Do you believe the little mermaid from fairy tales actually exists? Well, there really is a "mermaid" in the sea! She's nothing like you'd imagine, though — instead of being graceful and enchanting, she's enormous, a bit dopey-looking, and seriously greedy when it comes to food. That creature is none other than the dugong. To see this "mermaid" with our own eyes, we joined a dive trip organized by Enjoy Islands and travelled all the way to North Coron — read on to find out whether luck was on our side for a swim with a dugong!
Article reprinted from: Enjoy Islands
Reprinted in full with permission from Enjoy Islands. Click here for the original article
We set off before the sun had fully risen
At the entrance to the dugong sanctuary, dugong rangers are on duty and will board your boat to help everyone locate the dugongs. Arrive too late and you'll be waiting in line, so make sure you don't sleep in! Each person must pay a 1,500p entry fee to enter the sanctuary. The rangers will also give a briefing on board outlining the rules — please follow them closely, as violations are subject to fines!
The dive guide's outfit — so adorable!
Dugong Sanctuary Rules
- The dugong sanctuary is closed every Sunday — no entry permitted
- A minimum of Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification is required for scuba diving trips
- When entering the water, you must use the ladder only — jumping in is strictly prohibited, as it may startle the dugongs
- Maintain a distance of at least 5 metres from the dugongs; if you get too close, a ranger will swim over to remind you
- Touching the dugongs is absolutely forbidden, and violators will face heavy fines
- In-water time with the dugongs is approximately 15–20 minutes; the rangers will time your session and let you know when it's time to head back up
Swimming with Dugongs Is No Dream
The dugong rangers enter the water first and begin scanning for dugongs. Once one is spotted, they raise their hand — but they won't call out, as loud noises can easily frighten the animals. Here's a little tip: gear up in advance and keep your eyes on the rangers at all times. The moment a hand goes up, head straight down the ladder and get ready to meet a dugong!
Dugongs may look massive, but they're surprisingly agile and fast swimmers. They surface to breathe roughly every five minutes, so getting a good photo basically means chasing one around — which is genuinely exhausting. But when your subject is such a rare and charming "mermaid," a little extra effort is absolutely worth it!
The adorable dugong (with a dugong ranger just behind it)
The easiest way to tell a dugong apart from a manatee is by looking at the tail
A dugong heading up to breathe
Isn't that a silt-kicker diver?
Dugongs feed primarily on plants growing along the seabed — the roots, stems, and leaves of various seagrass species, along with some algae — and they often consume entire plants whole. Watching a dugong eat is oddly therapeutic. Like a living vacuum cleaner, they use their mouths to dig through the sandy bottom, frequently stirring up so much sediment that visibility drops dramatically. They truly earn the title of "silt-kicker diver"!
https://youtu.be/tDjoRZNx6mw?si=70t7c_su4qBT3wEm
One Island, One Hotel — Our Top Accommodation Pick in North Coron
Many visitors to Coron choose to stay in the livelier South Coron, but doing so means waking up at around 4
a.m. and enduring a roughly 3–4 hour boat ride to reach the dugong sanctuary. On this trip we opted instead for the private-island resort El Rio Y Mar in North Coron. The on-site dive shop is Dugong Dive Center, run by a German operator and located right within the resort grounds. Best of all, the resort is less than 2 hours by boat from the sanctuary — very convenient!
Being a private-island resort, it has everything you could want — gym, billiards room, reading room, swimming pool, bar, and more. There's no shortage of things to do, with a full range of leisure activities waiting for you to enjoy.
The resort serves a buffet breakfast daily, with lunch and dinner also available, so you'll never go hungry. One thing especially worth mentioning: the hotel bar runs a buy-one-get-one Happy Hour every day from 4
p.m. to 7 p.m., with a great selection of cocktails to choose from. We tried six different cocktails and not a single one disappointed — highly recommended! Don't forget to stop by for a drink before dinner.
Watching the sunset with a cocktail in hand after a dive — pure bliss for any diver!
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