A Night in Malcapuya Island, Coron

Most people come to Malcapuya Island in Coron on day trips. This lovely island is about 1.5 hours away by boat from the Coron town proper. It’s close to some other small islands like Banana Island (which has a short strip of white sand beach) and Bulog Island (which has a short sandbar during low tide). Thanks to tour operator Kawil Tours, we had the chance to stay on Malcapuya Island overnight. Except for a few friendly beach dogs, our guides, and the island’s caretakers, we had the beach pretty much to ourselves.

As the sun set the night before, we docked on a rocky coast on the north side of the island. From there, we took a short walk to the main beach on the south side, which has a long stretch of soft white sand and a few cottages along the shore. On the left side of the beach, there’s a small cliff where you can get a great view of two sides of the island.

I’m not really a morning person. My normal routine in Manila involves sleeping way past midnight and starting my day at around 9 or 10 in the morning. It’s only when I travel that I wake up really excited for a new day. Catching the sunrise on this island after our island-hopping trip around Coron and before we headed to Culion was a lovely way to start the day. Here are a few snapshots and some tips below on staying in Malcapuya island overnight.

Staying Overnight in Malcapuya Island:

• Our room for the night was a simple cottage by the beach, an enclosed thatched hut with an electric fan and a mattress on the floor. Cost for cottage rental was P750/person.
• There are two restrooms with open air showers a few meters away from the huts.
• The island does not have electricity, but they have a generator which provides light and electricity at night.
• There are outlets in the huts where you can charge phones and camera batteries.
• You can also opt to stay in a simple house-for-rent on an elevated portion a few meters from the shoreline, which has a single room, basic yet comfortable beds, and a decent restroom.
• Things to bring: insect-repellent lotion, a hammock, beach blanket, flashlight, basic toiletries, sunblock, snacks, drinking water
• There’s a small sari-sari store on the island where chips, drinks & beer are sold. However, it’s best to bring your own food for cooking for dinner. The best meal of our whole Coron-Culion trip (including all the overpriced restaurants in Coron) was the freshly grilled prawns on the beach prepared by Elee of Kawil Tours.