Coron island hopping: the named tours, and why there is no Tour A
Travellers who plan El Nido first arrive in Coron looking for a Tour A and cannot find one. Coron does not use letters. Its boat days are sold as named packages — the Ultimate Tour, the Island Escapade, Reefs and Wrecks, and the Calauit day — and unlike El Nido’s lettered set, the names themselves vary between operators. Here is what each one covers, which of them is not really a boat day at all, and where each meets the road transfers we quote.
Coron sells names, not letters
El Nido organises Bacuit Bay island-hopping as four lettered day tours, A, B, C and D. Coron does not, and there is no Coron Tour A to ask for. Its days are sold as named packages, and because the names are set locally rather than centrally, the same day out can be sold as the Ultimate Tour, the Coron Island Loop or something close to either depending on who is selling it. So the stop list, not the name, is the thing to check.
Sort the other mix-up before anything else: Coron town is on Busuanga Island, and Coron Island is a separate island to the south, reached by boat. Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake are on the island, not in the town.
The four named days
The Ultimate Tour
Lakes, lagoons and limestone — the Coron Island classic
Known for
Kayangan Lake
Twin Lagoon
Barracuda Lake
Banol Beach
Siete Pecados and the Coral Garden
The Skeleton Wreck
The headline Coron day, working the water closest to town — Coron Island and the near side of Coron Bay — so it spends less of the day in transit than the southern islands do.
The one most travellers do if they only do one. It is also the busiest, so the running order matters: Kayangan and Twin Lagoon are calmest early.
The Island Escapade
The southern beaches and sandbars
Known for
Malcapuya Island
Banana Island
Ditaytayan
Bulog Dos
The Waling-Waling sandbar
Coco Beach
The beach-and-sandbar day rather than the lakes-and-lagoons day, running south of Coron town. White sand and shallow water instead of limestone walls.
Longer crossings than the Ultimate Tour, which makes it the more sea-state-dependent of the two — and a poor pairing with a same-day flight.
Reefs and Wrecks
Snorkelling over the 1944 wrecks
Known for
Pass Island
The Lusong Gunboat
The Lusong Coral Garden
The East Tangat wreck
Coron Bay holds a group of Japanese vessels sunk during a United States air raid in September 1944 — ten shipwreck sites in all, at depths from about 6 to 46 metres.
The shallow end of that range is what makes this a snorkelling day. The deeper wrecks are certified dives with a licensed dive operator, which is a separate booking.
Calauit and Black Island
The day that is mostly a road day
Known for
Calauit Safari Park
Reticulated giraffe and Grévy’s zebra
Native Calamian deer and Palawan bearded pig
Black Island (Malajon)
A 3,700-hectare island sanctuary in the Calamian group, opened on 31 August 1976 with large African mammals translocated there, now also a conservation site for native Palawan species.
Calauit is off the north-western end of Busuanga, in the municipality of Busuanga rather than Coron — a long road crossing plus a short boat hop, not a boat day out of the town pier.
One caveat applies to all four: the groupings and their names are set locally and adjusted from time to time, and individual operators drop or swap a stop for tide, weather or site closures. Treat the lists above as what each day is known for, and confirm the day’s final stop list with your operator.
Why Coron Island access is regulated
Coron Island is the third-largest island in the Calamian group — about 20 kilometres long, 9 kilometres at its widest, rising to around 600 metres and built of Late Triassic Coron limestone. It holds 15 lakes within its terrain, three of which have underground connections to the sea. That mix of fresh and salt water in Barracuda Lake is what produces the temperature layers divers go there for.
The island and its surrounding fishing grounds are the ancestral domain of the indigenous Tagbanwa people, officially designated as such on 5 June 1998, and two barangays — Banuang Daan and Cabugao — sit within the municipality of Coron. That is why the lakes are entered through managed access points with locally set fees rather than freely, and why stops come grouped into fixed day tours instead of a build-your-own list.
The boat day is only half the day
Every named tour starts and ends at the Coron town waterfront on Busuanga Island, so where you sleep decides how the morning goes. Getting into position the night before matters more than people expect: Francisco B. Reyes Airport (USU) is a road leg from the town, not a walk from it, and a boat day pairs badly with a same-day arrival.
Coron also has no road link to mainland Palawan. Arriving from El Nido means a sea crossing or a flight, and a separate road transfer at the far end. And the Calauit and Black Island side needs a vehicle across Busuanga — that day is the one where the vehicle, not the boat, is the main booking.
Check these before you book a Coron day
The stop list, not the tour name. Names are set locally, so two operators selling the “same” day can run different stops on the same morning.
Whether the day is a shared boat or a private charter. It shows up in the departure time, the crowd at each stop and how long you get.
What the lake, park and site fees are on your dates. They are set locally and revised from time to time — check the current ones rather than an old blog figure.
Whether you want to snorkel the wrecks or dive them. The deeper Coron Bay wrecks need a certified dive booked with a licensed dive operator.
How you are getting to the waterfront, to the airport and across Busuanga for Calauit — which is the part we quote.
Our quote is a price for the trip and the vehicle, not a fare per seat — we ask the head count because it decides which vehicle the leg needs, not because the price is multiplied by it. For a family or a group that is worth comparing properly: the cost per person falls as the party grows. Charges another party collects, such as park permits and local environmental fees, are often per traveller and stay identified separately on the quote.
We publish what each named Coron day is known for and how it fits around the transfers, because that is the part travellers cannot find in one place. We do not publish tour prices, park or lake fee amounts, departure times, boat capacities or operator names — those are seasonal, operator-specific and set by parties other than us, and a figure published today would mislead someone travelling next month.
What we can do is put the day together: the airport runs, the waterfront transfers and the vehicle across Busuanga for Calauit, plus the boat day itself through a licensed local operator.
Common questions
Is there a Coron Tour A, B, C and D?
No. The lettered tours are an El Nido system, for Bacuit Bay. Coron sells named day tours instead — most commonly the Ultimate Tour, the Island Escapade, Reefs and Wrecks, and the Calauit day. The names are set locally and vary between operators, so ask for the stop list rather than the letter or the name.
What is on the Coron Ultimate Tour?
It is the Coron Island and near-bay classic, known for Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon, Barracuda Lake, Banol Beach, Siete Pecados, the Coral Garden and the Skeleton Wreck. It is the day most travellers pick if they are only doing one. Operators adjust the list for tide, weather and site closures, so confirm the day’s actual stops with yours.
Ultimate Tour or Island Escapade — which should I do?
They are different landscapes, not quality tiers. The Ultimate Tour is lakes, lagoons and limestone close to town. The Island Escapade is white-sand beaches and sandbars further south — Malcapuya, Banana, Ditaytayan and Bulog Dos — with longer crossings, which makes it more sensitive to the sea state. If you have two days, most people do both on consecutive days.
Can I snorkel the Coron wrecks, or do I need to dive?
Both are possible, but they are different bookings. Coron Bay has ten shipwreck sites at depths from about 6 to 46 metres, sunk in a United States air raid in September 1944. The shallow ones — the Skeleton Wreck, the Lusong Gunboat and East Tangat — are visited on snorkelling tours. The deeper ones are certified dives arranged with a licensed dive operator.
Where does my dive or snorkel kit go on a Coron boat day?
On the road legs it travels inside the vehicle with you — our vehicles are standard road vehicles — so list it on the quote form and we size the vehicle around the load rather than the head count. On the water it is the boat operator’s call, not ours: we do not own boats, the bangka is chartered through the licensed local operator at the wharf, so we pass your equipment on to them before the day rather than promising space aboard. If you are doing the deeper wrecks, that is a certified dive booked with a licensed dive operator who usually supplies tanks and weights, which is a separate booking from the boat tour.
Is Calauit Safari Park a boat trip from Coron town?
Mostly not. Calauit Island sits off the north-western end of Busuanga Island, in the municipality of Busuanga, so reaching it from Coron town is a long road crossing of Busuanga followed by a short boat hop. It is the one Coron day where the vehicle is the main booking, and it is often combined with Black Island on the same side.
Is Coron Island the same place as Coron town?
No, and it is the most common Coron mix-up. Coron town is on Busuanga Island. Coron Island is a separate island to the south, reached by boat, and it is the ancestral domain of the Tagbanwa people, designated in 1998. Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake are both on the island rather than in the town.
What if the sea is too rough and our Coron boat day is called off?
It happens, and it does not cost you the day’s money. The Island Escapade is the most exposed of the Coron days — Malcapuya, Banana, Ditaytayan and Bulog Dos sit further south with longer open crossings — so it is the one most often re-routed or postponed when the sea is up. Where we chartered the boat for you, a day that cannot sail is rebooked for later in your stay or refunded: the part that did not happen, not the whole trip, and not knock-on costs such as a missed onward flight. The road transfers are quoted as their own legs, so you still have the vehicle you need. The Calauit day is the least weather-sensitive of the four because it is mostly a road crossing of Busuanga with only a short boat hop, which makes it a sensible swap for a blown-out bay day.
How much do the Coron tours cost?
We do not publish tour prices, lake or park fee amounts or departure times. They are set by local operators and the authorities managing each site, they move season to season, and a figure published today would mislead someone travelling next month. Send us your dates, your Coron accommodation and your group size and we will come back with a quote covering the transfers and, if you want it, the boat day through a licensed operator.
One quote for the transfers and the boat day
Send us your Coron dates, your accommodation and your group, and we will come back with the private transfers that hold the trip together — the USU airport runs, the waterfront transfers, the vehicle across Busuanga for Calauit — plus the boat day itself through a licensed local operator.
