ESPAÑOL

In my travel notes I pointed out: “4/5, similar to the Caribbean and we spent there little time”. The 4 is for this last comment, because there is little time to enjoy them. These are the best fine white sand beaches in Coron and some of the best in all Palawan.

HOW TO GET THERE

The only way to get there is by boat. Here comes the bad, it takes almost two hours in bangka from Coron Town, and hence you can not enjoy the beaches as long as you want. Keep in mind that the sea in that area is usually quite rough for the size of the boats, so many days it is not possible to go. To get there you can:

• Negotiate a price for a bangka in Coron port; it should be around PHP 2,500 per person. Besides, you have to pay 200 PHP for stopping at each beach.
• Hire the tour C: 1,200 PHP per person, includes transfer from the hotel, bangka, guide, life jacket, lunch and entrance to the 3 beaches. It does not include snorkeling equipment (approximately 250 PHP) but being white sandy beaches there are not as many corals or marine life, apart from some giant clams. We advise against:
  • Calamian Tours: they forgot about us and we lost a day.
  • Blue Budget: they told us the same morning of the tour that it had been canceled due to bad weather but it was a lie, what happened was that since we were few tourists on their boat, they decided that it was not profitable to go. Seeing that we were going to lose a second day, Pili became angry as I have rarely seen her, intimidated Mrs. Dolores from Seadive Resort in such a way that she began to call non-stop to different companies until she found one that still had free seats in its bangka, they picked us up and we were able to do the tour. Good for my wife’s bad mood.

Next to Bulog Dos is the Two Seasons Coron Island Resort & Spa, a wonderful paradisiacal hotel that we can hardly find for less than € 400 a double room per night.

Apart from this resort, accommodation possibilities go through hiring:

• A tour that includes the night, in Malcapuya or especially in Banana Island, either in cabins or in a tent. It is a frequent stop for overnight tours from Coron to El Nido, an idyllic trip that we did not take because of its high price.
• Or reserve the cabins (with electricity from 6 pm to 6 am) through an agency in Coron. Including food and transportation costs around PHP 6000 per person; very expensive, but the truth is that it is a real pity to go 4 hours by boat to just spend an hour on each beach.

BULOG DOS

The first beach we visited. Upon arrival, this is the first thing you see.

Bulog Dos is an islet with narrow patches of sand that join it to Cauayan to the north and Bulalacao to the south. It is the beach with the whitest and finest sand, it seems that you walk on chalk, and the most photogenic. There are no umbrellas or trees to shelter from the sun. Being shallow, the water is crystal clear.

BANANA ISLAND

The beach in Banana is the least graceful; the sand is less fine and the shore is deeper, so it also has the most decent snorkel. It has many palm trees and has been adapted for those who spend the night, so there are cabins, toilets and hammocks. It is usually where the tours stop for lunch.

MALCAPUYA ISLAND

It certainly reminded me of the beaches in Riviera Maya. A large strip of white sand with a background of palm trees. The fact that it resembles others does not detract from its spectacular beauty. The depth is intermediate, so the water turns turquoise. There are also some basic hammocks and cabins with electricity that depends on generators.

MORE IN CORON:

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