Your own boat, guide and crew for a day of lakes, reefs and beaches around Coron Island, with lunch cooked on board. The private boat hire from Marugen Tourist Boat is rated 4.9 from more than 800 reviews and started from $117 per group of up to two in October 2026. On its customizable option you pay each stop's entrance fee in cash on the day; three fixed itineraries on the same listing include the fees.
The private boat hire from Marugen Tourist Boat puts your group on its own boat with a guide and crew for a full day out of Coron Town, and the crew cooks lunch on board. It started from $117 per group of up to two when we checked on 21 October 2026, with $130 shown struck through beside it.
The calendar below lists all four options, each priced for your group size. The listing currently offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
A boat, guide and crew for your party only, meeting at Lualhati Park at 7:30 AM. Pick up to seven stops from the operator's list, or one of three fixed itineraries: Ultimate, Island Escapade, or Reefs & Wrecks. Lunch is cooked on board and eaten on a beach.
Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake are on Coron Island, across the bay from town, and you can only reach them by boat. On the customizable option you pick up to seven stops from the operator's list of 14. Besides the three lakes, the list has Pukaway Cave and its underground lagoon, Skeleton Wreck, Coral Garden, Siete Pecados and smaller beaches such as Banol and CYC.
Most island-hopping boats leave town at about the same time and run similar loops, so the best-known stops get busy when they arrive together. On a private boat the guide can change the order. Recent reviews regularly mention reaching the lakes ahead of the shared boats, and several groups had a stop almost to themselves.
We haven't been on this boat ourselves. This page draws on the Marugen listing and its four options, and on recent reviews in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, read for what the day costs once you are on board and how much depends on the guide. Before you book, there are five things to know about this boat:
The fee list and the seven-stop limit are both in the listing's full description, which stays collapsed unless you open it. About 95% of reviews give five stars, and fewer than one in fifty gives fewer than four.
The private boat makes the most sense for couples, families and small groups who want to choose their own stops and timing. Per person, it costs more than the shared Ultimate tour.
You meet the guide at 7:30 AM at the "I AM CORON" sign by the entrance to Lualhati Park. There is no hotel pickup, so you make your own way there, for example by tricycle.
On some departures the day starts at the market, where you help choose what goes into lunch, and the crew sorts out kayak and fin hire before leaving. The boat transfer from the park is listed at 15 minutes.
The listing gives 8 to 9 hours, returning around 5 PM. Reported finishing times run from about 3:45 PM to a full nine-hour day. The order of stops can change with the weather and the sea.
Reviewers describe a guide, a captain and one or two more crew, who cook lunch between stops. Some boats are family-run: AJ's parents captain and cook on his, and Norie works with her husband, Jon Jon. Hector, Edison, Hazel, AJ and Jonel are the guides named most in 2026 reviews, and a few guides freedive and take your camera down for underwater shots.
A private boat covers one day on Coron Island. For the rest of a stay in Coron, Malcapuya Island and Banana Island make a beach day farther out, divers can spend a day on the Second World War wrecks in Coron Bay, and Mount Tapyas and Maquinit Hot Springs fill an afternoon in town without a boat.
On the customizable option, every stop has its own entrance fee per person, paid in cash. The listing gives these fees:
| Stop | Fee per person |
|---|---|
| Pukaway Cave | ₱600 |
| Kayangan Lake | ₱300 |
| Barracuda Lake | ₱250 |
| Twin Lagoon | ₱200 |
| Banol Beach | ₱200 |
| Skeleton Wreck, Coral Garden, Hidden Lagoon | ₱150 each |
| Dimanglet, Smith, Atwayan and Vivian beaches | ₱150 each |
| Siete Pecados | ₱100 |
| CYC Beach | Free |
A six-stop day with the three lakes, Coral Garden, Skeleton Wreck and Banol Beach comes to ₱1,250 per person, about $20 at current exchange rates.
Kayak hire is extra, and two reviewers paid ₱1,500 for one, about $24. The listing includes lunch, but on market-start days some groups bought the ingredients themselves: a group of three said they spent about ₱1,000. Ask your guide on WhatsApp whether the market shopping is covered.
Two groups of four reported ₱4,600 and ₱6,900 for the day's extras. Value for money is scored 4.8 out of 5. The guide and transport are both scored 4.9, and most of the four-star reviews that mention money are about these extra costs. If you would rather pay once, book one of the fixed itineraries.
Kayangan Lake has the viewpoint in many photographs of Coron, and a swim in the lake beyond the ridge. A flight of steps climbs to the viewpoint and drops down to the water on the other side, so the stop involves a short, steep climb.
Arriving early helps, because a private boat can be there before the shared tours. One crew showed their group a small cave and a tunnel to swim through. Our guide to Coron's lakes and lagoons has more on the climb.
Twin Lagoon is two lagoons divided by a limestone wall. You swim or paddle through a gap under the rock, which one reviewer said can only be reached at low tide, or use the steps beside it.
Kayaks divide opinion here. One reviewer said you'll miss out on the lagoons without one, while another group never used the kayak they paid for. Ask the guide about the tide that morning before you hire one.
Barracuda Lake is known for the limestone formations under the surface, and one guide took GoPro footage there for his group. One group lost the stop because the crew had trouble mooring the boat, so it helps to have a backup in mind.
The operator recommends Pukaway Cave for its underground lagoon. At ₱600 it is the most expensive stop on the list, and reviewers who added a cave stop describe it as a highlight of their day.
Turtles come up in several reviews of Coral Garden, and one October 2026 reviewer called it the best snorkelling of a trip around Southeast Asia. Skeleton Wreck is a shallow sunken ship you can see with a mask.
Opinions on the snorkelling are more mixed than on the lakes, and a few reviewers found the reefs ordinary. The Reefs & Wrecks option and dedicated dive trips go to the deeper Second World War wrecks, which our Coron diving guide covers.
Lunch is one of the most praised parts of the day, including by guests who rated the tour lower. The crew cooks on board while you swim, and dishes mentioned include grilled fish, chicken, vegetables, fruit and Norie's spring rolls. Vegetarian and other dietary requests were catered for.
You usually eat on a beach, and several groups had theirs to themselves. One June 2026 group was taken to a beach the shared tours also use and found it crowded.
Yes, for two or more people who want to choose their stops and reach the lakes outside the busiest times. At $117 for two, the boat works out at about $59 each. A six-stop day adds about $20 each in entrance fees, so the day comes to about $79 each before kayak and gear hire. The shared Ultimate tour started from $42 each with most fees and pickup included, so for two people the private boat costs roughly $37 more each for your own boat, your own timing and a lunch cooked for your group.
It probably isn't the best fit for a solo traveller, because one person pays the same $117 as two. The Coron Ultimate Tour costs much less for one. Our Coron island hopping tours comparison sets out the shared routes side by side.
If you book, check that the option on your confirmation is the one you planned.
We haven't taken this tour. The page is based on the operator's GetYourGuide listing, its four options and fee list, and recent reviews in five languages, with every lower-rated one read in full. Prices and ratings were checked on 21 October 2026 and change over time. We earn a commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.
A boat, guide and crew for up to two people, with lunch cooked on board. Larger groups and the fees-included itineraries are priced in the calendar.
Books via GetYourGuide, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. This site earns a commission when you book. See our affiliate disclosure.