Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING, DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
Coron Town's
eating
options have improved dramatically in recent years, with plenty of restaurants ranging from
backpacker standards to a variety of places serving Filipino cuisine; dishes tend to be simple, however, with fresh fish often
in short supply. The
Coron market
(most stalls daily 6am-7pm) by the piers in the centre of town has a number of cheap
snack stalls and open-air grills.
Nightlife
is limited to a handful of Western-oriented bars, though the town does have
a seemingly inexhaustible appetite for videoke.
beside Coron Divers and Coron Reef Pension House)
T
0918 903 7063; map p.392.
Best location in town, if
not the best food, stuck out on a pier opposite
Sea Dive
Resort
with romantic views across the bay and tasty
margaritas. The seafood isn't bad; mangrove crabs, mahi-
mahi, Culion tiger prawns and local lobster usually grace
the menu (mains around P250).
Daily 11am-10pm.
Otto's Pub
National Hwy; map p.392.
Popular foreign
hangout owned by local celebrity and Austrian expat Otto
Putz, serving cold beers with Austro-German food (think
bratwurst
, beef goulash and meat loaf ).
Open most days
till late.
Sea Dive Resort
3 Don Pedro St
T
0918 400 0448,
W
seadiveresort.com; map p.392.
This popular resort
(see p.393) is traveller central, offering a good range of
breakfasts (P140), pancakes (P90), burritos (P160), pizzas
(P240), sandwiches and burgers (P150), pastas (P130-
240), basic veggie dishes including
pinakbet
(P160) and
lots of fresh seafood. Wi-fi is free and there's one terminal in
the corner.
Daily 7am-11pm.
CORON TOWN
Bistro Coron
National Hwy at Don Pedro St
T
0918
305 0750; map p.392.
Convenient and solid choice,
serving mostly European cuisine; dishes such as chicken
cordon bleu
, coq au vin, pizzas, pastas and the odd Filipino
choice. Grilled fish usually has to be ordered in advance
(mains P150-250). Breakfasts are great value (P250).
Daily 8am-10pm.
Central Bakery
Don Pedro St; map p.392.
The most
convenient place to stock up on fresh buns, cakes,
hopia
(sweet bean-filled pastries) and
pandesal
(bread rolls) from
P30.
Daily 6am-7pm.
★
7
Kawayanan Grill
Don Pedro St
T
0905 320 2376; map
p.392.
Rustic Filipino restaurant with thatched candlelit
cabañas
and a lush garden, handicraft store and videoke.
Great place for drinks, with so-so live bands and decent food;
the
kare-kare
(P250) is an excellent peanut-packed delight,
and the fresh coconut (P75),
halo-halo
(P120) and barbecued
meats (P100) are good, too.
Daily 11am-11pm.
La Sirenetta
Reef pier (accessible via the alleyway
Coron Bay Islands
The primary reason to stay in Coron Town is to explore the spellbinding islands
and coves scattered around
Coron Bay
- also a fantastic destination for
wreck-diving
(see box opposite). Bangka trips are easy to arrange, but it's worth comparing the
various packages on offer (see box, p.393).
Coron Island
is the most popular
destination, but you should also try to spend some time on the smaller, less
visited islands.
Coron Island
Sea DIve Resort
(see p.393) offers day-trips (usually 8am-4pm) for around P1500 for a bangka of up to four people; the boat association
(see box, p.393) charges P2000 - these prices do not include the various admission fees, and lunch is usually an extra P250/person
Most hotels and tour operators in Coron Town offer day-trips to
Coron Island
, an
enchanting cluster of jagged limestone cliffs and peaks just fifteen minutes across the
bay. The island offers truly spectacular landscapes and some rich snorkelling sites,
though visitors are confined to the northern coast; Coron is the traditional home of
the
Tagbanua
people and the rest of the island is strictly off-limits to outsiders. The
Tagbanua in the two main east coast communities of Banuangdaan (Old Coron Town)
and Acabugao now make most of their income from charging admission fees to the
island's various attractions; this supplements their traditional sources of livelihood,
fishing and bird's nest collecting.
Tours
involve plenty of snorkelling and swimming. In between Coron Island and
Coron Town you'll typically stop at the
Siete Picados Marine Park
(P100), which offers
a relatively rich spread of coral and marine life (sea snakes, sea fans, clownfish and
whale sharks are sometimes spotted on the deeper side of the reef ).
