Coron: Our Last Day + Review of Amphibi-Ko Lodge

We did not have any scheduled activity for our last day in Coron. I was thinking of asking Boots to dayhike with me to Mt. Darala but since it rained, I just forgot about it.

For the last time, we had our breakfast at Amphibi-Ko Lodge. Thank the heavens for they finally thought of serving a different breakfast for us. We checked out at 10:00 am but just stayed at Amphibi-Ko's restaurant because the 2-hour gap before the van fetched us for departure was too slim to fit any activity. We bought roasted chicken for lunch at a different store and asked Amphibi-Ko for utensils and we would just pay them for it. At first, they did not agree. Eventually, they agreed but it took too long for them to deliver the utensils (as if they had too many customers to attend to, when in fact they had none).

Coron: Island Loop Tour (7 Tourist Spots in a Day)

For the last part of our Coron tour, we visited 7 locations in the Coron island loop tour. The tour started at 8:30 am when the boat arrived. By 9:00 am, we were already at our first destination, and we finished off at 5:00 pm on our last destination. For eight hours, snorkeling was about the only thing that we did. Prior to this trip, a friend told me that in order to enjoy Coron to the fullest, you must never get tired of snorkeling, so I quite had an idea of what to expect. By the time we returned to Amphibi-Ko Lodge at 5:30 pm, we were all tired from snorkeling all day, yet very happy with the new and fascinating things that we were able to see and do.

Coron: Island Hopping at Malcapuya-Banana-Bulog Dos

We had our breakfast of hotsilog at Amphibi-ko Lodge. After breakfast, we proceeded to the dock behind the lodge to board our boat for the island hopping.

waiting for our breakfast to be served - at Amphibi-Ko Lodge 

We had two full days of island hopping in our itinerary. For the first day, we went to the far islands of Malcapuya, Banana, and Bulog Dos. Define far: it took us two hours at sea to get to Malcapuya Island.

Coron: Travel Adventure + Inland Town Tour + Mt. Tapyas + Maquinit Hot Spring

8:00 am. I met with my best friend and we rode a cab going to the airport. My "twin" sent me an sms that she was already there waiting.

with my best friend - in the cab going to the airport 

10:00 am. Me and my best friend arrived at NAIA terminal 3. I introduced her to my twin. We did not check-in yet because we waited for Boots to arrive.

11:00 am. Boots arrived, running. Our flight was set at 11:20 am so we really had to rush. We had to ride a shuttle to get to our designated gate. We had quite a buzzer beater moment, had to run and squeeze inside the already full shuttle, because we were the last ones to check-in and go on board.

Exploring Coron under P 6,000 Budget: 4 Days 3 Nights Tour + Travel Expense

The following was our itinerary and the corresponding costs for our 4 Days, 3 Nights Coron tour (as quoted by DIY Coron). Please click on the worksheets for a larger view.

There had just been a change in sequence on our Coron Island Loop tour due to strong waves but we were still able to cover everything within the same amount of time. The sequence we followed was: Twin Lagoon, CYC Island, Skeleton Wreck, Banol Beach (where we had our lunch), Barracuda Lake, Kayangan Lake, and Siete Pecados.

As for our accommodation expense,

Amphibi-Ko Lodge (AC deluxe, wifi, tv, dvd player, private cr, hot&cold shower, refrigerator)
: 3 rooms@1350@3nights = 12150 w/ complimentary breakfast

Only the dinners and the lunch on our 1st and 4th day were not covered in this cost computation. We spent around P 100/meal (opted to eat at the cheap eateries near the market) so additional meal costs were at P 500/pax.

Oops...and the terminal fees worth P 220, P 200 - NAIA (Manila) terminal fee, P 20 - Francisco B. Reyes (Busuanga) Airport terminal fee

To sum up,

(group tour cost + group accommodation cost)/6 = P 5,175/pax + P 500/pax (meals cost) + P 220/pax (terminal fees)

TOTAL COST PER PAX = P 5,795

Note: Airfare not included.



You might be interested on my other posts about our 4 Days 3 Nights Coron trip:

Coron with Friends: A Well-Planned Semi-DIY 4 Days 3 Nights Tour

Coron Day 1: Travel Adventure + Inland Town Tour + Mt. Tapyas + Maquinit Hot Spring

Coron Day 2: Island Hopping at Malcapuya-Banana-Bulog Dos

Coron Day 3: Island Loop Tour (7 Tourist Spots in a Day)

Coron Day 4: Our Last Day + Review of Amphibi-Ko Lodge

Coron with Friends: A Well-Planned Semi-DIY 4 Days 3 Nights Tour

It was my first time in Coron, and my second time in Palawan. Coron, with its "distinctly Palawan" limestone formations had been in my "to-go-to" list for quite some time now so I was just thankful to finally be able to conquer it.

Distinctly Palawan. Distinctly Coron.

Things to Do in Marinduque: Beach Bumming at Poctoy Beach in Torrijos

Poctoy Beach is located in the municipality of Torrijos in Marinduque. We were so blessed to visit on a sunny day in a rainy season so we were able to spend a bit of time beach bumming in Poctoy Beach. What's good about visiting during this time of year: the beach was almost entirely ours! The waves and the winds were strong, though.

Things to Do in Marinduque: Island Hopping at Tres Reyes Islands in Gasan

A visit to Tres Reyes Islands was a must-do in our itinerary because the islands were named after me. Just kidding. Island hopping to Tres Reyes Islands is one of the things that you should look forward to if you decide to go on a trip to Marinduque, because it is an attraction that would give you a distinctly Marinduque experience.

Things to Do in Marinduque: Spelunking at Bathala Caves in Sta. Cruz

We spent an hour and a half for our spelunking activity at Bathala Caves in Marinduque. Bathala Caves are a series of caves situated in a private lot in the town of Sta. Cruz, Marinduque. According to sources, there are around seven or eight different caves in the Bathala Caves system but only four had been explored so far. In our case, we had been taken to the "Simbahan", a wide cave with an altar-like natural stalactite/stalagmite formation resembling a church and was known to be a place of worship, the "Cemetery", which was used as a burial site, Python Cave, where we saw two pythons nested peacefully at the cave entrance, and Secret Cave (hmm...secret!).

Things to Do in Marinduque: Attend Mass at Boac Cathedral

Boac Cathedral is a mainstay in itineraries to Marinduque. It is located in the provincial capital, and even if you decide to pursue a DIY trip and you are a first-timer in the province, you'd surely discover how to get here. Everyone knows where it is, and the road signs leading to it wouldn't hurt.

On Getting Around Marinduque via Public Transport and Other Important Realizations

It is always a refreshing experience to set foot on a new location and explore things on your own - immersing yourself on the daily whereabouts of the locals instead of merely appreciating everything as a tourist. It is by choice that although both first timers in Marinduque, we decided to proceed with an entirely DIY trip. The only things we knew beforehand were the directions on how to get to Marinduque via bus and RORO, where we would stay, and the places that we wanted to see and the municipalities where they were located. Regarding the specific details on how to get to a certain location and where we would eat, we definitely had no idea.

Marinduque: Off the Beaten DIY Trip for 2 on a Long Weekend

Long before the long weekend, Boots and I did not have any plans to travel. But the wandering spirit again came into me and I suddenly thought that the long weekend would be wasted if we did not go anywhere. Hence, sort of a last minute travel planning happened.

We only finalized our destination a week before the long weekend. I was just starting to prepare the itinerary when I got extremely sick so Boots had to prepare everything. My only contribution was to tell where we would be residing, at Tahanan sa Isok in Boac with only P 800/night air-conditioned room rate.

Marinduque 5 Days DIY Itinerary

This was the itinerary that we followed on our Marinduque trip. Note that this Marinduque itinerary could be shortened by two days if you opt to go to Marinduque by plane.

Day 1
9:00 PM - arrive at JAC Liner Terminal in Kamias; board bus to Dalahican Port, Lucena (fare = P 227.50/pax)

Day 2
1:00 AM - arrive at Dalahican Port, Lucena; buy Montenegro Shipping Lines ticket (RORO) to Balanacan Port in Mogpog, Marinduque (P 260/pax + P 30/pax terminal fee)
4:00 AM - departure of RORO for Balanacan Port, Mogpog, Marinduque
8:00 AM - arrival of RORO at Balanacan Port, Mogpog, Marinduque; ride jeep bound to Boac (fare = P 50/pax)
9:00 AM - arrival at Boac
               - breakfast at Kusina sa Plaza (~P 50/pax)
10:00 AM - Boac Cathedral
12:00 PM - withdraw
1:00 PM - check-in at Tahanan sa Isok (P 2,400 air-conditioned room for 4 days and 3 nights)
               - sleep
               - dinner at Cafe Elias at Tahanan sa Isok (~P 150/pax)

Day 3
8:00 AM - attend mass at Boac Cathedral
9: 00 AM - breakfast at Good Chow (~P 50/pax)
9:30 AM - board jeep to Sta. Cruz, Marinduque (fare = P 47/pax)
10:30 AM - arrive at Sta. Cruz, Marinduque; board jeep bound for Bathala Caves at the terminal in the market (fare = P 20/pax)
11:30 AM - arrive at Bathala Caves (P 200 guide fee + entrance fee of P 50/pax)
1:00 PM - finished spelunking, board jeep to Sta. Cruz (fare = P 20/pax)
2:00 PM - arrive at Sta. Cruz; board jeep to Boac (fare = P 47/pax)
4:00 PM - arrive at Boac
7:00 PM - dinner at Good Chow (~P50/pax)

Day 4
7:00 AM - depart Tahanan sa Isok; breakfast at Good Chow (~P50/pax)
8:00 AM - board jeep to Pinggan, Gasan (fare = P 35/pax)
9:00 AM - arrive at Gasan; hired boat for island hopping at Tres Reyes Islands (P 800 boat rental)
11:00 AM - finished island hopping, boarded jeep to Buenavista (fare = P 15/pax)
12:00 PM - arrive at Buenavista, rented tricycle to Poctoy Beach, Torrijos (P 250 tricycle rental)
1:00 PM - arrive at Poctoy Beach
3:00 PM - leave Poctoy Beach, board jeep bound to Sta. Cruz (fare = P 30/pax)
4:00 PM - arrive at Sta. Cruz, board jeep to Boac (fare = P 47/pax)
6:00 PM - arrive at Boac
7:00 PM - dinner at Good Chow (~P50/pax)

Day 5
6:30 AM - depart Tahanan sa Isok
7:00 AM - board jeep to Balanacan Port in Mogpog (fare = P 50/pax)
8:30 AM - arrive at Balanacan Port, buy tickets for RORO to Dalahican Port (P 260/pax + P 22/pax terminal fee), depart
11:30 AM - arrive at Dalahican Port; board bus to Cubao (fare = P 227.50/pax)
5:00 PM - arrive at JAC Liner Cubao Terminal

TOTAL MARINDUQUE 5-DAY DIY TRIP EXPENSE PER PAX = P 3,663.00



You might be interested on my other posts about our Marinduque DIY trip:

Marinduque: Off-beaten Trip for 2 on a Long Weekend

On Getting Around Marinduque via Public Transport and Other Important Realizations

Things to Do in Marinduque: Attend Mass at Boac Cathedral

Things to Do in Marinduque: Spelunking at Bathala Caves in Sta. Cruz

Things to Do in Marinduque: Island Hopping at Tres Reyes Islands in Gasan

Things to Do in Marinduque: Beach Bumming at Poctoy Beach in Torrijos