The Palawan. We have a love affair with this gorgeous place. This region of the Philippines is what postcard photographers dreams are made of. (Side note: where can we get this job?) Coron itself is a bustling little ocean-side town that is so full of life. This vibrant place is known for tours that bring you to some of the most stunning lagoons in the world. These lagoons attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
It was our mission to find a tranquil place to soak up this piece of paradise. This is when we received a messaged on Instagram that had the answer to endless searching.
We have provided the links for booking the Paolyn Houseboats at the end of this blog post!
PAOLYN HOUSEBOATS
This cluster of houseboats is located in a small lagoon which happens to neighbour one of the most famous lagoons in the region..Twin Lagoons! So close in fact that you can Kayak there! We could not pass up the opportunity to stay here.
The houseboats itself are run by Paolo and his wife April Lyn. Paolo spent a good portion of his life sailing around the world on his sailboat and ended up settling down with his wife in the Philippines! If anyone is an expert about living on a boat, it would be him, which is why we believe this place is so magical! You can tell that the two of them care about this business very much, as they spend the majority of their days here chatting with guests!
HOW TO GET THERE
To get to these magnificent houseboats, you will need to get yourself to Coron Town! You can reach Coron by a short direct flight away from Cebu or Manila! You can also get here via Fast Ferry if you are coming from El Nido!
To get to the houseboat itself, the employees will pick you up in a small motor boat at the Coron Port! They organized a transfer bus from the airport to the port for us. We just had to give them our flight information a few days prior! From there the Coron Airport, it is a short 20 minute boat ride away to the houseboats!
WHAT TO EXPECT
There are three sets of houseboats, all located within in a short kayak ride away from each other. Each houseboat has different variations of rooms! There are rooms with double beds, some with bunk beds and some with family style rooms that include both. Each room is complete with their own bathroom! There are also outdoor showers for your convenience, however you cannot use soap in these!
The main houseboat is where all of the main action happens! On the main floor, there is a restaurant and bar, some common areas, as well as lounge seating in the sun. There is a rooftop deck as well for all of your sun tanning needs!
Because you are staying on this houseboat, this is your only option for food! However, the food here is some of the best food that we ate in the Philippines. They have a rotating menu each day to keep things interesting and everything is reasonably priced, 150-400 php a meal. They also have a wide variety of drink options, including liquor, wine, tea, coffee, juices and purified water!
Tip: The french toast and pancakes at breakfast were so yummy! The freshly squeezed orange juice was unbelievable. And for lunches and dinners we recommend the Chicken Adobo and the Pasta Carbonara!
THINGS TO DO
Although you are staying in the middle of the ocean, there is so much to do in this magnificent paradise! We have listed below some of the activities that we did! The location of this houseboat is incredible. It allows you to have access to some of the most sought after places in Coron, before any other tourist! Just think: quiet lagoons without another person or tour boat in sight!
Snorkeling
If you are looking for a place to snorkel, this is the place to do it! There is a massive coral garden located right at the entrance to the lagoon! The houseboat has masks for you so you do not need to worry about bringing your own! There is also some pretty amazing tropical sea life to see right around the boat too if you did not want to venture far!
Twin Lagoon
Twin Lagoon is one of the most visited lagoons in Coron. And for great reason.. it is insanely beautiful! We visited here via kayak provided by the houseboats. We left at 7AM and arrived there before any other people! It was the most surreal experience! This place is absolutely incredible.
Tip: If you arrive at low tide, you will be able to kayak from one lagoon to the other! Otherwise you will have to climb the stairs separating the two, or swim through the small limestone tunnel!
Boat Tours
The houseboat provides their own speedboat tours to places that are further away from their lagoon for your convenience as it is too far to Kayak! These tours also arrive to these typically tourist packed places, before they open or after they close! There are a variety of half day options that include some of the famous lakes and lagoons as well as white sand beaches and snorkeling opportunities! Here are just a few of the options:
Kayangan Lake
Kayangan Lake is a short speedboat ride away from the houseboats! When you arrive, you will have a short climb of some stairs leading you away from the ocean. You will first arrive at a beautiful lookout point overlooking the cove that you arrived in! After you reach this lookout point, you will follow the staircase down to this unbelievably clear lake! The lake itself is part fresh water and part salt water! This is an amazing place to snorkel as well! We arrived here before any tourist boats did and had about an hour there by ourselves! It was so peaceful.
Barracuda Lake
Not named for sittings of Barracudas, this lake has the clearest water we have ever seen, hands down! It is so clear, you can see all the way to the bottom of the lake which is amazing and slightly terrifying at the same time. We swam here for well over an hour and got some of the best GoPro footage we have ever taken! If you have a GoPro, this is the place to whip it out!
Banul Beach
This magnificent white sand beach is out of a dream. We arrived here very early in the morning and were the only people here aside from the local caretaker and his family! We stood in the crystal clear water for a few minutes before we began exploring because it was so unbelievable. There are many over the ocean huts to seek shade in if it gets too sunny. There is also a small snack shop that the local caretaker runs.
Tip: Paolyn Houseboat tours typically arrive here after other tour boats have left for a beautiful sunset. They have a close relationship with the local tribe that allows them to run these tours before and after their normal hours! Sadly it was raining the night we booked it so we did not get to experience this! Let us know if you do, we want to hear about it!
Tips for Staying at the Houseboats
This houseboat is run completely off grid! They use solar power panels to generate their electricity. Therefore, they ask that you refrain from using any large appliances such as blow dryers and other hair tools! If you plug large items like this in, it will cut off power to the entire boat! Time to embrace the natural hair ladies!
The houseboat uses purified water in their showers and sinks. Because they run on such a limited supply, they ask that out of respect for others to have short showers and to not leave the water running when it is not necessary! They also provide biodegradable soaps to prevent harm to the eco system when the grey water is dumped off site! How cool is that?
Final Thoughts
Coron is a true paradise! It is easy to see why it attracts the masses from far and wide! We are so glad we got this message on Instagram. The Paolyn Houseboats are a hidden gem. They offer you a tranquil piece of paradise in this usually busy place! We love to experience places in unique ways! This is one place that we will definitely be visiting again. Let us know if you end up staying here! We would love to hear your experiences. We hope that you love this place as much as we do!
Booking a stay at paolyn houseboats
Below are all of the links to book the many different rooms that the Houseboat’s have to offer! All of these listed below are through AirBnB.
The Paolyn Houseboat Suite 1
The NEmo room
The Junior Suite
Half Glass HousebOat
Bamboo House-Boat Suite
REnt THe Entire House-Boat
Use our AirBnB code to get $47 off your first booking!
If you would like to book via Booking.com follow the link here!
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