Hollywood-styled signage of Coron which can be seen from the port area
My friend, are you a tourist or a traveller? I recently read an article/quiz about the difference of the two. To make the story short, a Traveller is the one who is not afraid to explore the city sans tour guide. And that’s what we did in the afternoon of our second day in Coron.
When I asked my friend Rommel about the tour packages in Coron, he said not to choose the City Tour since it’s more expensive and can be done DYI (For those who don’t know what the acronym means, it’s “do-it-yourself”). I checked on different sites that arranges Coron Town Tour and the fee was Php 500-700 per person. Since an option to save money was possible, I planned of hiring a tricycle to take us to the different places at the town even if this is my first time in Coron.
After our Calauit Safari Tour in the morning, we head back to our hotel. Since our tour includes hiring a tricycle to take us to our hotel, we asked him if he can tour us around and he obliged. The fee? Php 500 only! But before we head to the hotel, we already visited the first place of out tour. Actually, we already visited it unknowingly on our first day. The place is called Lualhati Park.
Lualhati Park
If you will go on an island tour, this is the starting point. It is just five steps (as in!) away from the port area. This baywalk is good if you want to be sentimental while staring at the sea. LOL.
A place for your “senti” moments. HAHA!
Turning to a different direction and a few more steps fronting the park is Coron’s Public Market.
Coron Public Market
This is where you can buy all their known goodies like different kinds of dried fish, kasuy and small gifts or pasalubong. Though it may look dirty but it is one of the cleanest wet and dry market that I’ve seen with no foul smell but you will smell the sea and its fresh produce. And since this is a palengke (wet market), expect that the goods here are cheaper.
A lady selling different kinds of packed dried fish inside Coron’s Public Market
Mount Taypas and Mount Tapyas Cross
We failed to recall that our hotel is near Mt. Tapyas so we rode a short distance going there with our hired tricycle. But if you are staying at Mount Tapyas Hotel, It is just 2 blocks away, so you can always walk going there. We’ve heard that we need to climb 700+ steps going there, so we decided to buy drinks at the foot of the mountain. By the way, there is no fee going to the top of Mt. Tapyas.
Collage of our climb at the top of Mt. Tapyas
This is the best place to see the entire Coron and its nearby island. You will also get to see the famous Mount Tapyas Cross.
The tall metal cross on top of Mount Tapyas
View at the top
Us enjoying the view and relaxing a bit after the climb
We’ve noticed that there are seats and gazebos along the way to the top where you can rest a bit from climbing. Unlike climbing other mountains, this is easier since the path is flat and cemented. Take your time and enjoy the view.
After picture-taking and resting, we went down and rode our rented tricycle to relax our feet at Maquinit Hot Spring.
Maquinit Hot Sprint
It took 15-20 minutes for us to get here. Going to a hot spring resort is not new to me since my place in Laguna is abundant with it. But this one is different because the water is salty and it is really damn hot!
Dipping our tired feet in a pool of salty hot spring water
My advise: Don’t go diving here cause the man-made pool is shallow, similar to a kiddie pool. Dip your feet first and allow your body to adjust to the temperature then slowly submerge yourself in the pool. Aside from enjoying the water, you can also tour their mangrove. How much is the fee to this resort? It’s Php 150. Quite expensive since we stayed there in less than an hour. But if you want to stay longer, small cottages and tables are for rent which we didn’t do. We just placed our stuff near the pool and look after it. Besides neither one of us dared to do lapses at the pool. HAHA!
If we are going to compute for the expenses we have for this short tour, here it is:
Php 500 – Tricycle Ride / 5 people = Php 100 fee per person
Php 100 + Php 150 (Entrance fee at Maquinit Hot Spring) = Php 250!!!
WOW! We saved a lot here! Instead of paying Php 500 per person, it was cut into half because we did it DIY-style. So the next time you will tour the town of Coron, hire a tricycle and ask them where to go. Hope I helped you with this, my friend. Wait for my day 3 post to learn more.
-Tinakits-
Tinakits 
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