El Nido to Coron Boat Tour – Our Honest Review
TL;DR
We went on the 3D2N El Nido – Linapacan - Coron island hopping tour with Keelooma. Here’s our personal and honest review:
For many travellers including ourselves, a boat trip from El Nido to Coron is the highlight of their time in the Philippines. While our tour was great, it was not perfect.
We went on the 3D2N El Nido – Linapacan - Coron voyage with Keelooma. Here’s our honest review:
- How to Get from El Nido to Coron
- El Nido to Coron Island Hopping – Review
- What Can You Expect on an El Nido to Coron Expedition?
- Boat Trip El Nido to Coron – The People
- Stops Between El Nido and Coron
- The Boat from El Nido to Coron
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Camps
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Bathrooms
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – Power and Internet
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Food
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Best Time to Travel
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – What to Pack
- How to Get to and from the Boat
- El Nido to Coron Voyage – Our Personal Summary
How to Get from El Nido to Coron
You have three main options to travel from El Nido to Coron:
- The ferry (around 45-60$)
- Flying (around 80$)
- El Nido to Coron tour (280$)
El Nido to Coron Cost
While 280$ may seem like a lot, this price includes the transfer, two nights of accommodation, all meals, as well as 3 days’ worth of activities.
We paid an average of 55$ per day for accommodation, food, and a tour in the Philippines.
3 days x 55$ = 165$ + 80$ for the flight = 245$ so as you can see, the cost of 280$ for this expedition is not excessive.
El Nido to Coron Island Hopping – Review
As we mentioned before, we went on the 3D2N voyage with Keelooma (this post is in no way sponsored).
What Can You Expect on an El Nido to Coron Expedition?
You can expect beautiful secluded islands, deserted beaches, amazing snorkelling, Robinson Crusoe camps, and delicious food.
You can also expect loud music (almost all through the night) and quite a bit of drinking.
Boat Trip El Nido to Coron – The People
Keelooma is a big company. When we arrived at the office, we were split into two groups. There were around 20 people in our group. Most people in our group were significantly younger than us. The older travellers were around 26 and many were 18-19.
Our tour guide was amazing and tried to accommodate everybody as much as possible.
Stops Between El Nido and Coron
What to see when travelling from El Nido to Coron? There are no big sights, just pristine nature.
Expect around three stops per day. On most stops, there was an option to snorkel or swim to a nearby beach. Masks and snorkels were provided.
The snorkelling was really nice. There were large schools of fish and the reef looked mostly healthy. On the downside, there were a lot of (harmless but annoying) jellyfish.
The beaches were amazing. Most of the time, our boat was the only boat around and even if there were other boats, there were never a lot of people on the beaches.
We had ample time at each stop and it never felt rushed.
The Boat from El Nido to Coron
The boat was on the smaller side and there was not enough space for everybody to sit comfortably. Additionally, before the trip, we weren’t aware that we travelled in the wavy season (March) and some people had to sit on the lower deck to balance the boat. There was no chance to stay dry on the lower deck.
The lunchtime table was also a bit cramped.
The restroom was tiny but did its job.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Camps
Keelooma owns multiple camps and you don’t know which one you’ll get in advance.
Our camps were seriously amazing. We slept in huts with sea views which came equipped with power outlets, lights, fans, and mosquito nets. The beds were super comfortable.
There were plenty of opportunities to relax in hammocks or bean bags. For sporty people, there were basketball hoops and a volleyball court.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Bathrooms
In contrast to our expectations, there were proper bathrooms with running water and proper toilets and showers.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – Power and Internet
There was plenty of power to charge your phone and other small appliances in the evenings. Power was cut in the night though.
There is no WiFi in the camps and don’t expect to be able to use mobile data. There is a chance you might have a connection though.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Food
The food was seriously amazing. We got three meals per day as well as snacks. The meals were served buffet style and there was mostly enough of everything for everyone. There were plenty of vegetarian, fish, and meat options.
There was also plenty of drinking water, coffee, and some ice tea.
While Keelooma clearly states that there are free-flowing non-alcoholic drinks, there was also free-flowing rum and coke in the evenings as well as beer for sale.
FYI: There are small shops on the islands where you can buy as much rum and coke as you can drink.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – the Best Time to Travel
For this voyage, you do not only have to consider the dry season (December to May) and the wet season (May to November) but also the wavy season.
The wavy season starts in December and ends in March. Unfortunately, it mostly coincides with the dry season. When we travelled in March, it was pretty choppy.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – What to Pack
Honestly, you don’t need a lot. Leave your big luggage on the boat and only take a small day bag with you. All of our luggage (including our laptop) was kept dry and safe on the boat.
Keep your personal belongings for the night in a dry bag. You don’t need much except for dry clothes, personal toiletries, and a charger. Everything else – including towels – is provided for you.
How to Get to and from the Boat
You can easily reach the Keelooma office by tricycle from El Nido Town (around 250 PHP). There’s a bus transfer from the office to the boat.
In Coron Town, a tricycle from the port to your accommodation in the centre costs around 200 PHP.
El Nido to Coron Voyage – Our Personal Summary
Was this tour the highlight of our time in the Philippines? Yes! Was it perfect? No. Would we do it again? Absolutely. However maybe next time, we would spend more money to go with Tao.
Why? While the camps were out of this world, the food delicious, the organisation great, and the stops perfect, we didn’t vibe with our group.
Maybe we were just unlucky, maybe this is the kind of travellers Keelooma attracts – we don’t know. We were expecting to gaze at the stars and fall asleep to the sounds of the waves.
Instead, we tried to fall asleep to the sounds of people partying to 90s songs – and their singing along making their way through our earplugs.
While our Robinson Crusoe experience was almost perfect throughout the days, it was more than lacking at night – we are just too old to not get a good night's sleep.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. We paid for the tour ourselves and do not receive any compensation for this blog post.
