Coron Island is a small island in the North Palawan region of the western Philippines. It lies an hour away to the southwest of Manila by plane and is known for its wreck diving just offshore.
Coron Island is the smallest of the three main islands of the Calamian group and lies just opposite Busuanga Island, which, strangely enough, has Coron Town as its capital. Just northwest of Coron Island is the main attraction in the region, Coron Bay. It is the spot where the US navy sunk a couple of dozen Japanese WWII vessels in 1944 and as a consequence offers superb diving today.
The main attractions on Coron Island itself include its beautiful white sandy beaches, which are generally small and hemmed in by cliffs and jungle. Inland are Barracuda and Kayangan lakes, the former of which offers excellent barracuda fishing and the latter great hiking and swimming. There is also a strange indigenous tribe on Coron Island.
Coron Town is the main settlement in the group of islands, but is not on Coron Island proper. It lies across the bay in the south of Busuanga Island and has the bulk of the tourist facilities in this region of Palawan. The main town on Coron Island is Banuang Daan.
Getting There & Away
Busuanga Island has an airport which receives flights from Manila with several local airlines daily. Flight time to Coron Airport from Manila Domestic Airport is around an hour. Transfers go via jeepneyto the harbor in Coron Town, from where boats run over to Coron Island, five kilometers to the south. The journey from Manila to Coron Island by SuperFerry is 13 hours.