豪享旅行的部落格

I am working in the Philippines, looking at a typhoon nearby at the beach, with its projected path heading north.Thinking that I have a four-day national holiday coming up, I don’t want to stay in the dormitory waiting to get moldy.
Quickly checked flight tickets and decided to head south to the paradise island of Coron.

Day 1
Lobster King dinner → Aromatherapy massage

Day 2
Coron Mountain → Tour Ultimate island hopping → PACIFICO dinner

Day 3
Diving trip (Sunken Ship, Coral Reefs, 7 Islands) → Seawater hot spring

 

Day 1
After finishing a half-day company event Saturday morning, I immediately changed clothes, grabbed my luggage, and rode my motorbike for 2 hours to the airport.Because of the rain, the ride was slower. When I arrived at the airport, the counter told me they were about to close in 5 minutes.Fortunately, I managed to board the plane on a small propeller aircraft!

I sat by the window, and before takeoff, I fell asleep leaning against the window...
When I opened my eyes, I already in the air, flying through thick clouds and a bumpy ride.Until descending through the clouds that I saw the small island under gloomy weather, its coast showing a faint blue-green hue.

Arriving at the small airport, walking 200 meters off the plane, I could go through immigration, and many hotels were waiting to pick up guests outside.
Someone asked where I was going, and after I mentioned the name of my accommodation, they pointed to another person and told me to get in a van.
The person kept calling others to board the vehicle, and after about 10 minutes, the van left once full.

Because my accommodation was the furthest from the airport, I was the last to get off, looking at beautiful scenery and the places everyone stayed.
Suddenly I realized I had just gotten in the van without knowing the fare...
Based on my understanding of the Philippines, asking for the price right away shows a lack of professionalism.Either wait for the driver to mention it, or estimate your own and pay. They will usually accept the amount anyway.

I had 250 pesos in my hand, and when we arrived, the driver said 250 pesos, which I thought was reasonable, so I paid without hesitation.On small islands in the Philippines, prices are usually honest and straightforward.

At the intersection near my lodging, I realized I had booked a homestay on a hillside...Yes, I’m staying in someone’s house, although there’s no air conditioning, there’s a fan, and the cool weather is acceptable.

  

After confirming the next day’s itinerary with the host and asking for restaurant recommendations, I rented a scooter and went out exploring.Tourist accommodations on Philippine islands often cooperate with travel agencies, where you can book entire trips.

After wandering through the town, I headed to Lobster King for dinner!
This seafood restaurant has live lobsters you can pick yourself, priced based on total weight.They weigh the lobsters on the spot, and you choose from several cooking styles.I chose a 200-gram lobster with garlic butter, along with oysters and stir-fried water spinach.

After dinner, I strolled around the area near the beach.
There is a small night market with carnival-style games, and a very fast Ferris wheel—possibly called a “Fire Wheel” or similar.

Near the beach, I saw the words “I am CORON,” and I found out the next day that this is the boat dock for island hopping.

Throughout the town, you can see a large cross on the mountain with the word “Coron,” illuminated at night—tall and distant.I also took pictures of the scooter I rented here as a memento.

Later, I chose a massage shop with good online reviews—Lou Spa Massage—located in a small alley.When I arrived, two guys sitting at the entrance looked like hosts.After introducing the massage options, they suddenly became my masseurs.
The massage was pretty average, and the bed was the type without hole—just a ring-shaped pillow propping up the head.Lying face down, I felt suffocated... I had to turn my head to the side, but my neck still felt sore and uncomfortable.

It turned out there was only one bed with a hole, but there happened to be other customers.I sincerely recommend choosing a massage bed with a hole, otherwise, it’s just painful.

This weekend, an outdoor concert was held, and the surrounding shops were bustling with eating, drinking, and selling items.

Day 2
Early in the morning, even though the weather was overcast with brief rain, I still wanted to climb the mountain with the cross I saw the night before.There’s a road in Coron town leading up the mountain, with an entrance at a staircase.It’s over 700 steps, and each step is quite large, making for a pretty tiring climb.

From the top, you can see the entire small town of Coron, though it was a pity that it was cloudy.

After buying some snacks and drinks, I returned to my accommodation to wait for the driver.This day’s itinerary was island hopping.
Coron has official tour routes labeled A through D, with additional options like E, F, or Ultimate—these are just slight adjustments or combinations.
I chose the Ultimate Tour, which is a mix of routes A and B.

Once at the port, the guide took us through check-in and boarding procedures.
It was already raining from the shoreline, and on the boat ride, the rain, waves, and wind were quite intense;I was soaked before even reaching the sightseeing spots.

The first stop was Kayangan Lake, a common postcard and travel scene.
First, you hike up a small hill of stairs to a viewpoint for photos, with a view of the lake and the moored boats.Our guide took tourist photos in a standard pose.

Next, we moved to the other side of the hill, where there’s another lake suitable for diving.The water is very clear, and you can see the bottom directly, but there aren’t many fish—mostly just rocks underwater.

Then, we visited another unnamed spot—climbing a few small stairs to a lake further back.This spot is also good for snorkeling, but again, not many fish.

The next location, still unnamed, turned out to have more fish—much more lively.
We arrived at a small beach where we would have lunch.

 

Interestingly, each boat prepared their own lunch.From the moment we boarded, crew members started chopping vegetables, preparing fish, and cooking.

Each boat had a charcoal grill and a gas stove for cooking and boiling rice.
The Philippines usually cooks everything in advance, so the food was cold by the time we ate. I prefer hot meals, so that was a little disappointing.

The next island was one I personally liked—Twin Lagoon, which has two lakes connected by a small water-filled cave.
We swam from the boat into a small cave, then over to the other lake.
In that lake, you can feel alternating cool and warm currents—very unique.
Because of the wind and rain, it was cooler on the boat, but the seawater was surprisingly warm.

I took some aerial photos here—despite the weather not being ideal, it was still very beautiful!

I also loved the nearby rocky mountain woods. The tall mountain range hid patches of seawater, showing a very distinctive landscape.I tried a drone shot passing through the narrow gap between two small mountains, but... the boat’s stopping point made it hard to see the route. It felt a bit too risky.

Finally, we arrived at a beach called CYC—an area with shallow, sandy shorelines and white sands.When we arrived, it was still raining. Everyone bought snacks and beers from a small boat nearby, then hid under the trees to eat and drink before leaving and ending today’s island hopping.

I’ve attached some scenic shots along the route—whether rocky forests or the blue-green water shining through shallow waters—these are all beautiful.
I can imagine how much more stunning it must be on a clear, sunny day!

Back on shore, I had dinner at the prominent Pacifico restaurant in the town’s main intersection.I ordered pasta and a Hard Iced Tea—a cocktail similar to Long Island Iced Tea with multiple liquors mixed together.
Maybe due to dehydration or the high alcohol concentration, after a few sips, I started feeling dizzy.

After dinner, I slowly walked back to my room for rest.

 

Day 3
I woke up early and had breakfast at Island Brasserie, a nicely decorated restaurant that opens at around 7 AM.

Today’s plan was for diving. Originally, five people signed up, but two canceled, so only three of us took a big boat out.The crew and the instructor totaled five, so it was more than customer.

The other two were a Chinese couple with diving certificates. They had their own instructor, who took them to shallower spots.My instructor gave me a quick briefing on the shore and then took me to a shallower area.
He explained how to control the buoyancy vest, demonstrated hand signals, and showed me how to clear water from the mask.We slowly descended, and underwater, besides many relaxed fish, we saw a sunken ship—a shipframe resting on the seabed.

I brought my GoPro but didn’t have a waterproof case. The instructor told me it would automatically shut down at about 10 meters deep.However, it didn’t just turn off—it ended up with water inside the camera... Unfortunately, I didn’t get to record underwater footage.What left a deeper impression was the instructor touching fish — really touching fish!
There was a clownfish on an anemone, and when I reached out, they didn’t swim away. Theynswered around my fingers, letting me touch their bodies, swimming playfully around.Next, we went to another diving spot among coral reefs, where there were even more fish.It was quite impressive. Honestly, I was pretty nervous when I first splashed into the water, hearing my rapid breathing and feeling the tranquility underwater gradually calming me down.
It’s a wonderful feeling, being far from the noise and chaos of the outside world.

The third dive was planned as a shallow snorkel because the instructor knew I had a flight the next afternoon, and you shouldn’t dive within 24 hours before flying.
So I just snorkeled instead—I also brought my drone but didn’t go underwater.
This spot was one of the islands in the tour, called 7 Islands.
I took my drone out, counting—1, 2, 3, 4... 7, 8.The instructor said the last island was farther away and didn’t count as part of the 7 Islands!

After playing with the drone, I sipped some hot coffee made by the crew and chatted with them.The other two people finished early and got back on the boat, marking the end of my diving day.

Back at my accommodation, I rented a scooter and went to a seawater hot spring about 3 km from the town.The road there was muddy with stones, and after rain, it was flooded — had to be careful not to fall.

This hot spring cost 300 pesos. It’s a salty, open-air seawater pool, and the ocean lies just outside the hot spring.While soaking, I experienced several heavy rain showers, with cold water falling from above as my body stayed in warm water.

After soaking for a while, I became hungry and decided to revisit the seafood restaurant from the first night for a big feast.I ordered three lobsters with different cooking styles!

In addition, I also ordered oysters and clam soup.
I was worried I’d be too full, but when I saw the clam soup, I really wanted to try it.
I asked the owner if the clams were big or small.He said they were small, so I thought it would be a one-person portion.But it turned out to be huge and served in a big bowl... After eating all of that, I was truly stuffed.

Day 4
It was the last day. After breakfast, I packed up to go to the airport.

However, the typhoon that was originally headed north decided to stay put and even moved south,so the weather throughout the trip was not very good, and the outlook at the airport was not optimistic either.

Time seemed to drag on, but I noticed my flight kept getting delayed.
In addition, two earlier flights’ passengers had boarded hours ago with no updates.
After several hours, announcements started—due to weather conditions, all these flights were canceled.

The airport instantly became chaotic, with everyone rebooking or refunding tickets.
Many passengers were angry, blaming the airline counters.
Although I had booked a later flight and tried alternative routes home, all flights were eventually grounded, and no seats were available for the next day.It looked like I’d have to stay a few more days.

I overheard other travelers at the airport, on the shuttle bus, about their plans to go back to Manila for connecting flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, etc.
Everyone was handling various ticket and hotel arrangements.
Honestly, the suffering from the delay felt much worse—it made me realize I had only lost a little and was still happy to be on Coron for a few more days.

Besides changing to a cooler accommodation, I also had more free time to wander around and browse souvenir shops.I even went for a nice massage at Kalipay Spa — it was quite strong and not the crushing type, a genuinely good experience!

Finally, on my last day, I saw the sun and blue sky over Coron Island.
It was a perfect way to end this trip.

 

 

 

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