The Coron Super Ultimate Tour is a full-day island-hopping trip that visits many of the area’s top attractions, including Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, and Twin Lagoons.
Mine included hotel pick-up and drop-off, lunch, snacks, drinks, and entrance fees.
Different here was the kayak set-up. We rented our own at the start, later having 3 different locations to paddle.
My tour had 7 stops including an excellent seafood buffet lunch.
The iconic landmark atop Mount Tapyas is a large, lighted crucifix.
I climbed the 721 concrete steps 4 times over 3 days. Kili conditioning. And ended up with some terrific photos.
One guide told me he had been up over 4000 times, training with his soccer team.
Here are some of my vista shots.
Best time of day is dusk / night — but that’s the most crowded.
Full moon while I was there.
Coron is the jumping off point for Coron Island Natural Biotic Area a short boat ride from the harbour.
It’s a bigger town and arguably slightly more organized than nearby El Nido at providing FUN boat tours to paradise coves. More expensive than El Nido, however.
Public transportation is non-existent. To get to excellent Maquinit Hot Springs outside of town, easiest was to sign up for a half day city tour.
Maquinit is both fresh and salt water, making you very buoyant.
And it’s HOT.
The Catholic cathedral.
It’s easy to complain about tourists, but look what happens when your town takes off as a destination.
Actually, a few different guides told me that Palawan province has had better governance than the rest of the corrupt nation.
Forbes Traveler Magazine’s included Coron on a list top 10 best scuba diving sites in the world — for the dozen sunken Japanese warships at depths between 10 and 40 meters.
A highlight of most tourists to the Philippines is one of these crazy fun boat tours.
There are a number to choose from. Exact itinerary seems to vary with the weather and time of year. BUT most include snorkelling, kayaking, swimming, beach buffet lunch, and … jumping off the boat.
This Italian guy’s Gainer was best of day from this judge.
White sand beaches in these limestone islands are a paradise.
I’d heard good things about the Haqqy Life company out of Friendz hostel — and it was fantastic.
I might have paid a bit more than some ➙ $35 USD. But that’s incredibly inexpensive for such a fun day. The lunch alone might cost you $15 in a waterfront restaurant.
People in our group shared video and photos to WhatsApp. My favourites are from one of the guys with a drone.
Kayaking in this unbelievable location made me infamous.
I somehow kicked my dry bag with phone off the kayak — dozens of people around stopped to search.
A couple of ladies turned it up. No damage. A new dry bag is quite waterproof.
NOW I was the old guy who nearly lost his phone. 😀
We stopped for a gourmet barbecue lunch at one beach. I liked best the grilled fish and tasty pork bites.
The guides are terrific. Almost everyone ends up singing and dancing. Without alcohol.
One unique aspect of our particular group was some fun Russians. I can almost always spot Russian tourists. BIG, GRUFF men with wife / mistress way out of their league. Neither ever smiling.
BUT the life of the party on our boat was a young, smiling (obese) Russian guy.
His companions were super fun, as well, proving Russians can laugh. Of course they were the group that pulled out a bottle of booze end of the afternoon — Rum, not Vodka, dispelling yet another stereotype.
Great trip. Second best of many tours that I signed on for in S.E. Asia over the past few months.
Here’s everyone from our boat.
At least half were sunburned by the end of the day.
El Nido is one of the most popular tourist traps in the Philippines.
El Nido town itself isn’t exactly charming. Crowded, kind of messy, and very touristy.
Dozens of feral dogs roam the streets at night, making me nervous.
The beach is no hell — but I liked it better in the evening with fewer tourists.
Public transit is non-existent. Cycling near impossible due to traffic. The only way to get around is by tricycle or “trike”. Most are crappy, rickety motorcycles with a sidecar somehow welded on.
With all the dollars coming in, I’m surprised El Nido’s not been improved. Boracay is modern, by comparison.
Serious beef in my portion of Taiwanese beef noodle soup. The favourite Taiwanese dish of those tourists I surveyed.
The staple in Taiwan is Braised Rice with Pork. Available everywhere at good value prices. Pork chunks, stewed in soy sauce and spices, then served on rice. Chinese pickles often on the side.
Often you can upgrade to Braised Rice with PorkBelly. Do it!
Taichung is the home of Giant Bicycles and is the birthplace of Bubble Tea. The same chewy tapioca balls are in many other sweet treats. Two most popular varieties are pearl blackmilk tea and pearl green milk tea (“pearl” for the tapioca balls at the bottom).
I got mine at Chun Shui Tang, the original location. Black milk tea alongside beef noodle soup. Though expensive, I’ve had better soup and bubble tea in Taiwan.
Shaved Ice is a big deal in Taiwan. There are MANY varieties. I don’t know what everything is in my portion ➙ BUT the best ingredient for me was those orange bits on the right. Candied sweet potato.
Locals call this small pastry a red bean cake. But there are many different fillings available, including whip cream.
All tourists stop at the Formosa Boulevard subway station ➙ “Dome of Light“.
The Esports World Championships 2025 were hosted in this city. I happened upon a local Esport competition hosted in the subway station. It attracted the local cosplay community. I quickly donned my AI Nano Banana cosplay samurai costume. 😀
It’s amazing how young humans can dress up to look like their favourite cartoon characters. I’d never really thought much about cosplay before seeing them here.
Rented an inexpensive bike. 8.5 km long, average width 400m. A series of tourists attractions.
Lighthouse
Obviously, fish and seafood are important in Taiwan.
On the way back, I toured the Pier-2 Art Center area. Wild and weird instillations.
Walking around Lotus Pond is a treat. Kids love the Tiger + Dragon pagodas as you can walk through the mouth of both.
Buddhism here reminds me more of Hinduism. In these bright, detailed temples, I understand almost nothing of either.
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts is impressive. The world’s largest performing art theatre under one roof: Opera House, Concert Hall, Playhouse, and a Recital Hall.
No snow in this city. But one kid was tobogganing down artificial turf on cardboard.
Jiufen Old Street is the main attraction, a narrow, winding alleyway with shops, teahouses, and restaurants that offer tourists something of a view of traditional Taiwanese life.
It was positively packed when I arrived at dusk.
Happily, I found a restaurant balcony providing a view of the chaos below. 😀
The lanterns are evocative.
There is an incredible variety of foods to try in the night market.
Old street closes early when the ice-cream mini-trucks arrive. Actually, small garbage trucks play music, trying to get tourists to get out of the way.
I’m not a foodie — I’m not adventurous — BUT for me the foot I ate in Indonesia was not that spectacular .
As a coffee addict, I was looking forward to the JAVA here. BUT what you get most places in Indonesia is strong, black sludge. They mix finely ground coffee with hot water, allowing the grounds to settle to the bottom. Something like cowboy coffee on the hiking trail.
One time I DID make a special trip to try a special dish was for Gudeg.
Rick McCharles 