Yacht or Group Tour in Phuket: What One Person Really Pays

On a group tour you pay for one seat, and the price does not depend on how many of you there are. On a private charter you pay for the whole boat with its crew, and that price is shared by your group. So you cannot compare "2,500 THB for a tour" with "40,000 THB for a speedboat" directly. What matters is the cost per person for your actual number of guests.

A private boat in our yacht rental catalog almost always comes with three numbers: the route price, how many guests that price covers (usually 8, 10 or 20, and up to 40 on large vessels), and a charge for each extra guest, usually 800 to 2,500 THB. On top of that there is a maximum capacity. The cost per person is the route price plus any extra-guest charges, divided by everyone on board.

The calculations below use real prices from the tours and excursions and yacht rental sections. They are for the cheapest period; private boats cost more in the high season and over New Year.

The cheapest trips go to the nearby islands: Bounty Island Racha Yai for 1,300 THB, including the transfer and lunch on the island, and Coral plus Racha for 1,500 THB. The classic Phi Phi 5 Beaches day costs 2,100 THB.

Full days by speedboat from Boat Lagoon pier cost 2,500 THB per adult and 1,900 THB per child: Khai Nok and Khai Nai, Coral, Maiton and Rang Yai, the James Bond islands in Phang Nga Bay, the Hong islands of Krabi, and a day on Naka island. The price includes a light breakfast, drinks, fruit, a mask and snorkel, insurance and lunch on the island. It does not include national park and island fees, the transfer to the pier, towels or alcohol. Boats usually leave at 09:30 (08:00 for Hong Krabi) and return at 17:30-18:00.

Premium catamaran tours, where every passenger has a reserved seat, cost 3,000 THB (Phi Phi or James Bond Island), and the Similan Islands range from 2,900 to 6,500 THB depending on the boat and format.

For a couple, that is 2,600-5,000 THB for two for the whole day. No private boat in the catalog comes anywhere near that. The cheapest private outing, a morning at Coral island on the Lagoon 44 catamaran (five hours, 08:00-13:00), costs 27,000 THB, or 13,500 THB each for two people, and lunch is extra.

The group tour to the Khai islands costs 2,500 THB per adult with lunch. Here are the private options on the same route.

The same speedboat chartered for a group of up to 28 costs 45,000 THB. With ten guests that is 4,500 THB each, with 18 it is exactly 2,500 THB, the same as a group ticket, and with 28 about 1,607 THB. The Ocean Pearl 42 sport cruiser costs 39,900 THB for eight hours around the Khai islands for up to ten guests, plus 800 THB per extra guest, with a maximum of 20. That works out at 3,990 THB each for ten guests, 2,927 THB for 15, 2,479 THB for 19 and 2,395 THB for 20. A restaurant lunch is not included here, so add it before you compare.

Larger groups should look at bigger boats. The Satisfaction 55 party catamaran costs 59,000 THB from May to October for the Khai and Naka route, for up to 20 guests, plus 1,000 THB per extra guest, with a maximum of 40. That is 2,950 THB each for 20 guests, 2,300 THB for 30 and 1,975 THB for 40, with lunch from 500 THB per person on top. The Taipan 130 cruise yacht costs 89,000 THB on the same route for up to 40 guests, plus 1,000 THB per extra guest, with a maximum of 80: 2,225 THB each for 40 guests and about 1,610 THB for 80, with lunch from 600 THB per person.

If you want lunch already included, there is the Siam Princess 70 cruise yacht: Khai and Naka for eight hours at 69,000 THB from May to October for up to 20 guests, lunch included. For 20 guests that is 3,450 THB each.

The Coral, Maiton and Rang Yai group tour costs 2,500 THB per adult with lunch. The clearest private comparison here is Speedboat 39: its 7-hour Maiton and Coral route costs 29,000 THB for up to eight guests, plus 1,200 THB per extra guest, with a maximum of 20. A Thai lunch and an English-speaking guide are already included.

Let us do the maths. With eight guests it is 3,625 THB each. With twelve guests the total is 33,800 THB, or 2,817 THB each. With 15 guests the total is 37,400 THB, or 2,493 THB each, which is the price of a group ticket, except that the boat is yours, you pick the departure time and lunch is still included. With 20 guests the total is 43,400 THB, or 2,170 THB each, which is cheaper than the group tour.

For a group of around 20-25 there is the Lagoon 500 sailing catamaran: Coral island and Maiton for nine hours costs 40,000 THB for up to 20 guests, plus 1,000 THB per extra guest, with a maximum of 25. Lunch is extra at 400 THB per person. With 20 guests that is 2,000 THB plus lunch, so 2,400 THB each, and with 25 guests 1,800 THB plus lunch, so 2,200 THB each.

Group tours to Racha are very cheap, 1,300-1,500 THB, and a private boat cannot catch up. The Lagoon 500 costs 38,000 THB for nine hours at Racha for up to 20 guests. Even with the maximum of 25 guests that is 1,720 THB each plus 400 THB for lunch, so 2,120 THB. Speedboat 39 costs 39,000 THB for Racha Yai and Coral for up to eight guests: 4,875 THB each for eight and 2,670 THB each for 20, lunch included. A private boat to Racha is worth it for the freedom and the lack of crowds, not to save money.

Phi Phi is the same story. The group tour costs 2,100 THB and the premium catamaran tour 3,000 THB. The most affordable private boat, Ocean Pearl 42 on the Phi Phi and Khai route at 49,900 THB, still comes to 2,895 THB each even when full with 20 guests, and lunch is extra. For the full comparison see our guide to Phi Phi by yacht, catamaran or speedboat, and for Phang Nga Bay the guide to James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay.

Lunch. Group tours include lunch on the island. Private boats vary: Speedboat 39 and Siam Princess 70 include it, the Lagoon 500 charges 400 THB per person, the Satisfaction 55 from 500 THB, the Taipan 130 from 600 THB, and on the Ocean Pearl 42 a restaurant lunch is not included.

Transfer. Full-day group tours do not include the transfer to the pier, while the Racha Yai tour does. Private boats vary too: for the Lagoon 500, Speedboat 39 and Power Catamaran 46 the taxi to the marina is extra, and the Taipan 130 minivan costs 2,500 THB per 10-seat van.

Park fees and tax. National park and island fees are usually excluded from both group tours and private boats, so they barely change the comparison. For reference, Phang Nga Bay charges 300 THB per adult and 150 THB per child, and Phi Phi 400 and 200 THB. On some boats 7% VAT is added on top of the price, for example on the Power Catamaran 46.

Children and season. On a group tour a child's ticket is cheaper, 1,900 THB instead of 2,500. A private boat is priced for the group, and the catalog lists no separate child rate. Group tours in the catalog list a single price with no seasons, while private boats usually cost more from November to April and more again over New Year.

One to six people: take a group tour. For a couple a private boat costs six to eight times more per person, and for six people about two to 2.7 times more.

Eight to fourteen people: a private boat to Khai, Coral or Maiton costs more than a group ticket. With eight guests it is one and a half to two times more, and by 14 guests the gap on the Coral and Maiton route shrinks to a few percent. Speedboat 39 to Coral and Maiton, for example, comes to 3,140 THB each for ten guests against 2,500 THB on the group tour. The extra buys you a boat of your own: leave when it suits you, stay on a beach as long as you like and never wait for strangers.

Fifteen to twenty people: for Coral and Maiton a private boat matches the group tour from 15 guests, for Khai from 18-19 guests, and beyond that it is cheaper. Thirty to eighty people: large catamarans and cruise yachts come to 1,600-2,300 THB per person, but add lunch.

Before you pay, check how many guests the base price covers, what each extra guest costs, whether lunch and the transfer are included and which season applies. Tours are booked with a 1,000 THB deposit and private boats with a 5,000 THB deposit. Send a request from the yacht rental section with your date and number of guests, and we will send the total for your group and the price per person.