Puerto Princesa is where most Palawan trips begin, because it has the airport with the most flights. Coron is where a good share of them want to end, because Busuanga's lagoons and the Japanese wrecks in Coron Bay are the reason many people came to Palawan at all. The problem is that they sit at opposite ends of the province with open sea between them. Coron is not on Palawan's main island; it is on Busuanga, in the Calamian group to the north, and no road, bridge or scheduled flight joins the two towns directly. Every route between them is either a detour or a private aircraft.
This guide covers the three that actually work, in the order most people try them. The neighbouring hops each have their own page: the highway leg is in Puerto Princesa to El Nido, and the crossing north is in El Nido to Coron.
Option one: the highway to El Nido, then the ferry
The cheapest route is the one most backpackers take, and it costs two days. A shared or private van leaves Puerto Princesa and follows the province's single highway north for five to six hours to El Nido; in rain or peak season it can run longer. The fast ferry from El Nido to Coron sails in the morning, around six o'clock, and takes about four hours across open water past Linapacan, so unless you leave Puerto Princesa well before dawn you will be staying a night in El Nido first. The next morning you are at the pier early, and in Coron town by late morning or lunchtime on day two.
That is not a bad way to see Palawan if El Nido is on your list anyway, and a night in Bacuit Bay is hardly a hardship. It becomes a problem when it isn't: two travel days out of a week-long holiday is a heavy price for a hop that looks like an hour on the map. The ferry is also weather-dependent. When the swell is up in the Linapacan Strait the sailing is cancelled, and the next departure is the next morning. If the van is the part of the plan you want to keep, Diskubre's Puerto Princesa to El Nido transfers are the sister-brand shuttle we point our own customers to.
Option two: fly through Manila
Both airports have several daily flights to the capital, so the scheduled answer is to fly out of Palawan and back into it. Puerto Princesa to Manila is about an hour and a quarter; Manila to Busuanga is about an hour on a turboprop or small jet. Add a connection at NAIA of two to three hours, allowing for a terminal change, and the journey is six to eight hours door to door on a day when everything runs to time. Manila is nearly 600 kilometres north of Puerto Princesa, so the loop flies roughly three times the direct distance to cover a straight line of about 300.
It is reliable and it can be booked months ahead, which is what makes it the default for anyone who plans early. It also costs two fares per person, most of a day, and a real chance of an unplanned Manila hotel if the first flight is late. For a family of four the two fares each add up quickly, which is where the private aircraft starts to look less like a luxury and more like arithmetic.
Option three: the private flight
A chartered light aircraft flies the straight line. From Puerto Princesa the route heads up the coast past the reef flats and inlets of northern Palawan, crosses the strait north of El Nido and descends onto Busuanga, about 75 minutes gate to gate. The aircraft on this leg is a three-seat Cessna 182, priced for the whole aircraft in pesos and dollars before you enter a single detail:
PPS USU
Cessna 182 · up to 3 passengers · 90 kg luggage
Whole aircraft
₱180,000
$2,950
USU PPS
Cessna 182 · up to 3 passengers · 90 kg luggage
Whole aircraft
₱180,000
$2,950
A booking is a request, not a purchase: you choose the date, time and passenger count, the operator confirms availability, and only then does a secure payment link follow. Nothing is charged before confirmation. Split three ways, the whole-aircraft price is the difference between arriving in Coron for lunch and arriving the day after tomorrow; the honest per-person comparison against the airline loop is worked through in how much a private flight in Palawan costs. The route page keeps both directions, the live price and the standard questions in one place: Puerto Princesa to Coron by private aircraft.
Side by side
| Mode | Time | Cost basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van to El Nido + ferry | Two days (overnight in El Nido) | Lowest | Five to six hours on the highway, a night in El Nido, then the 6 am fast ferry of about four hours to Coron. |
| Airline via Manila | 6–8 hours door to door | Two scheduled fares, per seat | Puerto Princesa to NAIA, a connection of two to three hours, then Manila to Busuanga. Flies three times the direct distance. |
| Private flight (Avian) | About 75 minutes | Per aircraft, live above | Any date, your departure time. Lands on Busuanga, 30 to 45 minutes from Coron town. |
| Ship | — | — | No passenger ship runs between Puerto Princesa and Coron. |
Ferry and van times are typical and vary with weather and season; airline times depend on the connection; the private-aircraft time is a typical block time, confirmed at booking.
Arriving on Busuanga
Whichever way you fly, you land at Francisco B. Reyes Airport in the middle of Busuanga Island, not in Coron town. The road into town takes 30 to 45 minutes and shared vans meet every arrival; a private transfer can be arranged when you book. Charter departures use the small general-aviation side of the airport, so arrive 30 to 45 minutes before your time, meet the crew and walk to the aircraft. There are no boarding groups and no security queue worth the name.
If your dates are loose, check the empty-legs board before you price the flight. Aircraft that deliver a group to Coron often reposition back to Puerto Princesa with empty seats, and a repositioning flight on the right day is sold at a steep discount. And if Coron is the last stop rather than the first, the same aircraft can carry on to El Nido on the most scenic half-hour in the country.