Archive for August 2015

Home Archive for August 2015

Laguna is very known for its hot spring resorts, lakes, century-old churches, and waterfalls. One famous waterfall here is the Pagsanjan Falls, which is also known as Cavinti (since it's actually located in Cavinti) and locally known as Magdapio Falls.

How to get there

There are two options you can choose to get to the waterfalls. One is the popularly known "Shooting the Rapids" in Pagsanjan which you will ride a boat to the waterfall, and the Cavinti route which is a challenging hike and rappel to reach the waterfall.

Activities in Cavinti

PAGSANJAN ROUTE

From Buendia, ride a bus bound to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Fare is around PhP 140++, 2-hour ride.

In Sta. Cruz, you can either take a jeepney (PhP 8.00) to Pagsanjan or a tricycle (around PhP 50++) to take you directly to The Tourism Office.

The standard rate for the boat ride is PhP 1250.00 per person, which includes the bamboo raft ride, life vests, entrance fees and the use of washrooms.

*Tip: Make sure that you will only get the boatmen from the Tourism Office and licensed.

CAVINTI ROUTE

Same with Pagsanjan Route, Ride a bus in Buendia bound to Sta. Cruz for PhP 140++.

In Sta. Cruz, take a jeepney going to Cavinti (fare is around PhP 27.00), then a tricycle to Pueblo El Salvador Nature Park and Picnic Grove in Brgy Tibatib.

Then entrance fee of the park is PhP 270.00 per person, which includes a tour guide to the waterfalls, bamboo raft ride, life vests, safety harness, and the use of washrooms.

Reception Area

Entrance fee of PhP 270.00 for children and adults

Hike to the Waterfalls

We were not prepared for this trip as we were just having a food trip in Lucban. We don't have extra clothes so we just bought some from the market in Lucban. Anyways, We took the Cavinti Route since we are more adventurous and the "Shooting the Rapids" is a more expensive (LOL). After paying the entrance fee, we put on some safety harness and started the hike.

Ready for the hike!

That way

Start of Hike

We didn't know what the safety harness is for until we reached an area where there is a caged ladder (like a fire exit ladder) that you will rappel down. After rappeling down, we continued to walk and reached another area where the harness will be used. This time, we need to go down a stair that is almost 90 degrees inclined!

Scenic area ahead

View deck with El Salvador Del Mundo statue

Nope, this is not the almost 90 degrees inclined stairs

Waiting to rappel down

Rappelling down the caged ladder

More stairs

Now this is the almost 90 degrees inclined stairs!

Another caged ladder to rappel down

Almost there!

The that boats came from the Pagsanjan route

After those exciting descend from the ladder and stairs, we finally reached the waterfalls. To go near the waterfalls, we rode a bamboo raft that is being pulled through the area where the water drops. The most exciting part is when you push inside the waterfall cave and water from the waterfall drops to your head real hard LOL! We stayed inside the cave for a moment and just went swimming.

You can almost see the waterfall

Finally! We reached the waterfall!

Nearing the waterfalls

Yeah this is the most excting part!

And the most painful LOL!

Inside the cave

See that water? That's the one that hit our head LOL

It was a nice adventure and definitely an exciting one, so if you haven't been to Cavinti Falls, so plan ahead and make a trip this weekend! Thanks for reading!

Cheers from Cavinti!

Beautiful islands with pristine white sand beaches, amazing diving sites and rich marine life, and stunning view of lagoons and lakes are just some of the reasons why Busuanga and Coron should be your next travel destination.

Hello Coron!

How to get there

The town of Coron is on Busuanga Island, which is the second largest island in the province of Palawan. It belongs to the Calamian Group, like Coron Island, Culion Island, and Calauit Island. Getting here can be done by air travel or sea travel. The airport is located in the town of Busuanga and the sea port is in Coron.

Busuanga Domestic Airport

FROM MANILA
The fastest and most convenient way to get to Coron from Manila is by air travel. Around a 45-minute flight time from NAIA to Busuanga Airport and a 12-hour or overnight sea travel from the port of Manila to Coron Port.

By air, Only PAL, Cebu Pacific, and Skyjet Airlines have flights going to Coron. Busuanga Domestic Airport can only accommodate small aircrafts. Average ticket price is around PhP 3500++, but can go down to PhP 1000++ on a promo.

Once you reach the airport, you need to ride a vehicle going to Coron town proper. If you will avail a tour package, transfers to the airport is usually included in it. But if you are on a DIY tour, there are vans outside the airport that can take you to Coron for around PhP 150++.

By sea, If you don't like flying, you can take a ferry from Manila to Coron.You can check 2Go Travel or Atienza Shipping Lines for pricing and schedules.

Staffs of tour providers waiting for their guests

FROM PUERTO PRINCESA
The only option when going to Coron from the capital of Palawan is by sea travel since there are no flights coming from Puerto Princesa to Coron.

You can take a 14-hour ferry ride from Puerto Princesa to Coron. One way ticket price usually starts around PhP 1300++ from 2Go Travel.

Coron Port

FROM EL NIDO

There are several outrigger boats or pump boats in El Nido. The travel time is 8 hours or sometimes it depends on weather conditions. The price usually starts around PhP 1500++ per person. Since these are smaller boats, expect a little rougher ride.

Pump boats port in Coron

Where to stay

Coron is a very tourist friendly town. There are a lot of accommodations you can choose from a budget-friendly inns to luxurious hotels. In the tour package we availed, the accommodation is also included on it. We stayed at Casa Coron Hotel, a mid-ranged hotel located near the Municipal Hall.

Here are some contact number and details of some accommodations in Coron.

Patrik & Tezz Guesthouse (Budget/Backpacker/Coron): +63927-953-1407

Marley's Guesthouse (Budget/Coron): +63929-772-5559

Coron Backpacker Guesthouse (Budget/Backpacker/Coron): +63916-400-4871

Island View Inn(Mid-ranged/Coron): +63917-547-6039 / +63906-2320-579

Coron Ecolodge (Mid-ranged/Coron): +63919-204-8824

Casa Coron Hotel (Mid-ranged/Coron): +63921-237-2230 / +63915-763-0086

Princess of Coron (Mid-ranged/Coron): +632-404-4784

Coron Getaway Hotel (Mid-ranged/Coron): +632-887-7107 / +632-887-2420

Two Seasons Coron Island Resort and Spa (Luxery/Coron): +63917-566-5820

Club Paradise Palawan (Luxery/Coron): +632-719-6971

Huma Island Resort (Luxery/Busuanga): +632-0553-0119

Our room in Casa Coron Hotel

Tour Providers

There are a lot of tour providers, offering tour packages in Coron that you can find online. I read on a forum about JY Travel and Tours (formerly CheapTravelCoron), and googled them. I booked to them a Coron Island + Calauit Safari Package (4 days, 3 nights) for PhP 6,925.00 per person. You can check their site here for details.

Here are some contact information of some tour providers.

JY TRAVEL AND TOURS:

Contact: +63917-569-6755 / +63920-553-1710

Email: travelandtoursjy@yahoo.com / yong_cj@yahoo.com

CALAMIANES EXPEDITIONS:

Contact: +63919-992-6766 / +63917-552-6766

Email: corongaleri@yahoo.com

JY Travel and Tours office in Coron Town

For private tours, you can rent a boat in Coron town proper. There are also a lot of tour services offered in the area. There is a standard tour rate for each tour. A private boat for 2 persons usually starts around PhP 1500.00.

Attractions and Activities

Here are some attractions you can see and activities you can do in Coron and Busuanga.

Town Tour in Coron - Have a little tour around the town via a tricycle or even rent a motorcycle. For DIY tour, a tricycle tour would cost PhP 300.00. While renting a motorcycle for a day would be around PhP 600.00. You can have a stroll in Lualhati Park, climb the 700+ steps of Mt.Tapyas and see the sunset there, and have a dip in the saltwater hot spring of Maquinit Springs(Entrance fee to Maquinit is PhP 200.00 per person).

Mountains surrounding Mt. Tapyas

Eat and eat! - Visit the public market for some fresh seafood or go to some food establishments like Lolo Nonoy's, Kawayanan Grill and Santino's Grill for a local taste.

Food trip in Coron

Shop for souvenirs - Buy some souvenirs like ref magnets, Tagbanua inspired wood carvings, t-shirts in Coron Souvenir and Gift Shop and buy some flavored "Kasuy" in Coron Harvest.

Fried Cashews

Tour in Calauit Safari - Have a glimpse of Africa's wildlife in Calauit Island. Feed the giraffes, and see them roam freely with other animals in the park, like zebras and deers. Entrance fee to the park is PhP 200.00 for local tourists and PhP 400.00 for foreigners.

Wild animals in Calauit Safari Park

Snorkeling and Diving - Be amazed at how rich and beautiful the marine life of Coron is. See colorful corals in Lusong Coral Garden, experience the rich marine life in Siete Pecados and dive into some World War 2 shipwrecks.

Free diving in Skeleton Shipwreck

Island Hopping - Visit the pristine beach and the caves of Black Island in Busuanga, be a beach bum in CYC, Banol, Banana Island, or Atuayan Beach, and go swimming in the lovely Green Lagoon, beautiful Twin Lagoon, and two of the cleanest and most scenic lake in the Philippines, the Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake.

En route to Sunset Beach

Itinerary

This itinerary is a 4 days 3 nights stay in Coron which is based on the tour package we got from JY Travel.

Day 1 - Welcome to Coron

10:00 AM - ETA Busuanga Domestic Airport
10:15 AM - ETD from Busuanga to hotel in Coron (45-minute ride)
11:00 AM - Check-in at Hotel
12:00 NN - Lunch/Freetime
02:00 PM - Start of Town Tour
07:00 PM - Dinner / Back to hotel

Day 2 - Calauit Safari, Black Island and Lusong Coral Garden & Shipwreck

04:30 AM - Wake up time
05:00 AM - ETD Coron Tourist Port to Calauit Island
07:00 AM - Breakfast in the boat (included in the tour)
09:00 AM - ETA Calauit Safari Park/Start of Tour
12:00 NN - Lunch at boat (included in the tour)/ETD Calauit Island to Black Island
02:-- PM - ETA Black Island / Tour in Black Island
03:-- PM - ETA Lusong Coral Garden / Snorkeling
04:-- PM - ETA Lusong Shipwreck / Snorkeling
06:-- PM - ETA Coron Town
07:00 PM - Dinner / Back to hotel

Day 3 - Coron Island Tour

07:30 AM - Wake up time / Breakfast
08:00 AM - Pickup Time to Coron Port
09:00 AM - ETD Coron Port to Coron Island
09:30 AM - ETA Green Lagoon
10:30 AM - ETA CYC Beach and Las Islas de Coral
12:-- NN - ETA Sunset Beach / Lunch
03:00 PM - ETA Kayangan Lake
04:30 PM - ETA Siete Pecados
05:30 PM - ETA Coron Town
06:00 PM - Dinner / Back to hotel

Day 4 - Half-day Coron Tour and Going Home :(

06:30 AM - Wake up time / Breakfast
07:00 AM - Pickup Time to Coron Port
07:15 AM - ETD Coron Port to Coron Island
07:45 AM - ETA Skeleton Wreck
09:00 AM - ETA Twin Lagoon
10:00 AM - ETA Sunset Beach / Lunch
11:30 AM - End of Tour / ETA Coron Town
12:00 NN - Lunch / Pack-up
01:30 PM - ETD Coron Town to Busuanga Airport
02:-- PM - ETA Busuanga Airport / Fly back to Manila

Mini cliff dive in Barracuda Lake

Expenses

Since our tour is package deal, I can't give the exact breakdown of expenses so here is just a list of costs that you need to take note of.

Minimum Trike Fare: PhP 10.00 per person
Trike Town Tour: PhP 300.00
Motorbike Rental:PhP 500-800.00 per day
Entrance fees to each of Coron Island's attractions: PhP 100.00 per person
Entrance fees to Calauit Safari: PhP 200.00 (Local Tourists) / PhP 400.00 (Foreigners) per person
Private boat rental (without entrance fees) starts from: PhP 1500++ per person

Come on, let's go!

Our Coron Island Tour really captivated me and make me want to see more of Coron. We have some free time till noon before we leave Coron in the afternoon, so we decided to explore a little more of Coron Island by renting a private boat.

We got our boat for PhP 1500.00 for a half day tour with three destinations; Skeleton Wreck, Twin Lagoon, and Barracuda Lake. The entrance fee is not included in the 1500.00 so we also paid PhP 100.00 per person for each destination. We are 2 in the group so that's a total of PhP 600.00 for all three destinations.

On the way to our first tour destination

Skeleton Wreck

We started the tour early since we only had a half day tour. Our first destination is the Skeleton Wreck, a sunken Japanese ship. Since we are early on our tour, we had the place all for ourselves.

Preparing to dock

Clear turquoise water

The shipwreck can be visibly seen when you look closely to the water. There is a rope connected from the shipwreck to a floater above, that you can use as a guide if you want to dive into the shipwreck. Unlike the Lusong shipwreck that is not completely destroyed, the shipwreck here is just really the skeleton of the ship. There's also a lot of fishes here swimming by.

Shipwreck is visible above

Front view of the shipwreck

More photos of the skeleton wreck

Fishes swimming around the area

Free diving in the shipwreck

Twin Lagoon

We proceed to our next destination after snorkeling and diving in the Skeleton Shipwreck. Our boat docked in the first lagoon. We then jumped into the water and swam to a platform built on a rock, that has a stairs going to the second lagoon. There is also a passage underneath that platform that you can also go through, but if it is high tide, you need to swim through it.

The first lagoon

Ladder and passage that leads to the second lagoon

Passage underneath the platform

Swimming through the passage

The ladder to the second lagoon

The water in the both lagoons is brackish, or a mixed of salt and fresh water. The water is sometimes is cold and then gets warm. We got the place all to ourselves again so it's so quiet and peaceful on the place.

The second lagoon

Turquoise clear waters of the second lagoon

Enjoying the water

We're the only ones here!

Barracuda Lake

Last but definitely not the least on the tour is the Barracuda Lake, also in Coron Island. Like Kayangan, this lake is also open to the public. Our tour guide said that a huge barracuda live here but, is hiding and is hard to find. From the boat dock, A little walk to a wooden stair and you'll reach the lake.

Approaching Barracuda Lake

Wooden pathway to Barracuda Lake

Path going to the lake

The lake is scenic as Kayangan Lake. The water is also brackish and a lot of divers dive here to search the barracuda or just to enjoy the marine life below. There are rock formations at the side where a few shrimps, sea snails and catfish can be found. Aside from diving, snorkeling and swimming, you can also do a cliff dive in a small rock formation on the side of the lake.

Divers jumping into the water

Breathtaking view of Barracuda Lake

Rock formation where you can climb and dive

Just jump!

Rock formations under the lake

Relaxing and enjoying the scene

I was mesmerized again by the beauty of Coron. Though we only had the half of the day for the tour, it was truly a wonderful experience! Thanks for reading!