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The Malcapuya Banana Loop is a tour that every beach lover should do when in Coron. Despite tackling only three islands, all of them have gorgeous beaches that will surely drain your camera’s battery (unless it runs out of card space first).

In this tour, you will visit three beaches: Malcapuya Island, Banana Island and Bulog Dos Island. The boatmen will determine the order based on the tide by the time you get to the area.

This tour should start early. Preferably before 8 AM because going there takes 30 minutes and you want to travel in calm waters. The beaches are only about 10 minutes away from each other.

You can ditch your snorkels and fish food and bring lots of snacks and drinks instead. You can store your drinks inside the boat’s cooler. Prepare to bum most of the day if you’re not swimming or taking photos.

Bulog Dos Island

Our first stop was Bulog Dos Island. It was the most beautiful piece of beach that I have ever seen. Period! Not because of the sand which isn’t as fine as Boracay but the place is very unique and private (we were the only ones there).

It is only a small stretch of an island with a low sandbar in the middle which is swallowed up during high tide. The water here is crystal clear but we were warned not to swim because stingrays inhabit the waters.

There are gorgeous rock formations in the island making it a very nice place for photo ops.

The waves hammer the rocks on the other side of the island which protects the other side where the water is calm and clean.

There’s also a small hut here if you wish to spend more time but after taking all the photos that we can, we moved on to our next destination. The island isn’t as nice when the tide gets high.

Banana Island

Banana Beach is where our boat guide planned to serve our lunch. We were the first to arrive in the island and we sequestered the only hut with a hammock and lounge chairs.

We just chilled, took some more photos and ate some snacks while they prepared our lunch (freshly grilled).

You should definitely eat without utensils at the beach. It’s more enjoyable that way.

After a hearty meal. We dozed off a bit before taking a dip at around 2PM. The sand in the water is a bit rough on the feet but you can’t stay away from the cool water when the weather’s hot.

Malcapuya Island

Our mistake here is that we spent too much time at Banana Island. Malcapuya Island is more beautiful and we were pressed for time because we need to leave before the trip back gets too choppy.

Anyway, we dropped anchor far from the beach because the tide was low and the boat can’t cross the weedy patch to get to the shore.

It was ok though since we enjoyed swimming in the deep water where we anchored. Thank you Sony for lending us the marine pack. We had fun taking photos while in the water.

Finally, we made our way to the beach. Our gear (stored in a waterproof bag) and afternoon snacks were transported via the cooler box by one of our guides. This swim may be a turn off to some because you will be crossing a weedy patch near the shore and it’s a bit tricky to get a firm footing in this area.

Some boats have a small canoe to transport their guests to and from the beach but ours don’t. Might want to consider that when planning a trip to Malcapuya Island.

In the island, you will be rewarded with fine, powdery, white sand.

Farther on one side of the island is a cozy place which gives you shade from the afternoon sun and offers privacy from the main area of the island. Perfect place to enjoy some snacks and drinks with friends to pass away the time.

It was really a fun day with loads of beautiful photos. Allow me to share some more with you:

These are definitely must-go places in Coron. Every time we arrive in a beach we never fail to say “Whoaaa! Ang ganda!”.

Good thing that we changed our plans 2 days before. Our original plan was the Gutob Bay loop which only gives us more snorkeling opportunities so we decided to do the beach loop as our 2nd trip instead. Very well worth it!

This concludes my guide of our Coron trip. I hope you would be able to plan yours much better and experience the place

There are other beautiful beaches left to explore (North Cay) and places to snorkel and dive that going back to Coron for a second time should always be welcomed.

A couple of photos were taken from Li and Jai’s camera.

• A Vacation Trip to Coron Part 4: Coron Island Loop
• A Vacation Trip to Coron Part 1: The Plan
• A Vacation Trip to Coron Part 3: Amphibi-ko Resort
• A Vacation Trip to Coron Part 2: The Town

Filed under: Travel