One of the world's best places for wreck diving
Coron belongs to the Calamian islands, located in north west of the Philippines (Palawan). The wreck diving Mecca.
It is impressive to discover the shipwrecks and with it, traces of history from World War II.
But there is not only this to discover : those sunken ships are full of marine life, covered in beautiful corals and home to countless species.
Therefore, a paradise for divers !
Coron is as well famous because of Barracuda Lake. This dive is definitely unique and easy diving for all levels.
At the surface, the water is 30+ degrees, about 40 degrees around 12 meters and 35 degrees below 22 meters.
It is good fun to experience this thermocline.
On top of this, this lake is a mix of fresh and salt water which causes halocline. A really blurry mirror effect layout is the result of this.
WONDERful !
HISTORY
Most likely everybody has heard about the battle of the pacific during the World War II, such as Pearl Harbor.
What some may not know is, in 1944 the Japanese fleat located around the Calamian islands, has been fired and defeated by the American air force.
As the result, there is an important concentration of shipwrecks in the Coron bay.
A total of 8 shipwrecks are about one hour navigation from the city.
We could think that they are quite deep, but not at all.
Some are even visible from the surface and during low tide, one of the ship's bow is looking out of the water.
The deepest ship, the food supplier "Irako", lies on around 40m.
The biggest wreck, our favourite, was a Japanese oil tanker named "Okikawa" and she is about 165 meter long. Impressive!
Those wrecks are already more than 70 years below the surface and because everything in the ocean belong to the ocean, nature took back its right.
They are still in really good condition for wreck diving though. Old tires, cables, machine guns, bomb shells, oil barrels, engines, a tractor, toilets and even a shoe sole are examples of the things you can find.
MARINE LIFE
The marine life surrounding the wreck is really rich.
Big schools of Barracudas, Batfish, Jackfish, Snappers and all sorts of Nudibranches to just mention a few of the WONDERS to meet down there.
Shipwreck make a good shelter for scorpionfish, crocodilefish, lionfish, bluespotted ribbontail stingray, moray eels and many other species.
Some of them are poisonous and can burn your fingers if touched. So remember : Don't touch anything - as always.
Not only to avoid getting harmed, but also not to harm.
If you need to make contact with your surrounding for safety reasons, be very careful where to place your hands.
Last but not least also because the wrecks can have sharp edges.
DIVING TIPS
There are different wrecks around, suiting all experience levels.
Even if some wreck are accessible for beginners, we think the most interesting one lay deeper than 20 meters, as they have remained more complete.
We recommend to be or to become at least advanced diver to get the most out of your diving experience.
Doing an advanced course there can be good fun.
It is very important to keep a good buoyancy control, as stirring up the bottom can lead to very, very poor visibility when penetrate the wreck. This can be a real problem.
The good news, it is almost impossible to get trapped inside the ships. In nearly every room there is a whole where you can escape outside.
Nevertheless, it is good to choose a reliable dive shop with experienced guides to penetrate the wrecks. Deco dives are not unusual.
To dive with Nitrox can be really useful on some of the wreck dives.
DIVE SHOP of our choice
Finally, we spend 4 weeks like out of an history book, exploring this amazing shipwrecks with Corto Divers.
We highly recommend Corto divers to everyone visiting Coron.
You will find a WONDERful team with a contagious good mood, a comfortable and spacious boat, absolutely yummy lunch and knowledgeable guides. Hence safe and fun wreck diving.
We stayed just above the dive shop where they have a nice apartment with 4 bed rooms, common kitchen, living room with TV, bathroom with hot and cold water and a great view from the big terrace.
Price vs. value is unbeatable! (1200 pesos/night with aircon)
Thank you Olivier and the whole team for unforgettable last moments in the Philippines, after living in this country several years.
We had a WONDERful time!
2 Responses
Cyprus diving
We love your content. Regards from Pissouri Bay Divers from Cyprus!
bluewonders
Hi Cyprus Diving 🙂
Thanks a lot for your nice comment. We are happy to hear that!
Warm Regards, Samira & Sylvain