Narayana, Philippines

8.1 Very good

En-Suite bathrooms
Aircon Cabins
Non-Diver (Snorkeler) Friendly

from $ 267 / day Check dates

“The fact that you are in a small group allows you to enjoy yourself even more underwater and get to know each other more quickly. ”
charlie D, France

Highlights

Buffet-style meals with Western and local dishes
Visit Tubbataha National Park
BBQ on board

Specially designed for Tubbataha liveaboard diving, the Narayana yacht caters to up to 14 guests in 8 cozy cabins. Each cabin features private en-suite bathrooms, individually controlled AC, and storage space and offers queen-size double or twin bunk beds. The 6 double cabins on the middle deck also have a private balcony, perfect for relaxing in-between dives. Meals are served buffet-style in the indoor dining room and mix Western and local dishes. Social areas include the outdoor dining and lounge area and sun deck.

Philippine liveaboard dive cruises aboard the Narayana visit the Tubbataha National Park from March to June and El Nido, Coron & Apo Reef from October to December. Diving in Tubbataha Reef is only accessible via liveaboard and is fast becoming known as one of the best places to dive in the Philippines. With over 600 species of fish, 11 species of shark, and 13 species of dolphins and whales, it's easy to see why. These trips fill up fast, so booking in advance is advisable. The National Park of Apo Reef is home to the largest reef system in the Philippines and is full of marine life, large and small, offering excellent diving. Add to this the wrecks of Coron and the pristine waters of El Nido, and you will have a fantastic dive trip.

The experienced dive guides and crew are waiting to show you the underwater beauty of the Philippines. Book online today.

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Included: VAT, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries.

Required Extras: Fuel Surcharge ($250), National Park Fees (₱5,000).

Optional Extras: Gratuities (€100), Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Rental Gear, Laundry / Pressing Services, WiFi internet (€20).

Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.

* Extra fees are shown per person.

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Boat features

En-Suite bathrooms
Aircon Cabins
Non-Diver (Snorkeler) Friendly
Sun Deck
Budget Friendly Cruise
Charging stations
Library
Outdoor Dining
Audio & video entertainment
TV in cabins
Available for Charter
Daily housekeeping

Food & Drinks

Vegan Options
Vegetarian Options
Beer available
Wine Available
Buffet style
Western Food
Local Food

If you have any specific dietary requirements whilst on-board your cruise, you can add this to your special requests on step 2 of the booking form. We advise limiting these requests to religious beliefs or food allergies.

Diving

DIN Adaptors
Rebreather Support
Rinse Hoses
Dive deck

Languages Spoken

The crew speaks English, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Gear Rental

Equipment is available for rent on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. If the rental gear is not included in the price, you will need to pay for it on board the boat. Show prices

Drawings & Vessel Layouts

Cabin Types

Boat Specifications

Year built: 2014

Year renovated: 2018

Length: 26 meters

Beam: 5.2

Max guests: 14

Number of cabins: 7

Number of bathrooms: 8

Boat navigation and safety

Radar
Depth Sounder
GPS
Radio VHF/DSC/SSB
Emergency Rafts
Life Vests
Fire Alarm & Fire Extinguishers
Oxygen
First Aid Kits
Fishfinder
Satellite & mobile phones
Bilge pump alarm
Search light
Engine room CCTV

Narayana Reviews

8.1 Very good
25 Verified Reviews

Vessel

6.3
Crew

8.3
Food

9.1
Diving

8.7
Value

8.0

9.2 Superb
Adam F
Poland

Budget friendly boat
Narayana is a budget-friendly boat with an incredibly nice and helpful crew. If you don't need gold-plated fixtures and luxury, this boat is for you. After all, the diving is what matters most.
Recommended for
Diving. Diving. Diving.
02 Jul, 2026

8.8 Fabulous
Wing C
Hong Kong

Jack fish and Barracuda storm
The water is so clear and warm for our diving. We could see Jack fishes storm and barracuda storm. The reefs and corals are so healthy and nice for photograph. The price is so reasonable of us to have a good liveaboard experience.
Recommended for
Jack fishes storm and Barracuda storm. Clear and warm water. nice reefs and corals.
03 Jun, 2026

8.4 Very good
Steven D
United States

Great liveaboard for the money!
The staff was amazing. Overly helpful. Did stuff I could easily handle, but went out of their way to go above and beyond to make it as great a trip as they could. The dive guides were amazing.
Recommended for
The staff, the diving, the location
24 Apr, 2023

8.0 Very good
Philippe A
France

Dives with Narayana
Beautiful dive trip
Recommended for
Diving. Team. Atmosphere.
24 May, 2025

Translated from French

9.2 Superb
Yin Lok L
Hong Kong

Dive with a good team. I really enjoy being with them
This liveaboard is good for budget fun diver. I read review beforehand. I already prepare to have small room and bed will not really big. This liveaboard provides caring and professional service. Dive guides are professional. Room is clean and crew are friendly. I am looking for great experience underwater. I really enjoy diving with this team. If any fun diver is looking for fancy hardware above water, this is not a good option for them.
Recommended for
Dive guide is professional. This is budget liveaboard but service is good and crew is friendly and caring. Food option is not many but enough for us..
07 Jul, 2025

8.8 Fabulous
Jürgen H
Germany

Tightly timed Safari
Walhai am Boot.
Recommended for
Ranger visit, good organization, good guide guidance
24 May, 2025

Translated from German

8.8 Fabulous
Andrei B
United States

Tubbataha is nice and Narayana is a safe and economical way to explore it
Narayana exceeded my expectations. Although the dive deck is pretty crowded, the crew tried their best to make diving convenient to everyone. The rooms have huge panoramic windows, the A/C at night works great, the food is mostly Philippine, which is perfect, as it gives an opportunity to explore new flavors. And the diving was very nice: beautiful corals, plenty of fishes, great visibility…
Recommended for
Crew attentiveness and flexibility, varied itinerary, rooms with huge windows
08 Aug, 2022

8.4 Very good
Carlos C
Brazil

Amazing
The entire experience. It was amazing
Recommended for
The crew, the divers, the people are very friendly
04 Apr, 2023

Translated from Portuguese

10 Exceptional
Geoff G
United Kingdom

Good value, everything was to a very decent standard for price
Diving with hammerheads! Really liked dive gude Don!
Recommended for
Staff couldn't help enough, super friendly and social crew, food plentiful and quality
09 Apr, 2024

8.0 Very good
charlie D
France

Dives with splendid corals
The fact that you are in a small group allows you to enjoy yourself even more underwater and get to know each other more quickly. The staff is friendly and the meals are plentiful. The dives are beautiful in terms of coral although we didn't see any mantas/whale sharks.
Recommended for
The dive guides, the corals which are all more beautiful than each other and finally the sunsets from the sundeck which are extraordinary
30 Aug, 2023

Translated from French

25 reviews

Sort reviews by:

8.8 Fabulous
Adam M
United Kingdom

Amazing experience
Pristine coral reefs
Recommended for
Coral reefs, friendly crew, sharks
27 Jun, 2024

10 Exceptional
Steffen D
Germany

Great diving trip
We saw everything we hoped for
Recommended for
Great crew. Comparatively large cabin. Very good food.
23 Apr, 2025

8.0 Very good
Catherine O
Philippines

Would book again just for the lovely staff. Cabins left something to be desired.
The staff was really very friendly and helpful, though most were shy to speak in English so the foreign divers didn’t feel that as much as I did. I would book again though just to spend time with the staff again cause they really were very lovely. The cook clearly put a lot of love into his dishes, and I think the food would really shine with higher quality ingredients. I appreciated the small group (14 divers max). We had two dive groups and getting into the water was quick and efficient. The cabins were alright, but could be better designed and maintained. Some simple improvements can make a world of difference (thicker mattress, better pillows, doorknob instead of latches, cleaning stains from the windows and switches, etc). The bathroom has a “stale water” smell in my opinion – perhaps some coffee grounds would help neutralize that. But I really appreciated that the bathroom had a bidet! Staff would fix up our cabins every day which I also appreciated. Towels provided would shed like crazy — another easy but big improvement to make. I mostly avoided the cabins and stayed in the common area when I could, which was nice. If there were more space, some lounge chairs would be great. The biggest problems for me were: - The staff didn’t have their own beds or cabins. They had to sleep in the common area when the divers weren’t there. It isn’t comfortable, and it meant that the staff couldn’t rest at all during the day as the divers would be out and about then. I think small renovations to the captain’s area and a reserved cabin with an additional bunk bed for the crew would be great. It would mean 2 less divers could join, but the staff really made the trip for me. I imagine they’d make an even better impression on guests if they were properly rested. - The smoke coming from the engine. I could smell it when we were moving in the common area, and in the cabins as our AC was broken so we kept the windows open. Overall, I had a good time. I may go for a different liveaboard the next time around, but I don’t regret this trip. I loved the staff and the people I met on the group. I got to know them all quite well too since we were only a few people on board. My only recommendation if you join this boat, bring your own towel and a good amount of extra cash to tip the staff!
Recommended for
Staff, small group, toilets had bidets
26 Mar, 2023

8.4 Very good
Sofia C
Portugal

Good
The staff at Narayana is fantastic andThe diving is good.Highly recommend this liveaboard
Recommended for
Diving, people and food
01 Jul, 2024

8.0 Very good
Frank B
Germany

Exceeded expectations!!
Great dive spot, good guides, great staff
Recommended for
The diving spot itself. The staff. Tubbataha Reef.
01 Jul, 2024

8.0 Very good
Iu C
Spain

Narayana great experience!
Just know that you are going to go to one of the best diving areas in the country (and South Asia), in addition to being lucky if you have a great diving group, and the owners and staff (I include diving instructors) work hard so that you are as comfortable as possible and enjoy as much as possible, for you have a destiny that has no other result than ABSOLUTE SUCCESS.Highly recommended for shark lovers (and all kinds of multicolored coral and fish, you can't finish them), medium-low difficulty level. They ask for 50 dives, not because of the difficulty of diving, but because of the damage you can cause if you don't have enough experience and you load corals and so on, which is super protected, and I think this level is essential to respect a jewel like Tubbataha Reefs. Go go Dive!
Recommended for
Dive&divers, staff, food
13 Apr, 2023

Translated from Spanish

9.2 Superb
yujin S
South Korea

It was a wonderful trip But no whale shark.
As a novice diver, I am often attracted to large fish species and group dances rather than macro or muck dive. whale shark was the most anticipated treasure of the trip, but it did not meet. But I could see the Manta ray, Barakuda, and Jackfish.
Recommended for
Reasonable price, friendly crew and dive master, small group
29 Jun, 2024

8.0 Very good
Watari O
Japan

Great experience
We enjoyed beautiful sea. One disappointment thing was they have air trouble. The air smell in cylinder was not good and we had headaches.
Recommended for
Diving. Food. Drink.
10 Jul, 2026

6.0 Review score
Bernardus L
Netherlands

Diving was great, boat needs improvement
There were a couple of things on the Narayana liveaboard that matched my expectations or went above them. First and foremost, the Tubbataha reefs, they are are awesome! So much fish to see, many sharks, turtles, and beautiful corals. On one of our dives we had a 10 minute encounter with a manta. On my trip no big schools of hammerheads, no whaleshark, but still amazing diving.The dive guides paid very good attention to safety in preparation, briefing, during, and after the dive, and they are also very helpful to ensure that everyone can enjoy the dive. And, the staff on the small boat and dive deck are awesome too! Very helpful, attend to any questions immediately, and working their ass off to make getting on and out of the water and boat as smoothly and safely as possible. Which posed some challenges as the dive deck is rather small and filled up with stuff, and people need to pass through divers gearing up to get to their cabin. Still, they did it, really heroes.But, there are things that I would like to have known before I booked the trip, and things to improve. We were picked up (in my case from the dive shop) and taken to a cafe in the harbor for check-in, where it was unclear how long we would stay there. Then we went to the boat where we got a talk from the "boss". After about half an hour the welcome drink suddenly seemed to be there (it was never offered). The boat safety "briefing" that the boss gave was very limited, only mentioning that there were life vests and where to gather in case of emergency. We had only one engine out of two on the way out, hence the journey to Tubbataha took much longer. There was also a problem with the compressor. Due to this, we missed 2 dives on the 2nd day.There were only two guides, we were diving in two groups of eight divers with one guide. Luckily all divers in my group had a lot of experience so we managed to do it safely. But smaller groups would certainly be safer and enable all divers to be close to the guide and see more stuff.There were some more problems with the boat. The door lock of our cabin hampered, took three attempts to get it repaired. Also, its not possible to secure the door when it's open. So if one of us was inside, we needed to close the door and lock, hence the other person couldn't get in when one of us was in the bathroom or trying to get some sleep.Our cabin was above the engine for the generator which runs 24/7. This space should not be a cabin for guests. It's noise and really uncomfortable, so when you book, make sure you're not in cabin 2.It took four days to finally repair the leaking airco in our cabin, our beds got wet every night for the biggest part of the trip. We reported it to the boat manager every day, but it wasn't taken seriously. When we made a big complaint on day five, the technical staff stepped in and solved it withing 15 minutes. Summing up, the reefs, dive crew, and boat crew are great. The boat needs a serious update and many repairs, it's uncomfortable up to unsafe, so its hard to relax and recover between the dives.
Recommended for
Tubbataha Reefs. Dive guides. Diving crew.
29 Mar, 2025

Translated from Dutch

8.4 Very good
Ayla L
Switzerland

A wonderful week
It was a wonderful week. The water was very warm (always at least (!) 30-32 degrees), which is of course comfortable, but unfortunately did not involve much life. The dives are still fantastic and we would come back in a heartbeat.We were a bit disappointed that we were sold 19-20 dives (last day 3-4) and then it was clearly said that on the last day there would only be 2 dives (total 18). Should be adjusted. The crew was really great and the food super tasty. The boat is not the newest, but you can still make yourself comfortable. However, the AC in room 5 should possibly be retired - very loud, you can hardly sleep.
Recommended for
Diving, Food, Crew
01 Jul, 2024

8.8 Fabulous
Sophia S
United States

Good Budget Tubbataha Option
Cabin: Our cabin was very nice, but that was because we were surprisingly given room #8. According to Cap. Pablo, this is the nicest room because it is in range of the wifi. We also found that it (unlike the other rooms) had the least amount of cabin noise (very quiet) and that the AC was not shot off to run the compressors. Only complaint was no hot water. If you are worried about cabin conditions reported in other reviews, I would suggest requesting or even paying to stay in room #8. Food & Water: Unlimited purified water for consumption with temp control. Two very appreciated on-deck hoses for gear and body rinses post dive. However fresh water to shower was pretty limited and had to use caution, but we made it through the whole voyage without running out. The food included on board was great and filling, lots of snacks, we only have one suggestion: more mango!!! Staff & Dive guides: The staff were always kind and talkative, especially Cap. Pablo who was a kind soul and Guide Edu who always entertained by nerdy dive questions. Our group's guide Job (2 groups on board, each with a guide) was kind, competent, and eagle eyed despite being new to the location. Diving: The diving for us did not meet our expectations. This was not the boat's fault- they gave us consistently 60-65 min dives and took us to the sites we requested! We just didn't see any pelagic life (Go during full moon in the cool plankton season April/May for best chance) and the corals were not as healthy as the locations reputation suggests. Lot's of damage to the hard corals at most sites due to past bleachings.
Recommended for
Friendly staff (Cap Pablo and Edu!). Nice Cabin (Big bed- room 8). Budget Price (relative to other Tubbataha options).
27 Jun, 2025

7.2 Good
Celine B
France

Great dives but aging boat
Despite the difficult conditions, we were able to make some nice dives and the crew did everything possible to make sure we had a good stay. The guides and the crew were very attentive.On the other hand, the boat is aging: latches that slide with the door that opens in the middle of the night, window that doesn't close and the water that enters and soaks the bed while we sail, faulty air conditioning... We didn't feel safe in the cabins.
Recommended for
Friendly crew. Food. Diving.
16 Jun, 2025

5.6 Review score
jooyoung W
South Korea

There is a reason for the low price.
From the third day, there was an odor of oil coming from the air tank. Exhaust fumes were entering the bunk bed area. The air conditioner does not work while the air tank is being refilled. The food was delicious, and the staff were friendly. However, the lack of a manager led to poor overall operations.
Recommended for
Food. low Price. Good people.
10 Jul, 2026

4.8 Review score
Jonas D
United States

Skip this boat
Please beware of this boat. The boat is severely outdated and under serviced. The bathrooms and rooms are disgusting and bare bones. The AC units are only operational at night. There are no communal spaces with AC during the day. The crew was very nice and the dive guides great. Unfortunately, there are no cabins on this boat dedicated to the crew. These means the crew needs to sleep outside in communal areas. We have done many liveaboards from backpacker to luxury and this has been the most uncomfortable boat we have experienced. The diving was pretty good but not the best… certainly not good enough to justify a trip on this boat.
Recommended for
Terrible Accommodations. AC at Night Only!. Cold Shower Only.
06 Apr, 2025

5.6 Review score
Mark E
United Kingdom

Worse liveaboard ever !!
The cabins are not fit for purpose. I have done 25-30 liveaboard & this boat was the worse by a mile.The window wouldn't close properly in our cabin. When sailing the water would come in. Cabin 1 & 2 have an excessive engine noise & fumes coming through the floor. I thought that we might become another wreck! There is nowhere near enough outside space. The boat had only 12 guests but more than about 6 or 8 is cramped. Save a few quid & dive Malapascua instead. Much better experience for about half the price.
Recommended for
Our dive guide,Paul. The crew were really good. The chef is very good too.
06 Apr, 2025