Ticket for Two: Coron: Coron Galeri Services

I have never been a fan of packaged tours for the simple reason that I love planning for trips and doing the painstaking research for accommodations, itinerary and all those nitty gritty details. Contrary to what Froi thinks, it’s not because I’m OC. It’s just that I love planning, making checklists, and crossing out each tasks as I boss Froi around to do the tasks on my list.. hehe.

But I can no longer multi-task and I have to focus on my review for the medical boards, hence I have to create and train my minions of travel planners to dominate the world.. *evil laugh*. The Calaguas trip was planned by my nieces, while the Coron trip fell on Froi’s hands. He wanted to avail of the packaged tour from Darayonan (our guesthouse) for convenience, but since I can’t help myself (control freak) and I have made prior research as to the cost of this trip, I knew we could save more if we avail of the tours separately.

The tour services from Coron Galeri were superb! There were minor glitches but let me focus more on why we love them and why we wouldn’t hesitate booking with them again:

1. Budget-friendly

As you can see from the picture below, these are the rates for boat rental if you want a DIY tour. Add to that the entrance fees as well as the food and water cost and you get an almost same rate for a group of 5pax. It may be a different story if you are traveling with a bigger group. The minimum number of joiners for each tour is 5pax, and since there were 5 of us in the group, they accommodated our request to have the whole boat to ourselves. They also gave discounts for the snorkeling set we rented.

For the 3 tours, we spent roughly around 4,300php/pax, which included breakfast and coffee (for the Calauit tour), lunch with fruits, water, and entrance fees on all tours.

TOURS	RATE/PAX	ITINERARY
Calauit Safari Tour (by Sea)	2,600	Calauit Safari Park Black Island Caves Panlaitan Fishing Village Lusong Coral Garden and Lusong Gunboat
Coron Island Tour	750	CYC Beach Calachuchi Coral Eden/Coral Garden Twin Lagoon Bulungan Beach Hidden Lagoon Twin Peaks Reef Kayangan Lake Twin Lagoon not included in the original itinerary, additional 100/pax for the entrance fee
Malcapuya Island Tour	950	Malcapuya Island **Additional 250/pax to go to Banana and Bulog Island

2. Eco-friendly

They have environmental projects but what strike me most are the simple gestures such as the availability of cartons where you can put your trash. The boat operators were also very careful in dropping their anchor away from the reefs, although this was noticeable in most of the boat operators in Coron. They also constantly reminded their guests not to leave any trash behind. What they can probably improve on is to minimize the use of water plastic bottles they provide their guests with.

3. Hassle-free

They prepare everything including the food and payment of fees. All you have to do is show up at their office and swim-eat-take photos repeatedly on your tours. The tour guide can also take you to the best snorkeling spots.

4. Good Food

The best breakfast we had in Coron was on the boat on our way to Calauit Safari Park: pandesal and 3-in-1 Nescafe, while watching the sun rise on the horizon. It’s the simple things that truly matter =)

Photos taken by Oliver and Loki

The lunch prepared on all tours were yummy and filling and had variety of food choices, except for the lato (seaweed) salad which was a staple (not that we’re complaining). We all love the freshness of this salad and was a perfect pair with the grilled fish.

5. Efficient and Accommodating Staff

We appreciated that they were quick to respond when we encountered a minor issue. They accommodated all our requests such as having the boat all to ourselves, discounts for the snorkeling set, as well as changes in our itinerary.

If you are a solo traveler or traveling with a small group, I highly recommend availing of their services for a hassle-free and budget-friendly tours.