Philippines, Palawan

Scuba Diving Coron: Planning Stage

One of the highlights of our Coron trip, is our first ever scuba diving.

Last year, I tried surfing for the first time. And this year, I don my rented wet suit to experience Coron’s finest corals and well, for now, a shallow wreck.

Coron is oozing with diving spots, both reef and wrecks. They have at least 13 Japanese ship wrecks and picturesque corals teeming the islands.

A lot of diving outfits can also be found in Coron. We were checked in at the Sea Dive Resort but found their prizes a little bit off the mark. Their DSD (Discover Scuba Diving, which allows 2 dives for beginners) course is PhP 4,100 led by their PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) diver. This association is not known only to the Philippines, but worldwide. The license you get from them is recognized globally.

Some diving outfits, like the one we hired, is NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors)-certified. Their DSD course is more affordable than PADI at PhP 2800 for 2 dives. Popular hollywood actor Kevin Coster is NAUI-certified.

When arranging for a dive, you have to book at least a day ahead to prepare the equipment, diver and other logistics like boat, boatmen and meals.

Scuba Diving Coron - most affordable quality dive
Scuba Diving Coron – most affordable quality dive

The PhP 2800 per pax deal I got is not bad at all, although I could have gotten it at PhP 2500 had we researched more. Anyway, it already includes the boat, lunch, and equipment rental. It does not include underwater shots (therefore bring your own camera) and island entrance fees which are normally at PhP 100 per island / spot per person.

Since I already purchased our snorkeling masks, I insisted on using my own mask than that of the center’s. That was mistake #1, and I’ll tell you more about it in the next blog.

Scuba Diving Coron - Speedo snorkeling masks and the GoPro Hero 3 underwater camera
Scuba Diving Coron – Speedo snorkeling masks and the GoPro Hero 3 underwater camera

So, if you are the ultimate adventurist, then scuba diving should be on your list! (Didn’t that just rhyme?)

Here are

a few things to remember:

Cost: PhP 2800 per pax

Sites: (1) wreck dive – skeleton wreck

(2) coral dive – twin lagoon

Time: Around 7 hours including briefing, travel and lunch

Essentials: Underwater camera (I used the GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition), money for entrance fees

Scuba Diving Coron - diving essential - GoPro Hero3 Underwater Camera
Scuba Diving Coron – diving essential – GoPro Hero3 Underwater Camera

**a sun block won’t be necessary since divers will wear the full wet suits.

**one didn’t have to be a swimmer to dive, especially for intro diving

**don’t forget to breathe through the mouth, pay attention during the briefing. Practice, practice, practice.

Scuba Diving Coron - Me, Joy and Sir Randy at the Skeleton Wreck Site
Scuba Diving Coron – Me, Joy and Sir Randy at the Skeleton Wreck Site

**if possible, choose a diving institution that gives the lowest instructor:diver ratio for maximum coverage and assistance. In our case, it was 1:2

**don’t panic. ask questions. wag pasaway.

Scuba Diving Coron - what you need (included in the package)
Scuba Diving Coron – what you need (included in the package)

On the next blog: the actual wreck and coral dives =)

10 thoughts on “Scuba Diving Coron: Planning Stage”

          1. I went to this place called Key West dive center by Banana Bay. And I’m not sure how much it cost it was one of those boring family vacations that turned out to be not so boring after all lol. It’s amazing if an instructor goes with you

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