Palawan's Edge: Diving WWII Wreck Graveyards, Swimming with Dugongs, and the Limestone Lagoons of the Philippines' Last Frontier

Destination: Palawan, Philippines
Category: Adventure
Guide Type: Adventure Guide
By: Marcus Chen

The Author

Marcus Chen is a National Geographic Young Explorer and expedition leader with a background in environmental science. He has led diving expeditions across the Coral Triangle and specializes in destinations where adventure and marine biodiversity intersect.

My philosophy: I don't do pretty. I do real. Palawan is the rawest edge of the Philippines — a place where WWII wrecks rust beneath your fins, dugongs graze on seagrass like underwater cows, and limestone cliffs rise from water so clear it feels like a trick. I've been diving here since 2016. I've watched the coral recover, the crowds arrive, and the carrying capacity start to strain. This guide is what I tell my friends. No filters. No apologies.

Introduction

Palawan rises from the South China Sea like a limestone fortress — a province of 1,700 islands where the Sulu Sea meets the West Philippine Sea, and karst cliffs plunge into water so clear you can count fish from a boat deck. The UN called it the "best island in the world" three times. Ignore that. The UN has never had to share a bangka with twenty cruise-ship day-trippers. The real story is underwater. The Calamian Islands, at Palawan's northern tip, contain one of the world's great concentrations of WWII shipwrecks. Seven Japanese vessels rest within a 30-minute boat ride of Coron town, their rusted hulls now artificial reefs patrolled by trevally and schooling barracuda. This is wreck diving's accessible masterpiece — depths shallow enough for recreational divers, marine life dense enough to rival anywhere on Earth.

But Palawan is more than wrecks. Between dive days, you kayak through lagoons that trap warm water like bath tubs, hike to hidden lakes where limestone walls rise 50 meters straight up, and swim with sea cows that graze on seagrass meadows. The infrastructure is developing fast — too fast — but the place still feels like the edge of something. Which is exactly why you're here. Come now.

Coron Town: Gateway to the Wrecks

Coron is not beautiful. It is a working Filipino town of 50,000, functional and dusty, where tricycles rattle down unpaved streets and power cuts still happen weekly. The beauty starts when you leave.

The town exists solely as a jumping-off point for the Calamian Islands. Every morning at 8:30, the bay fills with outrigger boats — bangkas — ferrying divers to wreck sites, kayakers to lagoons, and day-trippers to beaches that look like screensavers. By 9:00 AM, Coron is empty again, its population dispersed across the surrounding islands until late afternoon. The rhythm is nautical, not terrestrial.

Getting there: Fly from Manila to Busuanga Airport (USU), a 45-minute hop on PAL Express or Cebu Pacific. The airport is 30 minutes from town by van (P250/person, shared). No ferries run regularly from Manila anymore — the 2Go Travel route was suspended in 2023 and hasn't resumed. If you want the romantic ferry journey, you can route through El Nido (Montenegro Lines from Manila to El Nido, 12 hours, P2,800), but that's a different trip entirely.

Where to stay:

The accommodation split is simple. Stay in Coron town for access to dive shops, restaurants, and the port. Stay on an island resort if you want isolation and are willing to pay for private boat transfers (P3,000-5,000 each way, one-way).

Corto del Mar (Coron-Busuanga Road, Coron Town Proper; from P3,200/night): The best-run option in town. Pool, decent WiFi, walking distance to the port. Spanish colonial architecture, good breakfast, actual hot water. This is where I stay when I'm running back-to-back dive days and need reliability. Book ahead in March-April — they fill up.
Hop Hostel (National Highway, Barangay Poblacion 3, Coron; from P850/bunk): The best budget option. Rooftop bar with the best sunset view in town. Communal kitchen, good vibe, younger crowd. I've stayed here when I'm solo and want company. The bunks are decent, the aircon works, and the staff know every dive shop in town. Open 24/7 check-in.
Two Seasons Coron Island Resort (Malaroyroy, Bulalacao Island; from P8,500/night): If you want isolation and can afford the boat transfers. Private beach, all-inclusive meals, excellent snorkeling off the dock. Book directly — they don't list on all OTA platforms. Minimum 2-night stay.

Skip anything on the main road near the public market — the dust and tricycle exhaust will ruin your mornings. The stretch between the market and the port is the loudest, most congested part of town.

Eating in Coron:

La Sirenetta (Coron-Busuanga Road, Coron Town; 11:00 AM–10:00 PM): The best restaurant in town. Italian-Filipino fusion, fresh seafood, proper pasta. The grilled blue marlin is excellent. Dinner for two: P1,200–1,800. Reservations recommended for 7:00 PM+.
Kawayanan Grill (Real Street, Coron Town; 10:00 AM–10:00 PM): Local Filipino barbecue. Pork skewers, grilled squid, kinilaw (ceviche). The squid is caught that morning. A full meal: P400–600. No reservations. Arrive before 7:00 PM or the squid is gone.
Buzz Cafe (Coron-Busuanga Road; 7:00 AM–9:00 PM): The best coffee in town. Single-origin Philippine beans, proper espresso. Breakfast burritos and smoothie bowls for the pre-dive crowd. A flat white and breakfast: P350. Opens early — 7:00 AM — which matters when your first boat leaves at 8:30.

The Wrecks: Diving History

The wrecks of Coron Bay are the result of a single American air raid on September 24, 1944. Task Force 38 launched 96 aircraft from the carriers USS Lexington and USS Essex, catching a Japanese supply convoy at anchor. The attack sank 24 vessels. Seven of those wrecks are now accessible to recreational divers. The rest are too deep, too broken, or too dangerous.

What makes Coron special is the depth. These ships rest between 5 and 40 meters — shallow enough for advanced open water divers, deep enough to feel serious. The water is consistently 28-30°C year-round. Visibility ranges from 10 to 30 meters depending on tides and plankton blooms. You don't need a drysuit. You don't need a hood. You need a guide who knows the exit points, because people have died getting lost inside these hulls.

The Irako
The prize. A 147-meter Japanese refrigeration ship lying on its starboard side at 45 meters. This is technical territory — the main deck is at 35 meters, the sand at 45. The interior is a maze of engine rooms and cargo holds, penetrable only with proper wreck training (TDI/IANTD Advanced Wreck or equivalent). Visibility inside is often better than outside, weirdly, because the silt settled decades ago. Schools of tuna patrol the upper decks. If you do one technical dive in the Philippines, make it this one. Cost: P4,500/dive with equipment rental. Depth: 35–45m. Minimum certification: Deep + Wreck specialty.

The Akitsushima
A 118-meter seaplane tender with a massive crane structure intact. The crane lies at 24 meters, the hull at 38. Non-penetration divers can spend 40 minutes circumnavigating the exterior, watching giant groupers establish territory in the crane mechanism. The crane still moves — slightly — when you touch it. That 80-year-old grease is the real thing. Penetration leads into the engine room — dark, silty, not for the claustrophobic. Cost: P3,800/dive. Depth: 24–38m. Minimum certification: Advanced Open Water.

The Okikawa Maru
A 168-meter tanker, the largest wreck in Coron Bay. It sits upright in 26 meters of water, its masts breaking the surface at low tide. The upper decks are covered in hard coral formations and visited by hawksbill turtles. The interior is dangerous — divers have died getting lost in the cargo holds. Only enter with a guide who knows the exit points. There are four known entrances. There are also four known exits. Do not confuse them. Cost: P3,500/dive. Depth: 26m. Minimum certification: Advanced Open Water + Wreck experience.

The Lusong Gunboat
The shallow wreck. A 35-meter coastal defense vessel resting at just 11 meters, with the deck at 5 meters. You can spend an hour here on a single tank, photographing the coral-encrusted deck gun and watching batfish school in the wheelhouse. This is the training wreck — most shops bring students here for their first wreck penetration experience. The gun barrel points at the surface. You can swim through it. Cost: P2,800/dive. Depth: 5–11m. Minimum certification: Open Water.

Barracuda Lake
Not a wreck, but the most surreal dive in Coron. A narrow slit in the limestone leads to a thermocline at 14 meters where the temperature jumps from 28°C to 38°C. Below 35 meters, the water reaches 40°C — hot tub temperature. The lake is hydrogen sulfide at depth, creating a milky white layer that looks like fog. The walls are naked limestone, sculpted smooth by freshwater flows. You cannot dive this anywhere else in the world. Cost: P2,500 (minimum 2 divers). Depth: 5–40m. No certification minimum — snorkelers can swim the surface.

Dive shops:

Coron Divers (San Nicolas Street, Coron Town; 7:00 AM–7:00 PM daily; +63 920 482 4589): The oldest shop in town (operating since 1989), German-run, technical diving specialists. They have the only recompression chamber in Palawan. If you're doing the Irako or any penetration dives, dive with them. Their guides know every bolt and bulkhead. They run sidemount and stage bottle configurations. A 5-dive package: P16,000 with equipment.
Dive Calamian (Rizal Street, Coron Town; 7:00 AM–6:00 PM daily; +63 999 446 9922): Local ownership, good equipment, specializes in small groups (max 4 divers per boat). They know the lesser-known wrecks and run exploratory trips to sites the big shops skip. A 3-dive package: P10,500. Good for experienced divers who want flexibility.
Neptune Dive Center (Coron-Busuanga Road; 7:00 AM–7:00 PM daily; +63 917 793 5444): PADI 5-star, English-speaking instructors, runs Discover Scuba programs for non-divers. If you need a refresher or want to try diving for the first time, start here. They also run snorkel-only trips to the wrecks' shallower sections. Open Water course: P18,000 (4 days).

When to dive: March-May has the best visibility (25-30 meters). December-February has cooler water (26°C) but fewer tourists. June-November is rainy season — visibility drops to 10 meters, but the wrecks are empty and prices drop 30%. I like December best. The water is clear enough, the prices are lower, and you get the wrecks to yourself.

Island Hopping: The Surface World

Every visitor to Coron does the island hopping tours. Most book Tour A or C, see the same lagoons as everyone else, and come away with identical photos. Here's how to do it differently.

Kayangan Lake
The famous one. A freshwater lake inside a limestone crater, reached by a 367-step climb over the ridge. The view from the top — looking down at the narrow entrance channel — is Coron postcard #1. The catch: arrive at 6:30 AM (private boat hire, P6,000 for the whole boat, 6-person max) or share the platform with 200 other people by 10:00 AM. The water in the lake is 5 meters deep and warm — bring fins or you'll tread water for an hour. The wooden platform gets crowded by 9:00 AM. Entry fee: P300/person. Open 6:00 AM–4:00 PM.

Twin Lagoon
Two saltwater lagoons connected by a tunnel you swim through at low tide. At high tide, you have to climb a wooden ladder over the limestone wall. The inner lagoon is deeper and colder, with walls that go straight down 30 meters. The outer lagoon has mangroves and small coral bommies. Best at 7:00 AM before the tour boats arrive. Entry fee: P200/person. No set hours — dawn to dusk.

Siete Pecados
Seven small islets in a shallow channel with coral gardens that survived the 1998 bleaching event. The snorkeling here is excellent — clownfish, parrotfish, the occasional blacktip reef shark cruising the channel. The site is 15 minutes from Coron town by boat, making it a good afternoon option if you're back from diving early. Entry fee: P200/person. Snorkel gear rental: P300/day.

Banana Island
Farther out — 2.5 hours by boat — but worth it for the sandbar that connects two small islands at low tide. The beach is coconut palms and white sand. The snorkeling is mediocre, but the isolation is the point. Book as a private tour (P8,000/boat) and combine with Malcapuya Island for a full day. Pack lunch — there are no restaurants. Bring water.

Ditaytayan Island
A sandbar that extends 1.5 kilometers at low tide, connecting three small islands. The sandbar itself is the attraction — you can walk it for an hour, ankle-deep in warm water, with no one else in sight. The boat captains know the tide tables. Go two hours before low tide for maximum exposure. Private tour: P7,000/boat. Combine with Banana Island for a full day.

Tour logistics:

Group tours (P1,500-2,000/person) follow fixed routes: Tour A (Kayangan, Twin Lagoon, Siete Pecados), Tour B (Barracuda Lake, Skeleton Wreck, Twin Peaks), Tour C (Hidden Lagoon, Star Beach, CYC Beach). The boats are shared bangkas with 15-20 people. They leave at 9:00 AM and return at 4:00 PM.

Private tours (P5,000-8,000/boat) let you design the route and leave earlier. Worth it if you're a group of 4+ or want to avoid the crowds at Kayangan. I always book private. The extra P3,000 is worth the solitude.

El Nido: Limestone and Lagoon

Four hours south of Coron by fast ferry (Montenegro Lines, P2,200, 4 hours) or 30 minutes by Cessna (AirSwift, P7,500), El Nido is Palawan's more developed southern cousin. The town is larger, the roads are paved, and the restaurants serve avocado toast and flat whites. I find it overdeveloped and overpriced. But the lagoons in Bacuit Bay are still spectacular.

El Nido has the same karst geography as Coron — limestone cliffs rising from turquoise water — but the scale is different. The cliffs are higher, the lagoons larger, and the crowds thicker. The main town beach is functional but not beautiful. The real attractions are the islands in Bacuit Bay.

The Tours:
Tours A, B, C, and D each visit 4-5 islands and lagoons. Tour A is the classic — Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon, Shimizu Island, Seven Commandos Beach. Tour C is the adventure option — Secret Beach (the inspiration for Alex Garland's The Beach), Hidden Beach, Helicopter Island. I recommend Tour C for the most dramatic scenery, or Tour A if it's your first time.

Group tours: P1,800-2,400/person. Private tours: P6,000-10,000/boat. Book through your hotel or at the beachfront booking offices on Rizal Street.

Big Lagoon
The highlight. A 45-meter wide entrance between two limestone walls opens into a 300-meter long lagoon. You can enter by kayak (rent at the entrance, P300) or swim. The water is 3 meters deep and the color shifts from turquoise to jade to deep blue depending on the sun. Go at 7:30 AM when the first boats arrive, or at 4:00 PM when most groups have left. The midday crush is unbearable — 40 bangkas circling in the lagoon, each with 15 passengers. Entry fee: P200/person.

Small Lagoon
A narrow entrance you swim through, then a chamber of water surrounded by walls on all sides. The acoustics are strange — sound echoes off the limestone. The lagoon is shallow — 2-4 meters — and the water warms in the afternoon sun like a bath. Kayak rental: P300. Entry fee: P200/person.

Nacpan Beach
45 minutes north of El Nido by tricycle (P1,500 round trip). A 4-kilometer stretch of beach with coconut palms and a small fishing village. The water is rough — swimming is dangerous from June-October — but the sand is the finest in mainland Palawan. There are a few beach bars that serve cold beer and grilled fish. Stay for sunset — the sun sets directly over the water here. No entry fee. The tricycle ride is bumpy — take a van if you can arrange it (P800/person round trip through your hotel).

Where to stay in El Nido:

The town is divided into Beach Zone 1-4. Zone 1 is the port and main street — noisy, dusty, convenient. Zone 2 and 3 have the better hotels and restaurants. Zone 4 is quieter but a 15-minute walk from town.

Spin Designer Hostel (Calle Hama, Barangay Buena Suerte, El Nido; from P1,200/bunk): The best hostel in El Nido, with a rooftop bar and organized activities. Clean, social, good WiFi. The staff organize island-hopping bookings at standard rates. Dorm beds have privacy curtains and reading lights.
Cadlao Resort (Caalan Beach, El Nido; from P5,500/night): On a private beach 10 minutes from town by free shuttle. Excellent restaurant, pool, kayaking from the beach. The best mid-range option. Book direct for better rates than OTA platforms.
El Nido Resorts Pangulasian (Pangulasian Island, Bacuit Bay; from P45,000/night): One of the best luxury properties in the Philippines, on its own island, all-inclusive. Pool villa, private beach, butler service. If you're celebrating something, do it here. Minimum 2-night stay. Book 3 months ahead for December-January.

The Subterranean River: Underground Palawan

Two hours south of El Nido by van (P600) sits Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park — an 8.2-kilometer underground river that flows directly into the sea. UNESCO listed it in 1999. It was one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011. It is spectacular and crowded.

The visit is structured: you arrive at Sabang, register at the park office, wait 1-2 hours for your boat time, then take a 20-minute bangka to the cave entrance. Inside, an audio guide narrates the formations as your paddle boat moves through the first 1.5 kilometers. Stalactites hang from a ceiling 60 meters high in places. Bats — thousands of them — rustle overhead. The guano smell is real. The formations are realer.

The river itself is brackish — a mix of fresh water from the mountains and salt water pushed in by tides. The water is coffee-colored from tannin, not pollution. You can't swim here — the current is strong and the bats deposit guano that would make it unpleasant anyway. The audio guide is available in 12 languages. English is channel 1. The narration is decent but the real experience is the darkness, the drip of water, and the scale of the cave.

Practicalities:
Permits are limited to 1,200 visitors per day. Book in advance through the Puerto Princesa office (+63 48 434 2509) or arrange through your El Nido hotel. The tour costs P2,500 including transport from El Nido, boat, permit, and guide. You can do it as a day trip, but it's a 10-hour round trip. Better to overnight in Sabang and visit early morning. The lodge at Sabang Beach has basic rooms from P1,500/night. Visit the cave at 8:00 AM when the first boats enter — you'll have the audio guide to yourself and the bats are still active.

What to Skip

1. The main beach in El Nido town. It's a working port, not a beach. The water is murky, the sand is coarse, and the bangka traffic never stops. Walk 20 minutes north to Las Cabañas or take a tricycle to Nacpan. Don't waste a sunset on the town beach.

2. Group island-hopping tours if you're a diver. The tours are fine for non-divers, but if you're certified, you came for the wrecks. Skip Tour A in El Nido and do a second dive day in Coron instead. The surface world is pretty. The underwater world is why you're here.

3. Restaurants with photo menus in five languages. These are the tourist traps. If the menu has pictures, if the host stands outside recruiting customers, if the seafood is priced per 100g — walk away. The good places don't need to recruit. La Sirenetta doesn't have a host on the street.

4. Rushed day trips to the Subterranean River from El Nido. It's a 10-hour round trip. You'll spend 6 hours in a van for 45 minutes in a cave. Stay overnight in Sabang or skip it entirely. The river is spectacular but not worth a full day of van misery.

5. Swimming with the whale sharks at Oslob (Cebu) as a "side trip." This is a common add-on people plan from Palawan. Don't. The Oslob whale sharks are fed, habituated, and the experience is unethical. If you want ethical whale shark encounters, go to Donsol (Sorsogon) where they feed naturally. But that's a separate trip, not a side trip from Palawan.

6. Buying shell jewelry from beach vendors. Every beach in Palawan has vendors selling necklaces made from coral and shells. Buying them encourages reef destruction. The shells came from somewhere. That somewhere is a reef that's already stressed. Say no. Every time.

Practical Information

Best time to visit:
Dry season is November-May. Peak season is December-January and March-April. Book accommodation two months ahead. June-October is rainy season — afternoon thunderstorms, rough seas, occasional typhoons. I dive in December. The water is 26°C, visibility is 20 meters, prices are 30% lower.

Getting around:

Coron to El Nido: Fast ferry (4 hours, P2,200) or flight (30 minutes, P7,500). Book through Montenegro Lines (montenegrolines.com) or at the Coron port office. Morning departures: 8:00 AM. Afternoon: 1:00 PM.
El Nido to Puerto Princesa: Van (6 hours, P600) or flight (1 hour, P4,000). Book through your hotel or at the El Nido van terminal (Rizal Street). Departures every hour, 6:00 AM–3:00 PM.
Local transport: Tricycles are the default — P20/person for short trips, P200-500 for longer distances. No Grab or Uber. Negotiate longer distances before getting in.

Money:
Coron has ATMs but they run out of cash regularly, especially on weekends. Bring pesos from Manila. El Nido has better banking infrastructure — BPI and BDO branches on Rizal Street. Credit cards are accepted at larger hotels, but cash dominates. I bring P30,000 for a 10-day trip. Dive shops prefer cash and may offer 5% discounts for cash payment.

Health:
Dengue fever is present year-round — bring DEET repellent (30% minimum) and cover up at dawn and dusk. The nearest hyperbaric chamber is at Coron Divers (+63 920 482 4589). For serious medical issues, fly to Manila. Travel insurance with dive coverage is mandatory — I recommend DAN or World Nomads.

Gear:
You don't need to bring your own equipment unless you're technical diving. All shops rent BCDs, regulators, wetsuits, and computers. I bring my own mask, fins, and computer. A 5-day rental package: P4,000-5,000. If you're doing the Irako, bring a torch (rental: P500/day). The interior is dark.

Responsible travel:
The coral reefs here are recovering from past dynamite fishing and bleaching. Don't touch the coral, don't stand on it for photos, and don't buy shell jewelry from beach vendors. The sea cows (dugongs) in the Calamian Islands are critically endangered — if you see one, observe from at least 5 meters and never chase or touch it. Dugong encounters are rare and magical. If you're lucky enough to see one, stay still. Let it graze. The memory is the gift.

Why Palawan Matters

There are prettier beaches in Thailand, better diving in Indonesia, and more developed tourism infrastructure in Malaysia. But Palawan remains special because it still feels like the edge — the place where the map ends and the real exploration begins.

The wrecks of Coron Bay are deteriorating. Metal rusts, structures collapse. In 20 years, the Irako will be unrecognizable. The lagoons of El Nido are filling with boats — the carrying capacity is being tested. The window to see this place as it is — raw, slightly broken, magnificent — is narrowing.

Come for the diving. Stay for the limestone cliffs rising from water so blue it looks artificial. Leave before it changes too much. And when you leave, leave it cleaner than you found it. The Coral Triangle doesn't need more tourists. It needs better ones.