as there was a fairly strong current the journey would take a further 8 hours, although this was not a problem as we were enjoying the ride - ... read more

After a short stay in Bohol I took a plane to Manila (from Cebu) and then to Coron. This was my last destination in the Philippines and the main thing I wanted to do there was wreck diving. I didn't know what to expect about the town itself, but nevertheless made up my mind to just stay there for the 5 or 6 days before I had to leave the country. Coron is in Busuanga Island, part of a group of Islands called "Calamian", which in turn are part of Palawan. I arrived at night and started to look for places to stay. People had recommended to me a hostel called "Crystal Lodge", but when I got there, it was fully booked. I then went to a dive shop that a French woman that I had ... read more

It was time for my annual leave again and for the 2nd year in a row I have planned a “mini travelling” trip for me and my girlfriend. We had strategically timed our holiday to be around the Easter bank holidays and so we actually had 17 days to spend in the Philippines. This was my 3rd visit to the country I fell in love with in 2010 and my 2nd back to one of our favourite destinations – El Nido. Despite being warned by travellers and blogs all over the internet of the development and tourist boom in the area, we still could not resist the magnetic draw of this place. I had spent quite some time making sure our travel to the Northern tip of Palawan was as time efficient as possible. All of ... read more

The journey from Puerto Princessa to Palawan's tip, the archipelago El Nido, was a rather pleasant but crampy 6 hour minivan ride. We arrived in the early afternoon, picking a random accommodation from wikitravel on Corong Corong beach, a quiet and tourist-free beach about 2,5 kms down the road and hopped into an overpriced trike to take us to Lorenzo. Lucky for us, Lorenzo had one beach cottage for 800 pesos left and we took it. We enjoyed the quietness and clear waters of Corong Corong before heading back into town to check out the restaurants. The next day we decided to buy a snorkel and head out into the water of Corong Corong beach to check out the coral just off the coast. It wouldn't be the best snorkelling we we going to do on ... read more