iLonGgA ♥ LaKwAtSerA: September 2013

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Coron: A Beautiful Escape

..... Coron, our first pitstop for our Palawan Adventure!

Coron Town

   Coron is a first class municipality of Palawan and is one of the Calamianes group of Islands. Coron is a 45-minute plane ride from Manila via Busuanga. Our Flight from Manila is via Cebu Pacific Air and we got it through a promo fare. We too, are budget travelers! (^_^)

Day 1:

   Arrived in Busuanga Airport mid-afternoon and its another 1-hour van ride to the town of Coron. Van fare from Busuanga Airport will only cost you Php 150.00 per person and the drivers are friendly enough in welcoming local and foreign tourists and they will deliver every passenger right at their hotels/accommodation.

   We checked-in @ Micasa Hotel which is located right in the town proper and its walking distance from everything: Coron Church, Municipal Hall, road to Mt. Tapyas, Police stations, restaurants, souvenir shops and of course, seaside. and, we have it at good value for Php 1600/night for 3 pax with free breakfast. ( ☞ check-out my post later about Micasa Hotel)

Sunset in Coron

We had a quick rest, and meet up with friends which is also in Coron that time, and had our sumptuous seafood dinner on one of the restaurant on the seaside area. (Too bad, we forgot to take pictures over dinner because of the yummyness of the crabs..☺ )

.... and we ended our first day in Coron with a good rest!

Day 2:

Our view during breakfast

Its another beautiful day!

Coron Seaside

.... It's our Island Hopping Day!!

@ Coron seaside waiting for our permits for the island hopping

We rented our boat for our island hopping and we had it at Php 4000.00 for the whole day and we customized the islands that we want to see.

We went to the market with our tour guide to buy some food for our lunch in the island. (Note: your boatman and tour guide will be the one cooking your food in the island) :)

Siete Pecados

... And this is a snoorkeling haven.

I love being in the water so I was so happy when we got here. The time we went there, there's few boat around but the water current is just so heavy and we can't get near the rock formation of the island. so, we just decided to have a snorkeling near our boat.

.... and Fishes are just everywhere.

Kayangan Lake

... and this is paradise!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Entrance to Kayangan Lake

Kayangan Lake is one of the few lakes in the Coron Island that is open to the public. This is said to be one of the cleanest and clearest lake in the Philippines. This is haven for all the diving enthusiast.

Almost Half-way....

Before you can reach Kayangan Lake you need to hike on a rocky mountain trail. Half-way going there, you will see a beautiful picturesque of the Blue Lagoon.

..breathtaking view of the Lagoon

Cave on the way Kayangan Lake

Such a breathtaking view of the island and you'll realize being tired is not an option with this beautiful view. ☺☺☺

From that Blue Lagoon moment, we head down to Kayangan Lake and so the water is inviting. And we head on for some dipping.....

Banol Beach
... a small strip of white sand beach surrounded by limestone rock formation. Just perfect for picnics. ☼

And our lunch is served!!

We stayed for awhile on this island. Just having some relax time. (^_^)

Skeleton Ship Wreck

..... and this is another snorkeling experience.

This area is for diving enthusiast. Since were not divers we just enjoyed snorkeling above a Japanese ship wreck. To note, Coron is known for shipwreck and are haven for all the divers.

Twin Lagoon

..... the water here is brackish and there's a change of temperature on the water.

entering twin lagoon

We walk through a bamboo going to the other side of the lagoon but during low tide you can swim through a small hole.

the bamboo walk-way of the twin Lagoon

CYC Beach

... When we got to this island, we're already tired so we just stayed on our boat for a while then we head-off back to Coron Town.

The beach is best for picnics and the water is so clear. Too bad we did'nt have a picture of the beach.

Maquinit Hot Spring

... after our island hopping we headed to this hot spring for some relaxation. The water at first is so hot but for awhile your body temperature will adjust and it becomes warmer. But, we didn't take long here coz after few minutes dipping in the water we already felt our burned skin. ;(

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Tour de Palawan: 7D/6N of Fun

The most awaited escape of me, my cousin and her friend... Pure fun and adventure for 7 days. ✔ (^_^)

... Me & my cousin plan a travel everytime she visits Philippines since she's already based in Canada. Boracay was our last destination and we enjoyed it a lot. And this time, we plan to explore the beauty of Palawan at a least cost as possible. :)

And this is our 7-day itinerary: Coron, El-Nido, Puerto Princesa

Day 1: Arrival Busuanga Airport

Manila to Busuanga via Cebu Pacific Air

Checked-in at Micasa Hotel located in the heart of Coron Town Proper

Dinner at a seaside restaurant..

Day 2: Island Hopping Coron/ Explore Coron Town

We rented a boat so we had a customized island hopping package. ⛵

Kayangan Lake is a must-see when you go for island hopping. ❤

Awesome view

Day 3: Off to El-nido

Such an unforgettable experience! An 8-hour boat ride to El Nido. 👍♥ We leveled up our adventure skills for this travel... :)

Left Coron at past 8am and arrived safely in El Nido at around 5pm just in time for a beautiful sunset. ☀

This is my 2nd time in El Nido and this is one of my happy place.. And it feels good to be back... ♥♥♥

Checked-in at Marina Garden Beach Resort.

Day 4: Island Hopping El Nido🚣

Bacuit Bay, El Nido

We rented a boat for this Island Hopping coz we decided that we want to own our time and just savor a good moment on the islands. We customized the tour package but most islands we went to are on the Tour A package... :)