Coron, Palawan 2026: Your Guide to ATMs & Currency Exchange

Exploring Coron, Palawan, Philippines

ATM Withdrawals and Currency Exchange

Hello, global explorers! Jaeyi here!

I'm currently exploring the incredible Palawan, Philippines,

and I wanted to share some insights that might help those of you

planning a trip to Coron!

There's a saying that goes, 'El Nido for what's above the water, Coron for what's beneath'...

and seriously, the water colors are absolutely insane! ㅠㅠ

I personally went on tours in both Coron and El Nido,

and the results were beyond satisfying!

How to get to Coron?

I made a brief stopover in Manila

before taking Philippine Airlines to Coron,

arriving via Busuanga Airport!

The airport also goes by another name: Francisco B. Reyes Airport!

While it's often called Busuanga Airport, its address technically

places it within Coron.

Anyway, if you're looking to get to Coron!

And you're flying in!

Then Busuanga Airport is your gateway.

There are no direct flights from Korea to Coron (Busuanga Airport),

so a layover is always required!

Most travelers usually make a layover in Cebu or Manila,

but for me, having only explored Boracay in the Philippines before,

I decided to spend a couple of days in Manila before heading over!

I'll delve into more details about how to get to Coron

in a future post, if the opportunity arises!

Exploring Palawan, Philippines: Currency Exchange and ATM Withdrawals?

On this trip, I flew into Manila and explored

the stunning Palawan island group, including

Puerto Princesa, Coron, and El Nido!

Coron is part of the Calamianes Archipelago,

within the 23 municipalities of Palawan Province.

Being a municipality in the Philippines, it means you'll need

to be ready to embrace a certain level of inconvenience...

Last year, when I traveled to Thailand, even the smallest street vendors

accepted QR code payments. In contrast,

in the Philippines, even in the capital city of Manila,

card payments were rarely an option outside of department stores.

Not even at convenience stores!!!

But get this: Coron doesn't even have convenience stores...

Anyway, I thoroughly scoured various blogs, cafes, and travel communities

to find out how people manage currency exchange when traveling in the Philippines.

I'd seen many reports about safety concerns in Manila,

particularly outside of specific areas, so I decided

to exchange only a portion of my money beforehand and rely on ATM withdrawals once there!

But as it turned out... even after using my card (Travelog) wherever possible in Manila,

I found myself running dangerously low on cash during my Coron trip,

so I had no choice but to attempt an ATM withdrawal...!

Failing ATM Withdrawals Every Single Day

in Coron...?

What truly scared me was stumbling upon countless reviews from travelers

in both Coron and El Nido who had repeatedly failed to withdraw cash from ATMs.

There were various reasons, from power outages

to ATMs running out of cash...!

When you search for 'Coron ATM' on Google Maps,

you'll see results like this:

After asking the owner of a Korean restaurant, where I practically ate every day

during my Coron trip, I decided to head to BPI!

When withdrawing cash in the Philippines, there's a withdrawal fee

of 250 pesos per transaction, which is about ~$4.

Typically, the maximum withdrawal amount varies by ATM;

some allow 10,000 pesos, while others permit 20,000 pesos!

So, if you plan to withdraw more than 10,000 pesos,

it's definitely to your advantage to withdraw the maximum amount possible in one go!

BPI: Where You Can Withdraw

Up to 20,000 Pesos

That's why the Korean restaurant owner recommended BPI,

where you can withdraw up to 20,000 pesos...!

However, I realized that getting 20,000 pesos wasn't the main concern;

the priority was just being able to withdraw any cash at all.

I went there trembling with fear, having read numerous accounts of people

taking four days to make a withdrawal, or even begging for cash at cafes because they had none left...

Coron Town is quite small, so BPI bank was just a quick walk away!!

Looking directly at the BPI bank, you'll spot two ATM machines on the wall!

I used the left machine at the time, and it required me to insert the card first!

The PIN is 6 digits long; you'll just need to add '00' to the end of your usual PIN.

Example) If your password is 1234,

enter 123400 as your PIN!

After that, you just need to enter the amount you want to withdraw.

The touchscreen wasn't very responsive,

so I recommend using the keypad below!!

Oh, and another important thing here is the fee!

A 250 peso fee will be charged, so your balance needs to have

the withdrawal amount PLUS 250 pesos

remaining!

In other words, if you want to withdraw 20,000 pesos,

you need to have a balance of 20,250 pesos for it to be successful!

And drumroll, please....

And... it came out? Just like that, so easily...?

And with crisp, new bills too...

It's great that it worked out well,

but I was so nervous that it felt a bit anticlimactic (?).

Of course!!

If you're a "power J" (a super planner) or someone who hates unnecessary worrying,

and you're confident in managing your money,

then I recommend exchanging to dollars beforehand and then

double-exchanging to pesos in the Philippines!

However, since everyone travels to different regions and for different durations,

don't forget to keep this in mind when getting information

from blogs or cafes!

For your information, the fee exemption mentioned in the Travelog app's Hana Money

seems to refer to the benefit of waiving foreign merchant and overseas ATM withdrawal exchange fees,

thanks to the 100% preferential exchange rate for Philippine Pesos!

I withdrew 16,000 pesos from BPI Bank in Coron,

and 16,250 pesos (including fees) was charged to the card!

Philippine Travel Currency Exchange,

How Much Should I Exchange?

Finally, before wrapping up, you might all be wondering

how much currency to exchange for your Philippines trip...

As I mentioned above, it really depends on the individual (사바사)...

it varies by each traveler's style!

The most important thing is that, first of all, the cost of living in the Philippines

isn't cheap compared to other Southeast Asian countries!!

If you search based on some of the restaurants that often come up

when you look for Coron hotspots,

you can check out their menus on Google Maps like this!

If you're not going to super cheap places, you can generally expect to pay

around 300-400 pesos per dish (~$5 to ~$7)

as a basic cost!

Plus, when you factor in various other costs like massages, tour fees, small tips,

tricycle (tuk-tuk) rides, and entrance fees for specific tour areas, I personally felt like

I spent more money than in Thailand or Vietnam!

It would be great to fully consider your travel style –

what kind of trip you're aiming for, what kind of food you want to eat, and so on –

to plan your budget and decide on your exchange amount!

Although I bumped into a rock during a tour today and

bled a little, I'm grateful to be safely traveling

day by day without any major issues, and I wanted to share this experience!!

The truly beautiful underwater world of Coron

will be covered in more detail in another post next time!

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#PhilippinesTravel #CoronTravel #PalawanTravel

#CoronATM #CoronWithdrawal #PhilippinesCurrencyExchange

#TravelogATM #PhilippinesATM #CoronBPI