Pick Tao Philippines if you have five days and want four nights on the islands in Tao’s own base camps; pick Big Dream Boatman if you have four days and want three nights with a fan, a thicker mattress or a tent. On their own sites on 25 October 2026, Tao’s Original cost US$650 to US$750 per person depending on the month (up to US$800 on a few busy dates), and Big Dream Boatman’s 4-day trip cost $599 after a discount from $649. Both sail in both directions, neither lists departures in August or September, and neither is sold on GetYourGuide or Viator. The deciding factors are usually the extra night, your age (BDB stops at 60, Tao has no upper limit) and how you want to pay.
Sea Quest 4D3N with Ariara Resort Night
Side by side
| Tao Philippines (Original) | Big Dream Boatman | |
|---|---|---|
| Nights on the islands | 4 | 3 |
| Calendar days | 5, plus a briefing the evening before | 4 |
| Arrival | About 12:00 noon on day 5 | About 15:00 to 16:00 on day 4 |
| Price per person (25 Oct 2026) | US$650 to US$750 by month; up to US$800 on some busy dates | $649 list, $599 discounted |
| Season | Departures listed late Oct 2026 to late Jul 2027; none in Aug or Sep | Start of October to end of July; no trips in Aug or Sep |
| Group size | Up to 25 per departure | About 6 to 24, one guide per 8 guests |
| Sleeping | Open-air bamboo huts (tukas) with mattress and net | Bamboo cottage or glamping tent, net, fan, thick mattress |
| Bathrooms | Showers and toilets at every camp, most with a flush, well or drum water | Freshwater showers, manual-flush toilets |
| Power | Not stated | Generator until about 3:00 am |
| Ages | 13 and over, no upper limit | 12 to 60, strictly |
| Drinks | Beer and soft drinks sold on board; up to two bottles of wine; PHP 2,500 corkage on spirits | Limited local beer and rum included |
| Local fees | Paid separately at the ports (El Nido PHP 400, Linapacan PHP 200, Coron PHP 200, Culion PHP 100) | Island fees included; El Nido PHP 400 and Coron PHP 200 not included |
| Deposit and cancellation | Not published (Tao’s refund page returned “not found”) | 40% deposit, balance 7 days before; 30+ days out, deposit back less $50 |
| Booking | Tao’s website | BDB’s website or email |
Sources: each operator’s own website, checked 25 October 2026. For Tao, prices come from the trip data its booking page loads. Our individual guides go deeper: Tao Philippines and Big Dream Boatman.
Price and value per night
On a straight comparison, BDB is cheaper in total and Tao gives you an extra night.
- Tao: US$650 for four nights is about US$163 a night in the cheapest months, rising to about US$188 a night at US$750.
- BDB: $599 for three nights is about $200 a night, or about $216 at the list price of $649.
So in the low and shoulder months, Tao costs less per night, and in December to March the two are close. Those per-night figures are our arithmetic from each operator’s published price, before local fees. BDB includes the island entrance fees and some drinks, and Tao charges extra for beer, so the gap narrows a little once you are on board.
Both cost well above the shared 3-day trips on GetYourGuide, which ranged from about $280 to $460 per person on dates we checked in late October 2026. You are paying for the extra nights and, in BDB’s case, more camp comfort. Our price guide has the full picture.
Time, route and flights
The night count is the practical difference. With BDB you finish in the afternoon of day 4, so you can book a hotel in your arrival town that night and fly the next morning. With Tao you finish around noon on day 5 and lose the evening before day 1 to the briefing, which Tao’s itinerary page puts at 18:00 and its booking data at 5:30 pm.
Tao’s published route from El Nido runs overland to San Fernando, then Tao Beach Farm, the Linapacan islands, south Culion and Camp Ngey Ngey on west Busuanga. BDB leaves El Nido from the San Fernando RoRo port (meet 09:00 at 86’d Gourmet Cafe & Bar) and Coron departures from Coron port at 09:00. Neither fixes stops in advance; both depend on the weather and Coast Guard clearance.
Tao’s own advice is to allow a buffer for island delays and to spend your last night in Manila before an international flight. That applies to both. See getting to El Nido and Coron for flights and transfers.
Comfort and who each one suits
Both are rustic, off-grid trips. The differences are in the details.
BDB publishes more about comfort: a fan in each cottage or tent, six-inch mattresses, a generator into the small hours and a toilet on the boat. It enforces an age band of 12 to 60, which rules it out for older travellers and for younger children.
Tao runs its own network of camps, which it says numbers ten, and has no upper age limit. It provides fins in several sizes as well as masks. It also restricts what alcohol you bring and has no refrigeration on board, so it cannot meet every diet.
We’d pick Tao if:
- you have five days and want four nights on the islands, not three;
- you are over 60, since Tao has no upper age limit;
- you are travelling in the cheaper months, when Tao’s per-night price is lower.
We’d pick BDB if:
- you have four days, not five;
- a fan and a thicker mattress matter to you;
- you want deposit and cancellation rules in writing before you pay.
If you want to book through a marketplace instead
Neither Tao nor BDB is on GetYourGuide or Viator. The closest bookable alternatives, with free cancellation:
- Sea Quest’s 4-day Coron to El Nido expedition with a night at Ariara Island resort: four days and three nights, two in beach camps and one in an air-conditioned villa, up to 18 guests, $1,051 per person on the first open date (10 November 2026). New on GetYourGuide, no reviews yet. Our review.
- Sea Quest’s 5-day El Nido to Coron expedition: five days and four nights, two of them at Ariara, $1,541 per person on 24 November 2026. Also new, no reviews yet.
- For three days: We Are Juan, El Nido to Coron, 4.8 from 602 reviews, $311.
Our 4-day and longer expeditions page puts all the long trips together, and the best expeditions ranks every option by traveller type. Or start from your town: Coron to El Nido or El Nido to Coron.
Official pages: Tao Philippines and Big Dream Boatman. We have no commercial link with either.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Tao or Big Dream Boatman?
BDB is cheaper in total ($599 discounted, 25 October 2026). Tao costs more in total (from US$650) but gives an extra night, so in its cheaper months it costs less per night.
Which is longer?
Tao. Its Original is four nights over five calendar days; BDB is three nights over four days.
Do either run in August and September?
BDB says it does not run in August and September. Tao’s published departures skip those months too, but ask Tao to confirm.
Pick your crossing date
Shared expeditions run most days in the dry season and the popular dates fill first. Check your date and direction.
Check dates and prices