3 Days in Coron: Kayangan Lake, the Best Snorkelling of Our Trip & the Ferry from El Nido
The famous staircase viewpoint over Kayangan Lake, the shot everyone climbs up for.
The last island of the trip, the best snorkelling spot of the entire route, and a ferry so comfortable we're still confused by its reviews.
We travelled the Philippines in March 2026 in this order: Siquijor, Bohol, Balabac, El Nido, Coron. Here's the full route
Coron was our final island, and by this point of the trip we thought we knew what the Philippines had left to show us. Then we floated over Siete Pecados on our last full tour day, surrounded by more fish in more colours than anywhere else on this route, and Coron quietly claimed a superlative we didn't expect to hand out this late: the best snorkelling of our entire Philippines trip.
This guide covers the full final stretch: the ferry from El Nido (and why its bad reviews tell the wrong story), the private island hopping tour that served us garlic prawns on request, a beach at the end of a gravel road that almost nobody visits, and the two travel warnings for your journey home that we learned the hard way.
The Ferry from El Nido to Coron: Book Jomalia
Let's clear something up first, because the online reviews nearly misled us too: the bad ferry reviews you'll read are almost all about the public ferry. It's cheaper, takes longer, runs late more often and offers a very different standard. The fast ferry is a different world, and it's the one to book.
We took the Jomalia fast ferry (our ship: the Maica 10, built 2019, 199 seats) and the four hours flew by:
- Air conditioning throughout, spotlessly clean, and seats that are large and properly comfortable
- Seating on the lower deck, upper deck or outside
- A well-stocked bar on board: soups, snacks, sandwiches, drinks
- Our tickets showed seat numbers, but boarding was free seating. We grabbed the front of the upper deck: two seats side by side and more legroom than most flights
Three practical things worth knowing:
- Everyone will ask for a printed ticket, but the PDF on your phone works fine, staff simply photograph it at the entrance
- After the security check you can skip the outside queue and wait in an air-conditioned room. The few outdoor seats were all in the shade for our 12:30 departure
- It gets cold on board. Bring a jacket or step outside for amazing views and to warm-up
Ferry or flight? The flight to Coron is faster in the air, but you'll drive 30 to 40 minutes to the airport first and pay upwards of €200 for two people. The ferry is pricier than the public boat but far cheaper than flying, and honestly, it didn't feel like a compromise in any way. One planning note: we booked in November for a late-March crossing and received the actual ticket about a month before departure. That's normal here, don't panic when it doesn't arrive immediately.
For the full ferry-versus-flight breakdown and every connection on this route, see our Philippines Ferry & Transport Guide.
Four hours later, Coron town. A tuk-tuk took us to the hotel for 400 pesos.
Where We Stayed: The Funny Lion
The Funny Lion was our base for three nights, and it earned its place among our favourite hotels of the trip: a spacious, spotless room with its own terrace, two pools for the hot afternoons, and staff who were friendly and attentive from check-in to checkout.
Rested and unpacked, the main event was waiting on the water.
The Island Hopping Tour: Private, via WhatsApp, with Venice
Just like in El Nido, we booked our Coron tour private and via WhatsApp, this time with a local operator named Venice. The contact came from a friend we'd met on the Balabac tour who had done this exact route before us, which is how the best recommendations on this trip seemed to travel: from boat to boat.
One detail says everything about the service: when we booked, they asked what we'd like to eat. So alongside the usual noodle and rice dishes, lunch on the beach came with garlic prawns, fresh pineapple and mangoes. Venice's team usually specialises in Spanish-speaking guests, but handling everything in English was no problem at all.
The tour ran from 7am to about 3:30pm and covered Coron's greatest hits:
- Barracuda Lake, framed by limestone walls
- Twin Lagoon
- A shipwreck stop at the skeleton wreck, snorkelling over the remains
- Multiple coral reef stops
- Lunch on Banol Beach
- Kayangan Lake, with the famous staircase viewpoint over the limestone bay before you descend to the water
- And the best snorkeling spot: Siete Pecados
What the tour cost us
The private boat for the day was 3,500 pesos for 2 to 4 people (so the same price whether you're a couple or a group of four, which makes it a real bargain split four ways). On top of the boat, each spot charges its own entrance or environmental fee per person:
Kayangan Lake 300 pesos
Barracuda Lake 200 pesos
Banol Beach 200 pesos
Twin Lagoon 200 pesos
Siete Pecados 100 pesos
Coral Garden 150 pesos
Smith Beach 150 pesos
Skeleton Wreck 150 pesos
That's 1,450 pesos per person in fees if you visit all of them. We also paid around 1,200 pesos upfront for food and drinks so the crew could shop before the tour, which is how lunch on the beach turned into garlic prawns and fresh fruit rather than plain rice. Bring the fees in cash and in small bills, there's nowhere to change money out on the water.
Below the surface at Barracuda Lake, where the rock walls drop straight into the deep.
Siete Pecados: The Best Snorkelling of Our Trip
We say this having snorkelled the Perhentians, Balabac and El Nido on this route: Siete Pecados was the single best spot of them all. Rainbow-coloured fish, big fish, a triggerfish, a turtle, clownfish in their anemones, and colour in every direction. One caution: sea urchins are everywhere here, so watch where you put your feet and stay horizontal in the shallows.
As in El Nido, we're not posting Venice's private number publicly. If you're planning Coron, message us on Instagram (@myframesofearth) and we'll share the contact.
Maquinit Hot Springs: Go in the Evening
After a day in salt water, the hot springs near town are the right kind of finish. The pools run at 30 to 40 degrees, which sounds appealing until you try it under a midday sun. Go in the evening: last entry is at 7pm and the springs close at 8pm, and soaking in hot water as the day cools down is exactly what your shoulders want after a boat day.
Marcilla Beach: The Adventure Detour
If you have a scooter day left, Marcilla Beach is Coron's honest off-the-path option, with emphasis on both words.
The ride is the filter: around 60% of the route is rough gravel where 20 to 30 km/h is the realistic maximum. It's a genuine little adventure, but we'll be straight with you: it's also risky, especially with two people on one scooter. Judge your riding skills honestly before you commit.
What's waiting at the end: a beach with maybe 20 people on it, a wide sandbar that sits knee-deep until around midday and dries out in the afternoon, and a 50 pesos per person entrance collected by the security guard, who also happens to sell fresh coconuts. There's a fair amount of seagrass, and the beach isn't manicured, hardly anyone comes here, which is exactly the point. Bring your own drinks, there's nothing to buy beyond those coconuts.
It's not a postcard beach. It's better: it's a quiet one.
Leaving Coron: Two Warnings for Your Journey Home
Our trip ended with two lessons we're passing on so they cost you nothing.
Warning 1: Your Coron Flight May Not Go to Manila
Coron's airport is small, warm and easygoing, with a café upstairs where you can sit and wait. The flight itself took an hour and everything ran smoothly. The surprise came before that: AirSwift no longer flies Coron to Manila, only to Clark, and we found that out at the airport. Check your arrival airport carefully when booking, Clark is a modern, pleasant and nearly empty airport, but it is not Manila.
The fix, if you land there: the Genesis Bus runs several times daily from Clark to Manila's Terminals 1, 2 and 3. It takes 2 to 2.5 hours and costs 450 pesos per person including luggage. For comparison, a taxi quoted us 6,500 pesos for the same route. Take the bus.
Warning 2: Holy Week Closes the Philippines
We arrived in Manila late on Maundy Thursday, planning one final shopping day at one of Asia's biggest malls before flying home. At the hotel reception we learned that on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, virtually everything closes, including the malls. Our shopping plan was dead on arrival. If your trip overlaps with Holy Week, plan those days deliberately: it's a beautiful time culturally, but not a time for errands.
Our Last Two Days: Conrad Manila
For the final two nights we deliberately treated ourselves: the Conrad Manila. After three and a half weeks of island hopping, a properly comfortable hotel with a pool overlooking the bay was the right way to land. Worth knowing: breakfast costs extra, around €25 per person per day, so decide consciously whether you want it.
With the malls closed, we kept it simple: a short visit to Chinatown, a stroll through the Japanese garden, and the rest of the time at the pool. Our honest take on Manila as a destination: it isn't one, at least not for us. We came to shop, couldn't, and didn't feel like we missed anything else. As a comfortable landing strip before a long flight home, though, it did its job perfectly.
Coron Travel Tips
- Book the Jomalia fast ferry, not the public one. The bad reviews you'll read are almost all about the public boat.
- Bring a layer for the ferry. The air conditioning runs cold.
- Book your tour private via WhatsApp and mention food wishes, ours came with garlic prawns
- Watch for sea urchins at Siete Pecados, look before you stand
- Do the hot springs in the evening (last entry 7pm), not under the midday sun
- Only ride to Marcilla Beach if you're confident on gravel, and bring your own drinks
- Double-check whether your Coron flight lands in Manila or Clark, AirSwift now flies to Clark only
- From Clark, take the Genesis Bus to Manila (450 pesos p.p.), not a 6,500 pesos taxi
- Check the calendar for Holy Week, on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday almost everything closes
Frequently Asked Questions: Coron
Should you take the ferry or fly from El Nido to Coron? We recommend the fast ferry. The Jomalia fast ferry takes 4 hours, is comfortable, clean and air-conditioned, and costs far less than flights, which run upwards of €200 for two people plus a 30 to 40 minute drive to the airport.
Is the El Nido to Coron ferry bad? The public ferry has the poor reputation: slower, less reliable, lower standard. The Jomalia fast ferry is a completely different experience, and it's the one we'd book again without hesitation.
What is the best snorkelling spot in Coron? For us, Siete Pecados, and it was the best snorkelling of our entire Philippines trip: dense, colourful reef life including a turtle, a triggerfish and clownfish. Mind the sea urchins in the shallows.
How much does a Coron island hopping tour cost? Budget roughly 3,500 to 4,400 pesos per person for a private tour day. The private boat is 3,500 pesos for 2 to 4 people, then add about 1,450 pesos per person in entrance fees across the stops and around 1,200 pesos for food and drinks. Split four ways it works out cheaper per head, closer to 3,500 pesos each. Bring it all in cash and small bills.
How many days do you need in Coron? 3 days works well: one full day for the island hopping tour (Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon, Barracuda Lake, wrecks and reefs), one for the hot springs and town, and one for a scooter adventure like Marcilla Beach.
Does AirSwift fly from Coron to Manila? As of our trip: no, AirSwift flies Coron to Clark only. From Clark, the Genesis Bus reaches Manila's terminals in 2 to 2.5 hours for 450 pesos per person.
Is Manila worth visiting? As a destination, we'd say no, based on our own stay. As a comfortable final stop before an international flight, with a good hotel like the Conrad, it works well. Just don't plan your shopping for Holy Week.
Coron was the right ending. Not the loudest stop of the route, but the one that saved the best snorkelling for last and reminded us, on a gravel road to an empty beach, why we plan these trips ourselves in the first place. Somewhere between the Maica 10's upper deck and the staircase above Kayangan Lake, three and a half weeks of island hopping came full circle.
That wraps up our Philippines route. For the complete picture, all stops, all costs, all lessons: 👉 Back to our full Philippines itinerary →
Who we are: We're Marcel and Kathleen, a couple with corporate jobs, one big trip a year and a drone that comes everywhere with us. I (Marcel) plan every route down to the ferry timetable, Kathleen trusts the plan, and everything on this blog is something we did and paid for ourselves. More about us →
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