'''Busuanga''' is the largest Island of the Calamian archipelago in the Northern part of Palawan province in the Philippines. Nice beaches, gentle landscape, good hiking and great diving make the island a good holiday destination. Wreck diving is the main attraction and many Japanese ships wait patiently for you under the sea. Nearby Coron Island has the beautiful Kayangan and Barracuda lakes the latter is known for its thermoclines and fabled gigantic barracudas.

Get in

Busuanga is the closest point in Palawan from Manila and is rather quite easily accessible.

By plane

  • Fly into Busuanga from Manila via [http://www.palexpressair.com/ PAL Express], [http://www.cebupacificair.com/ Cebu Pacific], [http://flyseair.com/ SEAIR] or [http://www.zestair.com.ph/ Zest Airways (formerly Asian Spirit)]. The flight from Manila takes one hour.
  • By boat

  • '''SuperFerry''' [http://www.superferry.com.ph/] stops in Coron on its way to Puerto Princesa. Leaves Manila on Friday afternoon and arrives in Coron early Saturday morning. Heads back to Manila on Sunday night. Wait until a couple of days before it departs to get cheaper tickets. Don't wait too long, though.
  • Get around

  • '''Jeepney''' is more or less the only option for tourists from the airport. Once in Coron, you can rent another transportation mean.
  • See

  • The largest town on the Island is '''Coron'''.
  • '''Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary''' is located on Calauit Island on the North side of Busuanga. This reserve created by Presidential decree in 1976 houses various African species (giraffes included...) wandering in the wild.
  • '''Coron Island''', just across the town of Coron, has great landscape as well as beautiful inland lakes.
  • :* Barracuda Lake is amazing. Entrance is P100. Bring goggles or snorkles to observe underwater rock formations. :* Kayangan Lake P200 entrance fee. Before approaching the lake, go over the cave and glimpse at the great view on top of the mountain. This view is the most photographed area in Palawan. It is also judged as the cleanest lake in the country. :* Twin Lagoon. The water and towering rocks are great photos for poster. On low tide, experience kayaking under the hole of the rock. :* CYC Island is nice but gets very busy. It's the only free beach in the area. Entrance fees for the other beaches aren't too steep (P100). :* Banol is very picturesque with its flower trees set against the rocky island. It has sugary fine white sand in its beachline. :* Beach 69 is not as good as Banol. Free if you come from Kayangan lake (as of May 2008) however seems unmaintained. Beware of jellyfishes (me and my companion had individual encounters).

    Do

  • '''Wreck diving''' is extremely popular around Busuanga. Several Japanese WWII ships lay in good conditions in shallow water (the Skeleton Wreck is even visible for snorkellers), making for excellent dives even for amateur divers.
  • :*''' Sea Dive Resort''', [http://www.seadiveresort.com] Located in the heart of Coron town. Seadive is the only PADI authorized dive shop in Coron. Seadive also owns the only recompression chamber in Palawan and dives with the lowest diver to dive master ratio in Coron. :* '''Coron Divers''', [http://corondivers.com.ph/]: Is the only Dive Center owned by a Filipino, Arni is the big boss and his sons are divemasters. Everything makes you feel in a Filipino family (even more if you stay at Chinette's lodge, just 10m away in front of Coron Divers). :* '''Discovery''', [http://www.ddivers.com/]: Tucked away on 'Discovery Island' a 10 minute boat ride from the pier in Coron. Talk to Vivian in Coron town located at the Discovery Bar or get to the pier around 8am to catch the boat out. Gunter is a great guy with a lot of experience in the area (18 years? I read that he discovered the Cathedral but it was actually discovered by someone else). Bryan Kim was a fantastic instructor/dive master. Larson and Melody(?) are really friendly as well. Larson seems to be the wreck dive specialty course go to guy.

    :*''' Dive Calamianes''', [http://www.divecal.com] Located between the Discovery Bar and downtown :*''' Rocksteady Dive Center''', [http://www.rocksteadydivecenter.com]Rock out with Rocksteady! We are located near the Hospital.

  • '''Island Hopping'''. Busuanga is more or less a "miniature version" of Palawan with smaller islands in close range. Resorts can arrange boat rental, or you can head down to the Market Pier in Coron and get a boat captain (P1000-1500) Boats generally handle around 6 passengers. Grab a lunch before you head out. Vivian at the Discovery Bar can arrange it all for you as well. You can also buy meat, fish, veggies from the wet market and request the boat captain to barbecue or cook them for you or your group. You can go '''camping''' on a (somewhat) deserted island. There are a couple of islands to check out. You can find everything you need in town/at resorts. Ask around. Gunter at Discovery seems to know of a couple good spots.
  • '''Mt. Tapyas''' hike - If you are staying in the Coron main town, you can walk to the foot of Mt. Tapyas or grab a tricycle for P7 (May 2008). The hike reportedly is a 900-step stairs to the top, the entrance is found at the side of community basketball court. Experience a breathtaking view of the sunset, recommended to start setting out at 4pm.
  • '''Siete Pecados''' is popularized by the shoot of a local television show of a mermaid love story. Experience swimming in an aquarium, beautiful corals and a great variety of fishes. There is a caretaker who will collect P100 from tourists. Recommended time to snorkle is around 1pm to 2pm. Current can be strong in the morning. This is one of the best sites to snorkel in Coron. Myth suggests that seven kids swam from the main island to escape it and follow their parents. They all drowned and the place where they drowned is where the islands are now present.
  • Other activities - can be arranged for instance at Discovery Bar
  • :* '''Horseback riding''' :* '''Mountain bike tours''' :* '''Jungle Treks'''
  • '''Maquinit hot spring'''. Beautiful place to hang out in the evening/during storms. Suffers from tourist induced price hikes (P100) with P300 to rent the tricycle (prices quoted by Kokosnuss staff)
  • Buy

    Eat

  • Coron Village Lodge. meters. ational Highway, Brgy. 1, Coron, Palawan. 5 minute drive from Busuanga irpot. 63-2-805 3414, +63-918-9201517. ttp://www.coronvillagelodge.com/. 4 hours. USD ++. 2.3667__. 23.6167__. http://www.coronvillagelodge.com/ http://coronvillagelodge.blogspot.com/ http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/the-village-lodge-coron-palawan</eat>

    Drink

    Sleep

    Beyond options in Coron, there are a handful of resorts on nearby islands: Dive link, Coral Bay, Club Paradise and the most recent Rio y Mar.

  • '''KokosNuss Resort''',[http://www.kokosnuss.info/] is outside of town a 10 minute walk up the main road. The rooms all surround a beautiful garden great for lounging around on less adventurous days. The staff can help you arrange things to do around the island.
  • :*'''Nipa hut rooms''' good for 2 or 3 at Php450, 14USD (shared bathroom) and 32USD (private bathroom) with fans. Be prepared to hear ''everything'' your neighbors say/do as well as what goes on outside. Large rooms built in the local style which means quite open to the air. Private bathrooms are clean. You may even acquire some gecko friends. :*Air conditioned rooms are 38-40USD. Not as traditional or large as the nipa huts but with concrete walls.
  • ''' Sea Dive Resort''', [http://www.seadiveresort.com] - Downtown near to the Market. This is the most popular hotel and dive shop in Coron so book early. This seems to be where everyone wants to be.
  • ''' Discovery Resort''', [http://www.ddivers.com/] - Perhaps the only place near Coron where you will be free from the calls of roosters and karaoke. On Decanituan Island (Discovery Island) about a 10 minute boat ride from Coron. A little isolated and very beautiful.
  • '''Busuanga Island Paradise''',[http://www.busuangaislandparadise.com] - a quiet resort located in a forest 10 minutes from Coron town. Private property of 21 hectares with a small river cutting thru it - relaxing.
  • Coron Village Lodge. meters. ational Highway, Brgy 1, Coron, Philippines. 5 minute drive from Busunga airport. 63-2-805 3414 or +63-918-9201517" url="http://www.coronvillagelodge.com/" checkin="" checkout="" price="15 USD" lat="" long="">lat 12.3667__, long 123.6167__ Home style cooking (try the fresh dangit, giant clams, stingray, beef tapa, etc. Very clean rooms, fresh smelling linen. http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/the-village-lodge-coron-palawan http://coronvillagelodge.blogspot.com/</sleep>

    Get out

    The usual place to go after Busuanga is El Nido.