What to bring on a boat day in Phuket: clothes, documents and cash for park fees

How much you need to pack depends on the format of the day. A private yacht or catamaran usually carries everything for the water, while a join-in speedboat tour hands out some things for a fee and leaves others to you. So before anything else, open the listing and read two lines: what is included and what is not. Everything below comes from those lines in the catalogue.

The yacht rental in Phuket section lists 90 boats right now. Snorkelling gear (mask and snorkel) is in the description of 81 of them, towels of 77, and life jackets are named outright for 60. On a private charter you can leave your own mask and beach towel at home unless you prefer yours. Speedboat 39 (2017), for example, comes with towels, life jackets, a SUP board, snorkelling gear, a Bluetooth speaker and a toilet on board, and a 7-hour private trip to Maiton and Coral Island costs 29,000 THB for up to 8 guests.

Group tours work differently. The full-day speedboat trips at 2,500 THB per adult, such as Khai Nok and Khai Nai islands, include a mask and snorkel, lunch and water, but list towels and alcohol as extras. On the Phi Phi and Khai Nok speedboat day at 3,700 THB a towel costs 100 THB and fins 200 THB. On a group tour, a towel of your own almost always pays for itself.

Fins come up less often than masks, and on several tours they are extra or not offered at all. If snorkelling is the point of your day, check this in advance or bring a pair.

The most common surprise of a boat day is not the weather but the national park fee. For 57 of the 90 boats in the catalogue it sits under 'not included' and is paid on the spot. The figures for the main routes: Phi Phi costs 400 THB per adult and 200 THB per child, Phang Nga Bay 300 THB per adult and 150 THB per child. A kayak at Hong Island in Phang Nga Bay adds 300 THB per two-seat boat, and the viewpoint on Phi Phi Don is 50 THB per person.

For a family of two adults and one child that comes to 400 plus 400 plus 200, so 1,000 THB on Phi Phi. In Phang Nga Bay it is 300 plus 300 plus 150, or 750 THB, plus 300 THB if you take one two-seat kayak at Hong. Carry this in cash, ideally in small notes.

Small costs on the islands are cash as well. A sunbed on Coral Island is 100 THB and a taxi on Racha is 100 THB. Tour descriptions say the floating village of Panyee and the sea gypsy market take cash only, and one of the Koh Rok and Koh Ha trips advises bringing cash for souvenirs and personal spending.

Check lunch and the ride to the pier too. Lunch is not included on 19 of the 90 boats and costs 250 to 700 THB per person depending on the vessel. A transfer or taxi to the marina is not included on 45 boats; where a price is given, a minivan to the marina is 2,000 THB, or 2,500 THB for a 10-seat van.

You rarely need the passport itself on board, but you will almost always need its details before departure. For the join-in speedboat tours and the private Gambit speedboat, the listing says the name, surname and passport number of every guest are required in advance, because the marine department and the insurer ask for them. Without them you are not on the passenger list.

Some national parks also need passport photos: the catalogue says so for the Similan Islands trips, for Koh Rok and Koh Ha, and for the evening Phi Phi and Racha Yai cruise on a large catamaran. The easiest way is to photograph the photo page for every traveller, children included, and keep the pictures on your phone.

The Similan Islands are open to visitors from 15 October to 15 May. Keep that in mind when planning: outside those dates you will not get there, however well you have packed.

Wear your swimsuit under your clothes from the start. Not every boat has cabins or a changing room: party catamarans have no cabins, but their listings mention toilets and a changing room, for instance four toilets and a changing room on Party Catamaran 111 (2019), and a changing room with an open shower on Power Catamaran 75 (2019). On a group speedboat there is little room to change, so a light cover-up or sarong for the beach is handy; one of the Krabi tours recommends exactly that.

The tour descriptions themselves list a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and a change of clothes, for example on the Koh Rok and Koh Ha trip at 3,900 THB. For kayaking in the Krabi mangroves they suggest a long-sleeved top and a hat, because you spend most of the day out in the open.

Reef shoes are needed more often than people expect. They are recommended for the half-day trip to the three Khai islands (1,500 THB per person) and for the sunset fishing trip, where at low tide you walk over a rocky bottom. On the private catamaran day to Racha, Coral and Maiton, reef shoes, fins and sunscreen appear in the list of things not included.

If the day also includes a temple, such as the White Temple or the Big Buddha on combined tours, bring clothes that cover shoulders and knees. One tour even lists temple clothing as an extra, next to the towel.

The description of the Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Bamboo Island tour at 2,200 THB says it plainly: no strollers, suitcases or large bags. There is no space for them on a speedboat, and landing on a beach often means stepping into the water. One small bag or backpack is enough, with your phone and documents in a waterproof pouch.

Alcohol rules vary. On the 2,500 THB group tours it is listed as not included, so you buy it on the islands. Some private yachts let you bring your own: on Taipan 130 and Power Catamaran 75 guests bring their own drinks with no corkage fee. Other boats may differ, so ask before you book.

One more rule from the listings: hand-line fishing is not allowed on the Gambit speedboat. And some speedboat tours do not take pregnant travellers or children under one year; that is written in the description of the specific tour, not hidden in small print.

Check four things the evening before. First, what the price covers, especially lunch, towels, park fees and the transfer to the pier. Second, whether the name, surname and passport number of every guest, or the passport photos for a national park, have been sent to the manager. Third, how much cash you need for fees, counting the children. Fourth, which pier you leave from and when the car picks you up if a transfer is included.

In the bag: swimsuit under your clothes, a towel for a group tour, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, a change of clothes, reef shoes for rocky beaches, cash for fees and small things, and your phone in a waterproof case. For a private yacht the list is shorter, since towels, masks and life jackets are usually on board.

If you are still choosing the format, compare costs in yacht or group tour, and read about the routes in Phi Phi by yacht, catamaran or speedboat and James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay. Ready-made day trips are in tours and excursions in Phuket.