The main points
- A communal Filipino spread laid on banana leaves and eaten with your hands, usually at a beach or restaurant stop in the middle of a boat day.
- Some boats pull into a beachfront buffet or a local restaurant instead, which suits families and anyone who would rather sit at a table than on the sand.
- Rice, grilled fish, vegetables and fruit are the safe bets, and telling your guide early is the simplest way to get a plate you can actually eat.
- Lunch tours run from US$20 for a shared boat to US$93 for a boodle fight spread. Crystal Cove entry is an optional PHP 300.00 per person.[1][2][3]
- Boat slots fill in the dry months, and the rainy season from June to November can bring typhoons, so build a spare day into your plans.[4]
| Boodle fight lunch | Buffet and diving | Lunch and parasailing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | from US$93[2] | from US$78[5] | from US$93[6] |
| Duration | 4 hours[2] | 5 hours[5] | 6 hours[6] |
| Rating | 4.47 from 4 reviews[2] | 4.89 from 11 reviews[5] | 5.00 from 2 reviews[6] |
| Lunch style | Boodle fight spread | Buffet spread | Lunch, then parasailing |
| Cancellation | Cancel up to 24 hours before[2] | Cancel up to 24 hours before[5] | Cancel up to 24 hours before[6] |
Boasting sugar-white beaches, crystalline coves, and all manner of water adventures, four-square-mile Boracay is the Philippines in microcosm.
Book the boat, then let lunch surprise you
Before you sail
- Book your boat ahead and keep the booking on your phone
- Carry small notes for terminal fees and optional island entrance fees
- Pack reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and a dry bag for the crossing
- Tell the operator about allergies when you book, not at the table
On the boat
- Confirm the lunch stop with your guide before the boat leaves the beach
- Eat at the stop rather than saving food, so you have time to swim after
- Share the table: boodle fight spreads are passed around, so take your turn early
- Keep the rest of the day loose in case the sea or the weather shifts
What lunch on a Boracay island hopping tour looks like
A boat day on Boracay has a simple rhythm. The crew collects you from the beach in the morning, runs along the coast, stops where the water is clear, and breaks in the middle of the day for food. The tour booked for this page covers Puka Shell Beach, Balinghai Beach Resort, a river boat section and a local restaurant inside a 2 to 5.5 hour window.[7] The island is small, four square miles in total[8], so the hops between stops are short and you spend more time in the water than on the deck. White Beach alone runs about 4 km (2.5 miles) end to end[9], which gives a sense of the coastline you are working along.
Food is where the listings differ most. Some days are built around a boodle fight spread, some around a buffet at a beachfront resort, and some around a simple plate at a local restaurant. A shared boat island tour with lunch is listed from US$20[1], a snorkeling and lunch trip from US$81[10], and a tour named for its boodle fight lunch from US$93.[2] Durations on those listings run from four hours to six.[2][10]
Boodle fight, buffet or packed plate: the local styles
A boodle fight is the version most travellers hope for. Food is piled along banana leaves down the middle of a long table, rice and grilled meat and fish and vegetables and fruit all together, and everyone eats with their hands. There are no courses and no side plates, which is exactly the point: it is a shared meal for a boat full of people who have just been swimming together. If you have never eaten this way, watch how the crew does it, take a little of everything and then go back for more.
Buffets work differently. A buffet lunch tour with helmet diving is listed from US$78[5] and a premium beach buffet tour from US$63[11], both with tables, a queue and food kept warm in trays. If you would rather sit down than settle on the sand, that is the style to book. A third option is the plated or packed lunch, common on mid-range trips that promise lunch and snorkeling without naming a spread, such as a six-hour trip listed from US$81.[10]
There is also a kawa hot bath version of the day, where the soak comes after the boat. A kawa is a large metal cauldron filled with warm water infused with herbal leaves, essential oil and flowers, heated by firewood beneath, and it includes a massage after each session.[12] An island hopping tour with a hot kawa bath is listed from US$37.[13]
Banana leaves, rice and grilled fish: the boodle fight spread arrives all at once.
Where the boat stops for lunch
Lunch stops follow the route. The tour booked for this page finishes at a local restaurant after Puka Shell Beach, Balinghai Beach Resort and a river boat section.[7] A buffet and helmet diving tour stops at Puka Beach and then Crystal Cove Island Resort.[5] A budget shared boat with lunch calls at Tambisaan Beach and Puka Shell Beach.[1] A private island hopping and snorkeling tour lists Puka Shell Beach, Balinghai Beach Resort, Coral Garden, Crocodile Island and a local restaurant.[14]
Two stops are worth knowing before you choose a route. Crystal Cove has an optional entrance fee of PHP 300.00 per person, so check whether the price you see includes the landing or not.[3] And not everything on a Boracay route is about snorkeling: tourists come to Magic Island for cliff jumping[15], while at Angol Point early morning snorkelers can see sweetlips, groupers and colorful corals.[16]
Where you eat is also a fair guide to how crowded the day will feel. Boodle fight lunches happen around one long table, which can mean a full boat and a lively meal, while restaurant stops spread people out and let you order your own drink. If quiet matters more to you than price, a private boat tour with a local guide is a different kind of day, listed from US$255.[17]
Allergies, diets and eating with children
Filipino boat lunches are built on rice, grilled fish and meat, vegetables and fruit, so most people find something to eat. If you are vegetarian, say so when you book and again when you board. Guides on the tour booked for this page speak English and Tagalog[7], which makes it easy to pass a request to the kitchen. Boodle fight spreads are laid out for everyone at once, so ask early if you need a portion set aside before the meat goes onto the leaves.
Allergies need more care than preferences. Seafood is everywhere on these menus, and cooking oil and utensils are often shared, so flag shellfish and nut allergies clearly and early. Bring your own safe snacks and a written note in Filipino if your reaction is serious. Children do well on these trips: the food is plain, the swim stops are short and the boat moves on quickly.
Timing matters as much as the menu. If you eat late at home, have a small breakfast so you are not starving when the food finally comes out, and take a moment to see what is on the table before the plates empty. Packing a few extra snacks for the boat is never a bad idea on a day with plenty of swimming and sun.
from US$19
Runs 2 to 5.5 hours and stops at Puka Shell Beach, Balinghai Beach Resort and a local restaurant.[7]
Drinks, water and what to carry on the boat
Water is the thing people forget. A hot morning on deck, salt on your skin and a big rice lunch will leave you flat by mid-afternoon, so carry more water than feels necessary and drink before you are thirsty. Cold drinks, fresh juice and coconut are usually sold at the beach stops, and a little cash makes that easy. Alcohol flows on some party boats, but a heavy lunch, rum and a moving boat is a poor combination for anyone who still wants to snorkel afterwards.
As for the swimming, the sea stays warm for most of the year. Water temperature can get as cold as 26.7°C during the dry season[18], which is comfortable for long snorkel sessions and fine for children once they trust the mask. Bring a rash vest if you burn easily, since backs and shoulders take the sun while you float face down, and pack a dry shirt for the restaurant or buffet stop.
What a Boracay island hopping with lunch tour costs
Lunch tours sit in a wide band. A shared boat island tour with lunch is listed from US$20[1], an island hopping trip with lunch and hotel transfer from US$60[19], a buffet lunch and helmet diving tour from US$78[5], and a boodle fight lunch tour from US$93.[2] The boat tour booked for this page starts at US$19 and can be reserved now and paid later, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.[7]
Two sets of fees sit outside the tour price. At Caticlan Jetty Port the regular terminal fee is PHP 150 (USD 2.75) and the environmental fee is PHP 150 (USD 2.75) for Filipinos and PHP 300 (USD 5.50) for foreigners.[20] On the water, Crystal Cove charges an optional PHP 300.00 per person entrance fee.[3] Keep small notes and coins ready for these, and read the listing carefully to see what is covered before you count your budget.
Timing your lunch stop and reading the weather
The dry months are the easy ones for boat days, with calm water and long, bright afternoons. The wet side of the year needs more planning, because Boracay's rainy season runs from June to November and may include typhoons and heavy rainfall.[4] If your trip falls in that window, choose a lunch tour with a cancellation policy you can live with and keep a spare day free. The tour booked for this page offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.[7]
Boracay has also been through a hard reset. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the island closed to tourists for six months on April 26, 2018, to rehabilitate it after sewerage facilities were polluting the water.[21] The sand and the water are why people keep coming back, and a boat day puts you right on top of both. If you would rather sail than motor, a paraw is a traditional Filipino double outrigger sailboat made from wood[22], and a slow sail makes a gentle end to an afternoon. Pack light, follow the crew, and the lunch stop will look after itself.
From-prices for lunch boat tours
What a lunch boat costs per person
Adult from-prices from GetYourGuide listings:[1][2][19]
When to book and when to sail
Choosing your lunch tour
Match the length to your day
Lunch boat tours listed here run 4 hours[2] to 6 hours[10], and the tour booked here runs 2 to 5.5 hours.[7]
Choose shared or private
Some listings offer a small group and others are private group departures.[7][14]
Read what the lunch is called
The name tells you a lot: boodle fight[2], buffet[5] or simply lunch.[10]
Add island entrance fees
Crystal Cove shows up on some routes and its entrance fee is PHP 300.00 per person.[3]
Book a flexible date
The boat tour booked for this page takes bookings now and offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.[7]
Ready to eat on the water? See times and prices for the boat tour
from US$19Reserve now & pay later
