Coron, Philippines

1. Kayangan Lake

Directions

Quick facts: Clear, mirrorlike water reveals sheer limestone cliffs and an underwater thermocline that makes shallow layers feel warm while deeper zones stay cool. A steep ladder and a short scramble take you to a viewpoint where emerald lagoons and jagged karst formations compose a famously photogenic island panorama.

Highlights: Climb a short stone stair and peer down into a bowl of glassy, mint-green water where you can pick out silver fish and pale limestone boulders 2 to 3 meters beneath the surface. Some local boatmen still tell a quirky story about a wooden ladder that used to have exactly 72 steps, so if you arrive around 6:00 AM you might catch the cliffs glowing gold and hear guides trade the tale while the water smells faintly of salt and algae.

2. Twin Lagoon

Directions

Quick facts: Turquoise water funnels through a narrow limestone gap, creating two connected pools where swimmers slip from sunlit warmth into cool, shadowed blue. Visitors often paddle or snorkel above hidden coral ledges and can squeeze through a low tunnel at calm tides, making the whole experience feel like a secret swim-through postcard.

Highlights: Swim through a narrow gap of limestone roughly 1.5 meters wide at low tide, then surface into a sunlit turquoise pool where the water feels markedly cooler and the walls drip with ferns and bright orange barnacles. Seasoned boatmen often shout a short, playful cue to time the passage around the tide, and at noon the sun slices through the gorge in golden beams that turn the water into liquid glass.

3. Barracuda Lake

Directions

Quick facts: A dive there feels surreal because warm freshwater floats over denser saltwater, creating sharp thermoclines and haloclines where temperatures and buoyancy can change suddenly. Limestone cliffs and underwater pinnacles catch slanting light, producing eerie reflections and otherworldly scenery that draws experienced divers seeking a unique mix of calm waters and dramatic submerged landscapes.

Highlights: Sun-warmed fresh water at about 28–30°C sits on top of a sheet of salty, 18–20°C water, so when you duck down past the halocline at roughly 3 to 6 meters your ears pop and a sudden salty chill bites your skin while light fractures into rippling, watercolor bands. Local guides have a playful rite where they count down "tres, dos, uno" before nudging nervous divers through the glassy boundary, and many swear the halocline makes your breath sound like a piano note as the bubbles stretch and shimmer.

4. Siete Pecados Marine Park

Directions

Official website

Quick facts: Bright coral gardens ripple beneath glass‑clear water, so snorkelers feel like they're drifting through a tiny underwater cathedral where clownfish and anemones put on a show. A cluster of shallow islets hosts easy-access dive spots that consistently draw sea turtles, schooling fusiliers, and dramatic coral bommies ideal for beginner divers.

Highlights: At low tide the shallow coral plateau reveals over 20 resident hawksbill and green turtles napping beneath a filigree of staghorn coral, their flippers and shell ridges flashing bronze in sunbeams that reach 10 to 15 meters down. Local boatmen still ring a battered brass bell called 'Tita's Bell' before each snorkel, a quirky tradition started by a fisherman named Carlo in 1978 who believed the sound calmed the sea, and you can smell diesel and coconut oil in the warm morning air as guides pass around slices of mango for luck.

5. Maquinit Hot Springs

Directions

Official website

Quick facts: Steaming mineral pools nestled among mangroves blend geothermal warmth with seawater, producing a relaxing, naturally salty soak that's surprisingly warm even at low tide. Visit after dusk and you'll find twinkling stars, quieter crowds, and the gentle chorus of water and night insects amplifying the calm.

Highlights: Warm, salty thermal water that reaches about 40°C flows into a mangrove-fringed lagoon, so you can slide between steaming pools and quick, 28°C seawater plunges for a bracing shock. Local families often time evening soaks for sunset, trading gossip and small grilled snacks under dim lamps while kids hop across the limestone shelves revealed at low tide.

6. Mount Tapyas (Mt. Tapyas)

Directions

Quick facts: Sweeping limestone karst and a patchwork of blue lagoons unfold after climbing roughly 700 stone steps, offering one of the most dramatic lookout points above the harbor. Photographers covet the summit's golden silhouettes, and the climb rewards you with salty sea breezes plus cold coconut water sold by vendors at the base.

Highlights: You climb 724 weathered stone steps to reach a summit crowned by a large white cross, where the wind carries a salty spray and the panorama opens onto jagged limestone karsts and cobalt lagoons. At dusk locals and visitors alike pause to light small candles and tie bright ribbons to the railings, a simple ritual said to honor lost fishermen and add a soft clinking soundtrack to the sunset.

7. Coron Bay Wrecks (WWII Japanese shipwrecks, e.g., Okikawa Maru)

Directions

Official website

Quick facts: A diver can drift through coral-cloaked hulls where beams of sunlight turn cargo holds into ghostly, photogenic chambers, while curious fish dart through broken portholes. More than a dozen steel wrecks lie in surprisingly shallow water, so snorkelers and photographers can get intimate shots of propellers, boilers, and lace-like rust patterns.

Highlights: Beneath glassy water, a 120-meter steel hull yawns open at around 30 meters depth, its cargo holds still strewn with rusted Mitsubishi truck frames and lacquered sake bottles, while sunlight through the gun emplacements makes suspended silt glow like slow snow. Local divers have a quirky tradition of slipping a tiny paper crane into the officer's cabin as a good-luck offering, and at dawn schools of trevally and a giant bumphead parrotfish patrol the wreck like noisy commuters.

8. Black Island (Coron)

Directions

Quick facts: Sun-warmed limestone cliffs hide a maze of caves and a glassy lagoon where snorkelers float above vivid coral gardens and darting schools of neon fish. A breezy ridge grants panoramic sunset views that burst in orange and magenta, and local guides often boast of visibility over 20 meters on calm days so you can see underwater life with crystal clarity.

Highlights: At low tide you can crawl through a narrow limestone tunnel about 20 meters long where a single shaft of sunlight slashes the water into a jewel-like turquoise, and the cave hums with the quiet flutter of dozens of bats. Locals keep a quirky tradition of leaving painted glass bottles on the black pebble shore, each one stamped with a name and year, some fading back more than 30 years like tiny time capsules.

9. Malcapuya Island

Directions

Quick facts: Powdery white sand unfurls like a soft carpet along crescent beaches, while clear water shifts from pale turquoise to deep sapphire and reveals lively coral gardens. Visitors snorkel right off the sand to spot colorful reef fish and graceful rays, and the whole island is small enough to circle on foot in under 30 minutes.

Highlights: Imagine walking on sugar-white sand that squeaks underfoot, the water fanning out in three glassy bands of pale aquamarine, turquoise, and deep cobalt under a noon sun. At low tide a thin sandbar appears, inviting you to a tiny palm-fringed spit where battered banca boats painted blue and red bob like toy ships, and if you listen closely you can hear fishermen trading names and tall tales in quick Tagalog while seabirds circle overhead.

10. Banana Island (and nearby Bulog Dos Island)

Directions

Quick facts: Palm-framed beaches give way to a sugar-white sandbar that shimmers at low tide, creating a perfect shallow playground for wading and sunset photos. Beneath glass-clear water, snorkelers find vibrant coral gardens, bustling schools of reef fish, and the occasional green turtle gliding through the shallows.

Highlights: At low tide a narrow white sandbar links the two islets for roughly 10 to 15 minutes, the water ankle-to-knee shallow and so clear you can count bright orange starfish and see juvenile trevally glinting below. Local families keep a quirky tradition of leaving tiny hand-painted shells signed with names and years, like 'Ana 2007' and 'Mang Jose 2014', tucked beneath the palms, and fishermen sometimes blow conch shells at dusk to call everyone back for an impromptu grill of freshly caught fish.