Has Anyone Snorkeled in the Philippines?

My husband and I just came back from Coron, Philippines, having spent the first week of January 2019 there at Discovery Island Dive Resort.

We recommend two snorkel sites very close to Coron Town proper: Siete Pescados and Coral Garden. You can still see the town from those sites, and there was so much to see there that we did not feel the need to venture out to the farther sites. The corals were very large and colorful.

At Coral Garden, the reef was very shallow near the shore then slopes down like a wall into the deeps. It makes it favorable to see a lot regardless of the high or low tide. We saw clownfish hiding in anemones, sea urchins, parrotfish and angelfish, pufferfish, pipefish, and lionfish. I had previously read reports of Coral Garden and Siete Pescados sites as being “not as pristine as before” but both looked very healthy and were teeming with life.

In addition, the two sites are close to the Kangayan Lake and Twin Lagoon swimming areas. The swimming areas are calm, protected waters that are good for relaxing or allowing children to have a splash, but nothing to see there if you’re a snorkeler.

If you get easily seasick as I do, know that the waters are usually calm and protected, not like the open ocean. Seasickness is another reason I prefer to book a private boat, and given it was so reasonable in price, I’d recommend it to any snorkelers, since the other passengers on a group tour may vote to spend more time at the beaches or swimming holes rather than the scenic coral reefs.

We mostly used the hotel’s boats and staff, which were more expensive than hiring a boat at the town marina. It was still very reasonable, less than $60 USD for a half day private excursion.

One day we met up with family and did a large group tour using one of the many boats for hire at the Coron town marina. At the marina or at the hotel, you can opt to join a group or hire a private charter. Private was very reasonable, about $50-$100 USD for the day or half day depending on your destinations.

The tourism board has a standard menu of destinations priced, but you can still negotiate downwards, especially if there are boats available mid-morning or later. Note there are additional $5-$10 fees per person at each snorkel site which help keep the islands undeveloped and monitored for pollution and careless dive boats.

We’d also recommend staying at Discovery Island Dive Resort for the quality of friendly attentive service, delicious western and Filipino menu, and the laid back, relaxing vibe. It’s not a four star resort, just really more of an inn, but it’s on a private island just a 10 minute boat ride from the Coron town marina.

If you want to avoid the nightly and pre-dawn street noise in the form of cocks crowing and motorcycle revving, don’t stay in the downtown area near the marina. Coron WesTown Resort is where my family members stayed and it was a true resort by western standards. We preferred a more local vibe and highly recommend Discovery Island.

There are one or two resorts that offer snorkeling right offshore from their resort, but they were much higher priced than Discovery Island, and either a long car drive or boat ride from Coron town proper.

I struggled to find up to date info prior to our trip, so I hope this is useful. We would certainly repeat this trip again, and mix in some additional Asian snorkel sites.