How often can you find a place with your name on it then go there and have one of the best experiences of your life? Not that much I presume, or not at all. Coron, in the province of Palawan, is one of the best places in the Philippines to enjoy the summer.

Spend your days in Coron with a loved one and it becomes a paradise. Spend it with a loved one without much wallet action then it becomes heaven on earth.

Our Do-It-Yourself Coron trip was my gift to Irene for our second year together. The trip was jumpstarted way back last October with Cebupacific's promo fare costing us only Php838.88 each for our roundtrip ticket to Busuanga. By the time March 2012 came, we were ready to enjoy the quiet little town of Coron, on a budget of course.

Deluxe Room

Our flight was delayed for more than half an hour and we arrived at our hotel just before 6PM. I initially wanted to stay at Villa Hermosa Bed and Breakfast as it was highly recommended at tripadvisor.ph and is cheaper than Islands View Inn. Sadly, a few weeks before our trip, the last remaining room at Villa Hermosa got booked so we had to book at Islands View Inn. Check-in was easy and the staff were very helpful. Before going to our room, they asked us what we'd like for breakfast which is quite confusing since the Php1,500 per night room that we booked does not come with free breakfast. Only later did we realize that breakfast was indeed not free and is Php150 per plate. 

After checking-in, we headed straight to Corong Galeri to reserve our slot for their Island hopping Tour. Located just a couple of blocks away from the hotel, Corong Galeri offers the cheapest way to tour the islands with many packages to choose from. We booked the Tour B-1 or the Coron Island Ultimate Tour. Reservations should be made one day in advance and payment is on the day itself.

Sizzling Bulalo

As advised by friends, we had our dinner at Santino's Grill, a Php10 tricycle ride away from the town. Unfortunately, their bestseller, Baby Back Ribs, was no longer available as someone had already reserved all of them for a function. That someone was no other than Palawan Governor Baham Mitra. Even with that setback, I was still in a good mood. We ordered crispy kangkong for starters, Irene had stuffed grilled squid and I ordered their sizzling bulalo in lieu of the ribs. I also had a couple of bottles of beer which sums up to a total bill of Php690  or Php345 each. Servings are big and our orders were good for three people.

After a scrumptious meal, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for our Island Hopping the next day.

Airfare: Php838.88
Terminal fee: Php200
Airport Van Transfer (arranged by Islands View Inn): Php150
1st Night at Hotel: Php1,500 (Php750/pax)
Tricycle to Santino's Grill: Php10 each
Dinner: Php690 (Php345/pax)
Tricycle back to Hotel: Php10 each
First day TOTAL per person: Php2,303.88


Next: Coron Island Ultimate Tour and Maquinit Hot Springs