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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Calamian Islands, Northern Palawan Travel Guide: Club Paradise, Maricaban, Calauit, Coron, Busuanga


Just like any tourist, I was quite confused with the sights to see in Palawan. I had to see the map before I understood it's geography. Palawan is a huge archipelago, it may take a month to visit the whole island. Puerto Princessa (PP) is at it's center, it is the jump off point for Honda Bay Island Hopping and 7 wonders of the world nominee Underground River Tour. From PP, El Nido is two hours away by land + short boat transfers while Coron is ten hours away by big passenger vessel and Tubbataha Marine Park is twelve hours by boat.

These three main tourist destinations of Palawan can now be reached by plane. PP and Coron (via Busuanga) via flagship airline PAL, or Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways & Seair. While El Nido can be reached by Seair or charter flights on Island Transvoyager. Since these are small aircraft, free luggage allowance is limited to 10 to 15 kilograms. Click link for more info on flying to Busuanga.

This is probably the most difficult trip I've organized simply because I wanted to make an itinerary that's off the beaten path. There is limited information on the net, most sites offer tour packages rather than helpful hints and contact information. Mobile phone signal is weak in some areas, it took me some ten tries before I could reach the contacts. Since we have only four days to spare, we've trimmed down the trip to two islands of Calamian Islands, Northern Palawan. Calamian Islands, consists of Busuanga Island, Coron Island, Calauit Island, Culion Island and other neighboring islands. The locals discouraged us to push through our initial plan of cruising around Busuanga Island for three days due to strong northeastern winds (Amihan) in January, so we decided to skip Gutob Bay and came up with plan B:


Day 1 Getting to Club Paradise Resort
Busuanga Airport - Maricaban Bay - Dimakya Island - Maricaban Bay

Planes fly from Manila to Busuanga Airport via PAL, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways and Seair (while passesnger vessels of Superferry docks in Coron Town). There are several vans awaiting for passengers to be transferred to Coron Town for P150 per pax or P1,500 per van.

Since we wanted to visit Club Paradise, we went straight to Maricaban Bay. We were met at the airport by our host, Vicky Hefti of Vicky's Lodging House. Her place is an hour away from the the airport, a fishing village, the jump-off point to Club Paradise, Dimakya Island.

Day use at Club Paradise costs P2,500 inclusive of airport transfers, lunch buffet, and use of facilities. It's a rated AAA resort, which costs as much as $300/night during peak season. Alternatively, we had our lunch at Vicky's Lodging House for P250 and booked a boat through Vicky's/Dugong Dive Center to bring us to Club Paradise. Round trip boat transfers is at P900/pax plus $10/pax day use fee at Club Paradise.

After lunch, on board fiberglass diving boat Tashina, we were cruising Maricaban Bay. Lovely view of the mountain on one side, a couple of inhabited islands on the other. We cruised passed El Rio Y Mar and Isla Walang Lang-aw. We reached Club Paradise, Dimakya Island, thirty minutes later. We were met with inviting clear blue sea and white sands, I've never seen such clear blue sea water! We had to transfer to a chase boat to get to the shore, one by one we had to time our entry with the strong breaks. It caught me, so I was literally pushed to shore with the guide holding me tightly, obviously, I got soaked (but we all had a good laugh)!


Two of us went diving at the reef while the rest tried to brave the water snorkeling. 60 feet underwater, water visibilty was bad due to continuous strong winds and waves for the past days. We missed the resident turtle, nevertheless, on that white sandy bottom, we saw stingray and my first ever mandarin fish. If you're lucky you'll find Dugong in this area. Dive rate for Vicky's guests is discounted at P1,000/dive and P400 for gear rental per dive. They provide good condition Scubapro gear (exactly just like mine).

Too short a time to bum around. Before the sun sets, we had to leave for Vicky's Lodging House where we will spend the night.

Vicky's Lodging House / Vicky's Guest House provides very basic room accomodation with tiled private toilet & bath. Electricity is not available in the area,  generator is available but is operating only during a limited time.  Rooms are not equipped with aircondition, although a portable one is available on request.  If you're up to somehow immerse yourself in what it's like to live in an island tucked away from town, this is one experience you should not miss.  This experience makes you appreciate the little things of your everyday cosmopolitan life.

Vicky's home cooked meals are great. We feasted on crabs, fish, pork belly and who would forget the banana flambe. Vicky is definitely a great host, one with pleasing personality and warm hospitality. She even accompanied us in our tours the next day. If you wish to stay with them, do advise her in advance. Logistics in the area is difficult, they have to buy their supplies including food and water from Coron or Manila.


Day 2 Getting to Calauit Island Safari, Maquinig Hot Springs, Mt. Tapyas
Maricaban Bay - Calauit Island - Coron Town

We were set to leave at 5am by land to get to Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary by 7am, when the animals are known to group together before they wander around. We got delayed, we left past 6am and the land trip took more than three hours, so we got there around 930am. By this time, the animals have wandered around and the tour truck has left. So we walked past the unmanned entrance and saw our first, second, then third giraffe in the wild! We tried to get closer but they tend to move away until a small tour truck came to us. These giraffes followed us in our tour truck knowing they will be fed.



Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary is managed by Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Booking is required to enter Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, they have an office in Coron that will take your bookings (I failed to get their numbers, if you have one do post it here). Our host Vicky arranged it for us. Entrance is at P250/pax and tour truck is at P1,000/truck (but we got the small one at P500).

How to get to Calauit Safari? There are two ways to reach Calauit Island: By Land or By Boat.

1. hire a van at P6,000 from Coron Town for about 4 hours land trip per way + short outrigger boat to cross the island at P400/boat. Make sure your driver knows where to stop, there are no visible signs as to where to take the boat to cross the island.

2. rent a boat (rates were based on what I've canvassed)

From Coron Town, rent an outrigger boat to Calauit Island. It is about P9-11,000 for about 5 to 6 hours per way. You may opt to stay overnight in North Cay Island and go island hopping in Gutob Bay: North Cay/South Cay Island, Black Island.

From Club Paradise or from Vicky's Guesthouse (Maricaban Bay) it is 2 hours away. Club Paradise charge $46/pax all-in for the tour or you can rent a boat through Vicky at P4,000/boat + entrance fees.

Boat trips is advisable only from February to May when the sea is calm.


We left Calauit at noon, and we're in for another 4-hour land trip from the northern most tip of Busuanga to the southern most tip of Busuanga as we head to Coron Town. We had a stop over at Concepcion Falls for our packed lunch of crabs and chicken adobo.


We reached Coron Town past 5pm, checked-in Princess of Coron and met up with our coron local guide Mang Eran of DIY Coron.

He was accommodating enough to lead the way up to Mt. Tapyas. That's more than 800 flights of steps uphill where you'll see the whole town of Coron and Coron islands. Going uphill, look to your right and see that island dubbed as the "sleeping giant".

We had a hearty dinner at Kawayanan Grill. Coron Town is pretty small, you can easily go around town by foot or tricycle. Trikes in coron can fit 7 pax. Feel free to ask for directions, you'll find everything just around the corner.

Maquinit Hot Springs is about 20 minutes tricycle ride from town center. We paid P300 for round trip tricycle fare. Our driver waited for our return trip. Entrance to Maquinit Hot Springs is at P100/pax, local residents can buy tickets in town at P50/pax - maybe your trike driver can do that for you like ours did. ;)

Day 3 A must: Coron Island Hopping
Coron Town - Coron Island Hopping - Coron Town

The highlight of every tour to Coron is the Coron Island Hopping. We arranged with DIY Coron for a hassle free day. Ours costs P1300/pax for six pax, inclusive of hotel pickup to/fr port, boat rental, entrance fees, hearty lunch and cheesewiz sandwich snack.



If you decide to go on your own, boats are readily available for hire at P1500 - P2500 per day at the port. Follow this itinerary to maximize your travel time and take note of the following entrance fees:


SIETE PECADOS (P75): (Seven Sins) snorkel in a marine sanctuary around seven islets.


KALACHUCHI ISLAND (P0): a marine sanctuary named after the kalachuchi tree on top of it.

KAYANGAN LAKE (P200): dubbed as one of the cleanest fresh water lake in the world. It can be reached after a hundred steps up then down hill. If there is anything you should not miss, it would be this lake. The lime stone rock formation underwater was breathtaking. Noticeably, floating on fresh water is more difficult, one becomes less bouyant.


Don't forget to stop by the cave half-way to/fr Kayangan Lake see this view from the top:


Eat your packed lunch by the Kayangan Cove. There is a long stretch of table available for use near where the boats dock. One thing great about getting a package tour is, you don't have to worry about logistics especially on food and drinks. We would have wanted lobsters but it wasn't available in the market so we had crabs and shrimps instead.


BARRACUDA LAKE (P75): a very short trek up and down on sharp limestone was a challenge before you reach the brackish lake. Hail to those divers who brought along their scuba gears & tanks.


TWIN LAGOON (P0): it was high tide when we got there, the gap was really small so we had to swim (less than a meter) underwater to get to the other side. Be mindful of the sharp rocks overhead when you rise. Once inside, experience thermocline, it's amazing to actually see it at shallow depth and actually feel the difference with your hands (a few inches apart) on top of the other. See and try it for yourself, it's amazing.


SKELETON WRECK (P100): one of the few shallow ship wreck in Coron seen by snorkeling. Wreck diving is popular in Coron at the depths of 60ft or more.

BANOL BEACH (P100): a small cove of white sand beach front maintained by the Tagbuana Tribe. A cozy place to beach bum. Wish we had more time to spare but the sun is about to set, we had to go back to town.


After a series of seafood meals, go to Bistro Coron for some tasty Italian pizza, pasta and more in Coron Town. The shrimp & mushroom pasta with fresh tomato sauce was tasty, the marinara pasta was so so, but the pizza was great! Oops, that's still seafood.



Day 4 AIRPORT

Our host, Princess of Coron arranged shared airport transfers for us, we didn't have to go to the town center, we were picked up at the resort for P150/pax. Princess of Coron provides the best facilities in town according to a local. Our clean spacious room, located on the second floor was priced at P1,600. It had king size bed and one double deck, large cabinets, a living room on one side, airconditioned, tiled bathroom w/ shower enclosures. It's owned by an Austrian and his Filipina wife. It's not really a resort nor a hotel, but more of a lodging house.

Busuanga airport, Yulo King Ranch is a 45 minute scenic ride across mountain view and animal ranch from Coron Town.

This is finally off my wow Philippines wish list. Three more to go! :D

TIP: Ours was a DIY tour, if you like the itinerary exactly like ours, simply contact Vicky for Day 1 and 2 and Owen of DIY CORON for Day 3. The latter is known for coming up with budget group tours, feel free to contact him and share a tour, he can arrange the tour from Day 1 to 3 also. He certainly was of great help to us and even made ocular inspection on our behalf.

THINGS TO BRING:

1. first aid, vitamins, medicine - pharmacy is not readily available
2. flash light - electricity is not available 24 hours in certain areas
3. insect repellant: off lotion (a must!)
4. mask, snorkel and fins (rental is available at P150)
5. towels and toiletries, sun block
6. slippers and trekking shoes (for barracuda lake)
7. dry bag/zip locks
8. cash! - atm and credit card not available
9. swim suit, rash guard and quick dry clothes, cap
10. underwater camera and batteries
11. rain jacket (for rain and wave splash)

POST TRIP ACCOUNTING: P8724/pax + 1600 dive/pax + P1115 airfare

P 200 naia airport terminal fee
P 250 airport transfers (1500/6)
P 900 boat to club para
P 477 club para day use ($10)
P 400 vickys lodging house (800/2)
P 950 vickys meals (4meals)
P 50 1 liter mineral water
P1000 van rental to vickys-calauit (jump-off point)-coron (6000/6)
P 67 boat transfers to/fr calauit island (400/6)
P 250 calauit entrance fee
P 85 calauit tour truck (1000 less 50%/6)
P1600 two nights at princess of coron (1600/2*2)
P 270 POC meals (2bf meals)
P 60 5 liter mineral water (35x5/3)
P 200 kawayanan grill
P 320 coron bistro
P 50 maquinit hot spring round trip tricycle ride(300/6)
P 75 maquinit hot spring entrance fee (P100-25 discount)
P1300 coron island hopping (w/ lunch & entrance fees)
P 50 tip
P 150 airport transfers
P 20 busuanga airport terminal fee
-o-
P1000 dive fee
P 400 dive gear
P 200 tip
-o-
P0 mla-busuanga (travel voucher) via CP
P1115 busuanga-mla via PAL express

Contact Information:

FOR TOURS:
FOR ACCOMODATION:
Other places to stay:

31 comments:

  1. 19 Jan 09, 16:41
    xgenesis007: looks like a great palawan adventure

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  2. we sure had a great adventure, the place is really nice and very different from the rest of the country.

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  3. Your blog is very informative. I like it a lot. Found it when I was searching for reviews on Princess of Coron.

    Would you mind giving feedbacks about POC room/s? And also their service/food? I found very few reviews on the net. I wonder if its because its relatively new? May I know how far is it from town?

    I am considering POC vs Village Lodge.

    Thanks a lot!

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  4. Thank you so much freeze!

    It was actually Owen who recommended the place to me. =)

    More power to your blog!

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  5. Super cool post thanks. I'm heading to Busuanga Feb 28. Need to get from airport to Calauit to meet a group ASAP. is there a cheap way to do that? Any of your contacts able to do that?

    Thanks,

    Chris

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  6. i'm not familiar with a cheaper way to do that. Public transport to calauit is not readily accessible. You might have to rent a van at the airport; there are several vans for hire then haggle with the rate; that should be P4-6000 or contact DIY coron (contact the numbers posted above) to help you out.

    For calauit, its always best to travel in big groups to share the cost.

    Hope this helps.

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  7. I am impressed with the details. Excellent job! Very helpful.

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  8. Hi. We stayed in POC when we went to Coron a couple of months ago. The rate was okay (we paid 1500/night for a room for two) and the room was fine. The only problem was the bathroom; it was too small and had no door, just a shower curtain! So everything (as in everything) you did in the bathroom could be heard by your roommate. If you don't mind that, then POC is a pretty okay place.

    Thanks Freeze for the amazing write up. Very very helpful.

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  9. you're welcome.

    You're right about the shower curtain, that's the only drawback, but the shower enclosure served its purpose.

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  10. An exact match to our trip. I've been looking for info on going to coron, as were going there this coming January too. Was there any downside coming there at that month?

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  11. japanesecake, as far as I know, it's good to visit Coron anytime of the year. Unless you have plans to go to the other island nearby (like banana island), you might consider how rough the sea might get.

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  12. Yours is the most helpful, detailed and considerate blog about the Calamian Islands. It is most appreciated to post photos and prices to match for each destinations. Thank you for this :)

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  13. you're welcome, jojo! you may need to call if the rates still hold true. there's much tourism development in the area.

    enjoy your trip to coron, it's definitely one of the must see places in the country. :)

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  14. Thank you so much for the detailed information. My father and I are going there in two weeks. Do you happen to know any places that were mid ranged for accommodation? You highlighted some budget and high-range options.

    Again thank you!!

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  15. you're welcome. you may contact this and ask for suggestions:

    http://diycoron.wordpress.com/ (Owen) +639285212805 ambivalent13@yahoo.com http://owenferrer.multiply.com

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  16. Thank you for the very informative site! My husband and I are going to Coron in early November. I haven't decided where to stay but I'm thinking of doing DIY with regards to the tours. Since there are only 2 of us, is it better to just go with the package tours that some places advertise?

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  17. coron is a small place, you can DIY. you can book a boat when you get there, i'm sure the place where you will be staying will help you out. However, if you're going to Calauit, advance booking may be necessary.

    If budget isn't an issue, package tour is definitely hassle free. :)

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  18. Thanks for your prompt and informative reply! Can't wait to go :D

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  19. thankz for sharing the details with us.. it helps a lot. because we're planning to visit coron this dec. I suggest also El nido one of the greatest place in the world.. promise u won't regret it..

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  20. anonymous, El Nido has all praises, it remains on my wishlist; I'll get there, someday. :)

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  21. Hi,

    Great Itinerary. What a way to maximize time in Coron. Thanks for detailing the trip. It's very helpful.

    I was just wondering, how much did you pay for the ride from Vicky's place to Coron? Is it the same rate as hiring a van in Coron (Php 4,000 per van)? Did Vicky arrange that for you? Thanks.

    I'm planning for a 2013 trip. I know, it's a long way ahead. But have to plan ahead now. I'll be taking my sister and her husband on this trip. They'll be visiting PH by then from overseas.

    I want to maximize time, but also consider a sound budget. I do want to include Club Paradise, Caluit, Coron (Lakes and Beaches), 1 day diving in atleast one shipwreck in Coron, and Culion Island (hopefully within the same day as the diving day). Based on your itinerary, I may be looking at 5 days, 4 nights (including the 5th day as souvenir shopping in Coron Town and travel back to Manila).

    I would appreciate it if you can share your thoughts and budgeting prowess (I take it, budgeting is quite tough) based on your experience.

    Thanks so much. Again, your detailed account of your trip is very helpful. Thanks.

    Arhnel

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  22. hi Arhnel, the cost of our trip is detailed above. The van rental was about P6,000 in 2009.

    Are you staying at Vicky's or at Club Paradise? I'm not sure if Vicky can service you if you don't stay with her, but feel free to contact her, she's very accommodating.

    If you're staying with Club Paradise, they also have a package tour (by boat) to get to Calauit and back to Club Paradise. But of course, staying in Club Paradise comes with a $$$ that's why we opted to stay at Vicky's and went on a day use at Club Paradise. If budget isn't an issue, stay in Club Paradise :)

    Note: Vicky's accommodation is homestay while Club Paradise is a triple A resort, take your pick! :D

    ReplyDelete
  23. hi

    i wanted to include Club Paradise in our itinerary.

    would Vicky still render her service if we're going to stay at her place but won't dive? We don't have any diving experience, but would be willing to if her diving rate will still be in range of what is stated here.


    many thanks!

    jc

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  24. hi jc, a day tour to Club Paradise? Vicky owns the guesthouse, you're most welcome there even if you don't dive. Diving is operated by Club Paradise but Vicky's guests get special rate. do get in touch with them for latest rates.

    One thing I'm not quite sure, is the boat that will take you to Club Paradise if you don't dive. Vicky should be able to give you options.

    http://www.dugongdivecenter.com/vickysguest.html

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  25. Hi Freeze,

    thanks for the detailed blog! Looking to visit Palawan for about two weeks end of January / beginning of February with two friends and will use your travelling and budgeting advice as a starting point. I found some "great deals" online earlier that turned out to be much more expensive than what you've written about here, so thanks for saving me from that mistake! I'll make sure to contact Vicky's guesthouse for current rates.

    Do you remember roughly what the entire trip cost you? In my experience there are always added costs once you're on the ground, so a rough figure would be appreciated. :)

    I'll get back to you if we have more questions once we start planning. Thanks again for a great blog!

    Chris

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  26. hi chris, my trip was two years ago, i would expect a little price adjustment. total cost of the trip is detailed above, that practically sums up everything.

    glad to be of help. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi!
    Im going to Coron in two weeks with a friend and staying at POC, we really would like to book a Calauit trip (we're staying for 4 days).
    Only problem is I can't reserve with DIY because we can't deposit to BIP accounts..

    Do you know any other way we can reserve or organize a trip to Calauit without spending too much money?

    thank you very much!

    ReplyDelete
  28. if you can't make reservations ahead, do it when you get there. You may try to ask POC to arrange a van for you or when you get to the airport, there are quite a number of vans waiting for hire. You just need to inform the palawan council a day in advance; i believe they have an office in coron.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I was doing my research for an upcoming Coron trip when I saw duplicate blog entries. Looks like somebody copied your post here http://bitten-by-travelbug.blogspot.com/2011/06/calamian-islands-northern-palawan.html

    ReplyDelete
  30. I was doing my research for an upcoming Coron trip when I saw duplicate blog entries. Looks like somebody copied your post here http://bitten-by-travelbug.blogspot.com/2011/06/calamian-islands-northern-palawan.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. Indie, no worries. Those are mine. Refiled all posts about my travels. I've announced it previously on this blog. Thanks for your concern.

    ReplyDelete