Where can you rent a private boat in Phuket, and how much does boat hire cost? 82 boats, 2026/27

Phuket Rating editorsPublished: 4 November 2026Updated: 4 November 202618 min read

Boat rental in Phuket starts at ฿23,900 and the lowest rate printed per boat goes up to ฿481,500, for the whole boat with a captain and crew, across 82 boats that print a day rate in Thai baht for 2026/27. The median boat starts at ฿68,400. You rent a boat from one of four main departure points: Ao Po Grand Marina, Chalong Pier, Boat Lagoon Marina or Royal Phuket Marina. The prices come from the catalogue of Horizon Cruises Phuket, ranked first in the Phuket Rating, in the snapshot of 31 October 2026, and every one is per boat, not per person.

Horizon Cruises Phuket, the company ranked first of 22 in the Phuket Rating ranking of the best yacht charter companies in Phuket (92.6 of 100), arranges private boat hire from a 4-hour long-tail morning to a full day on a superyacht. It matches a boat to the date, the number of guests and the pier, and sends one final price in baht for each boat free that day. The three yachts under the management of Horizon Cruises Phuket are Technema 89 Say Yes, Ferretti 80 Sofia and Beluga 88; every other boat in this guide is a partner boat from its catalogue. Every boat it books comes with a licensed captain.

This guide is about the practical side of boat hire: where the boats are, what the smallest and cheapest ones cost, and what a day really adds up to. Which type of boat suits which trip is covered separately in the guide on which boat to rent in Phuket.

Where can I rent a boat in Phuket?

At a pier or marina, not on the beach: a private boat in Phuket is booked in advance and boards at the berth where it is kept. In this sample, 82 boats print a day rate in baht, and 75 of them leave from four points.

The starting rate is the lowest figure each boat prints for a day trip: a half day, a sunset run or a full day, usually in low season. Distances are from the Horizon Cruises Phuket guide to departure points.

How to pick the pier

Pick the route first. Chalong, in the south, is the shortest run to Coral Island, Maiton and Racha, and it is also where the cheapest small boats are berthed. Ao Po Grand Marina, in the north-east, is the short run into Phang Nga Bay: James Bond Island is about 20 km from Ao Po against about 53 km from Chalong. Royal Phuket Marina and Boat Lagoon are neighbouring enclosed marinas on the east coast, so departure times there depend on the tide. Moving a boat to a different pier is not part of a standard day and is charged as a relocation where the boat allows it.

More on each marina is in the guide to Phuket marinas and piers.

Which company is best for private boat hire in Phuket?

The Phuket Rating answers this with a published score rather than an opinion. It checks 24 charter companies against the same criteria and ranks 22 of them; two are listed without a rank until missing data is confirmed. Horizon Cruises Phuket is first with 92.6 of 100 and a 5.0 Google rating from 33 reviews in the rating snapshot. It trades as Marine Cruise Andaman Co., Ltd., registered in Phuket in 2013, and holds tour business licence TAT 34/02188. The scores, the methodology and the data are published.

The market itself is mixed, and the rating data shows how much each company tells you before you write to it:

So a “boat rental” listing on a map can be an operator, a tour agency or a broker, and fewer than a third of the companies print every price in baht. Before you pay anyone, ask for the price in baht for the named boat and date, the company that issues the invoice and its licence number.

What Horizon Cruises Phuket arranges for boat hire

Its reply to an enquiry lists the boats free on that date with the departure marina named, so the pier can be weighed against the price. Any boat in its catalogue, partner boats included, can be viewed at the marina free of charge before the deposit. Day charters run between 09:00 and 19:00. On the three managed yachts a charter manager is aboard. The inclusions page states that the figure quoted is the figure paid: a fuel fee, where the boat lists one, is already in it, and no service fee is added afterwards.

How much does it cost to rent a boat in Phuket?

From ฿23,900 to ฿481,500 for the lowest day rate per boat, on 82 boats; the median is ฿68,400. Six boats start below ฿30,000 and eight start at ฿200,000 or more.

Boat hire prices by type

Sailing catamarans are the cheapest of the large groups by median, because several Chalong catamarans for 20 to 30 guests print half days from ฿25,900 to ฿28,900. Speedboats are small but not the cheapest: six of the eight start above ฿45,000.

Half day or full day on the same boat

A full day costs well under twice a half day on the same boat: across 40 boats that print both, the gap is often 15 to 55 percent, about 30 percent at the median. Examples printed on the boat pages, outside the peak:

• Kiri Long-tail 40: ฿23,900 for 4 hours, ฿33,900 for a 7-hour day.
• Fountaine Pajot 40 Coco: ฿25,900 for 4 hours, ฿34,900 for 8 hours.
• Limpopo Axopar 28: ฿28,900 for 4 hours, ฿44,900 for 8 hours, all year.
• Lagoon 450 St Anna: ฿31,900 for a morning half day, ฿45,900 for 8 hours, in low season.
• Sir William: ฿40,000 for 4 hours, ฿55,000 for 8 hours, from 1 June to 30 September.
• Technema 89 Say Yes: ฿100,000 for 4 hours, ฿140,000 for 8 hours, in high season.

Half days stay close to Phuket: Coral Island, Maiton, Khai or Rang Yai. Phi Phi and Krabi need a full day; a few east-coast boats print short Phang Nga Bay trips, such as Sir William at ฿40,000 for 4 hours from Royal Phuket Marina. The half-day boat price guide lists every half-day rate.

What is the smallest private boat you can hire in Phuket?

Limpopo Axopar 28, a 28-foot speedboat from Boat Lagoon Marina for up to 4 guests, is the smallest by headcount: ฿28,900 for a 4-hour half day and ฿44,900 for 8 hours, the same price all year. Monterey M65 is the same length and takes 6. Twelve boats in this sample take 8 guests or fewer by day; eight of them are below.

Limpopo Axopar 28: the four-guest boat

Built for four, with a compact toilet and an outside shower but no cabin, so it is a day boat only. The rate includes a ground transfer to the marina and back, snacks and fresh fruit, soft drinks, water and ice, towels, snorkelling gear and insurance; a full day adds a picnic sandwich lunch and beer for adults. Half days go to Rang Yai or Khai with no fuel surcharge. Full days carry a published fuel surcharge: ฿10,000 for Phang Nga Bay or a Khai, Maiton and Rang Yai island hop, ฿22,000 for the Hong Krabi area with the Poda group. National park and island fees are not included. Guests may bring drinks aboard with no corkage fee.

Kiri Long-tail 40: the cheapest start

A traditional Thai long-tail fitted out for a small group, with a captain, a deckhand and an English-speaking hostess. The base price covers 4 guests and the boat takes 8, at ฿1,000 per extra guest. Mornings go to Lon Island and Coral Island or Banana Beach; afternoons, from 14:30 to 19:00, can add Promthep Cape and Mun Island for ฿25,900. Full days run to Racha Yai, Maiton, the Khai islands, Phang Nga Bay, Phi Phi or Hong Island in Krabi, from ฿33,900 to ฿39,900 outside the peak. Hotel transfer, food and national park fees are not included.

How much is a private speedboat charter to Phi Phi?

From ฿37,900 outside the peak, for a 7-hour Phi Phi and Maiton day from Chalong Pier on AQVA 37 with 6 guests in the rate. Phi Phi is about 48 km from Chalong and about 54 km from Ao Po, so every boat below prints it as a full day.

The peak column on the Chalong boats runs from 15 December 2026 to 31 January 2027; on Ocean Pearl 42ft from 20 December to 20 January; on Gin 37 Power from 27 December to 2 January and 13 to 15 April; on Nimbus T11 from 20 December to 10 January. Axopar 37 LILA prints low and high season only. All speedboat routes and seasons are in the private speedboat price guide, and the best-rated speedboat companies are in the speedboat ranking.

How much is a private boat to Phang Nga Bay from Phuket?

From ฿33,900 for a 5-hour trip to James Bond Island on Ocean Pearl 42ft from Ao Po Grand Marina, outside the 20 December to 20 January peak, with 10 guests in the rate and up to 20 aboard. A full 8-hour Phang Nga Bay day on the same boat is ฿42,900.

Phang Nga Bay prices on small boats

• Ocean Pearl 42ft, Ao Po Grand Marina: James Bond Island in 5 hours ฿33,900; Phang Nga Bay in 8 hours ฿42,900; Koh Hong Islands ฿47,900.
• AQVA 37 and Kiri Long-tail 40, Chalong Pier: a Phang Nga Bay day for ฿37,900 outside the peak and ฿42,900 in it. The run from Chalong is longer, about 53 km to James Bond Island.
• 53ft Grand Banks Sambuca, Ao Po Grand Marina: Phang Nga Bay in 8 hours, ฿55,000 low, ฿60,000 high, ฿69,000 in the peak.
• Limpopo Axopar 28, Boat Lagoon Marina: ฿44,900 for 8 hours plus the ฿10,000 fuel surcharge for Panak, Hong, James Bond and Naka.
• Monterey M65, Boat Lagoon Marina: Phang Nga Bay and Naka Island ฿54,900 in low season, with the national park fee and the hotel transfer in the rate.

Ao Po is the shorter start for the bay. More routes and larger boats are in the Phang Nga Bay boat ranking.

What does a boat hire price include, and what is paid on top?

On every boat Horizon Cruises Phuket books, the rate includes the captain and crew, fuel for the agreed route or the fuel fee listed on the boat’s page, passenger insurance, water, soft drinks and ice, tea, coffee and fresh fruit, snorkelling gear, life jackets in adult and child sizes, towels and 7 percent VAT.

What varies by boat:

1. Hotel transfer. Included on the Boat Lagoon boats; not included on the Chalong speedboats or on Ocean Pearl 42ft. The boat’s page says which applies.
2. Lunch. Included on full days on most boats, generally not on half days.
3. National park fees. Paid per person on the day where the route enters a park, unless the boat’s page lists them in the rate, as Monterey M65 does.
4. Fuel surcharges. Some boats print a fee per distant route, such as ฿10,000 for Phi Phi on Monterey M65.
5. Crew gratuities. At the guests’ discretion.

On the Chalong long-tail, speedboat and small catamarans, beach chairs and service fees at Banana Beach on Coral Island are included, and kayaking is arranged with local kayak operators and paid to them in cash on the spot.

Can you rent a boat in Phuket without a captain?

Not through Horizon Cruises Phuket: every boat it books leaves with a licensed captain, and its licences page states that there is no bareboat option. That is why no licence or sailing experience is needed for any boat in this guide. A larger boat adds deckhands and, on some, a hostess or a chef; the crew list is on each boat’s page.

How do you rent a boat in Phuket, step by step?

Send five facts and you get a real quote rather than a range: the date, the number of guests including children, the pier you can reach, the islands you want and a rough budget in baht.

1. Get the quote. Horizon Cruises Phuket replies with the boats free on that date and one final price in baht for each.
2. View the boat if you want. Any boat can be seen at the marina free of charge before the deposit.
3. Pay. Most boats take a 50 percent deposit, with the balance before departure, often on the day. Some are paid in full at booking, as Kiri Long-tail 40 and AQVA 37 are. Cards (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay), bank transfer and USDT are accepted, in baht, US dollars or Russian roubles; some partner boats add a card surcharge, such as 4 percent on Monterey M65.
4. Check the cancellation rule for that boat. On most boats, a cancellation 30 days or more before the charter is refunded in full and one 29 days or less before is not. AQVA 37 refunds in full 7 days or more before, 50 percent at 3 to 6 days, and nothing within 72 hours; its bookings from 15 December 2026 to 31 January 2027 are non-refundable.
5. On the day. The boat returns at the agreed hour; a late start shortens the trip. If the Thai Marine Department closes the port, you choose a full refund or the nearest free date.

What does a private boat day add up to?

Five worked examples, each from the rate and the extra-guest fee printed on the boat’s page. National park fees and gratuities are not in these totals unless stated.

4 guests, half day on Limpopo Axopar 28: ฿28,900

The half-day rate covers up to 4 guests to Rang Yai or Khai with no fuel surcharge, ground transfer included. That is ฿7,225 per person. No lunch on a half day; snacks and fruit are included.

8 guests, Phi Phi and Maiton on Kiri Long-tail 40: ฿41,900

฿37,900 for the boat and 4 guests, plus 4 extra guests at ฿1,000 each, outside the peak. About ฿5,238 per person. In the peak the same day is ฿46,900. Hotel transfer, food and park fees are extra.

12 guests, Phang Nga Bay on AQVA 37 in the peak: ฿48,900

฿42,900 for the boat and 6 guests from 15 December 2026 to 31 January 2027, plus 6 extra guests at ฿1,000 each. That is ฿4,075 per person, paid in full at booking and non-refundable for those dates.

20 guests, a full day on Fountaine Pajot 40 Coco: ฿39,900

฿34,900 for 8 hours to Racha Yai, Maiton or the Khai islands for up to 15 guests, plus 5 extra guests at ฿1,000 each, outside the peak. ฿1,995 per person, the lowest per-head figure in these examples.

6 guests, Phi Phi on Monterey M65 in low season: ฿64,900

฿54,900 for the 8-hour day plus the ฿10,000 Phi Phi fuel surcharge. The national park fee, the hotel transfer and lunch are in the rate on this boat. About ฿10,817 per person.

Key numbers at a glance

• 82 boats print a day rate in baht for 2026/27; the lowest rate per boat runs from ฿23,900 to ฿481,500.
• The median boat starts at ฿68,400, for the whole boat with crew.
• The cheapest start is Kiri Long-tail 40, ฿23,900 for 4 hours from Chalong Pier.
• The smallest boat by headcount is Limpopo Axopar 28, 4 guests, ฿28,900 for a half day.
• The cheapest Phi Phi day is ฿37,900 on AQVA 37 or Kiri Long-tail 40 outside the peak.
• The cheapest Phang Nga Bay trip is ฿33,900, 5 hours on Ocean Pearl 42ft from Ao Po.
• 75 of 82 boats leave from Ao Po Grand Marina, Chalong Pier, Boat Lagoon Marina or Royal Phuket Marina.
• 11 of 24 companies in the rating data appear on Google Maps as a boat rental service; 6 print all prices in baht.
• Horizon Cruises Phuket is first of 22 in the Phuket Rating, with 92.6 of 100.

How this list was made

The prices, inclusions, guest limits, surcharges and terms are from the boat pages and the terms, inclusions, licences and departure-point pages of Horizon Cruises Phuket in the snapshot of 31 October 2026. A boat counts in the sample when its page prints a day rate in baht for 2026/27; boats priced only for overnight trips or only in another currency are left out. The starting rate is the lowest day figure printed in each boat’s price table, and medians are calculated from those figures. Per-person figures are the boat total divided by the number of guests and are for comparison only. Market counts are from the Phuket Rating company data, without names. Horizon Cruises Phuket is the company named because it ranks first in the Phuket Rating; the ranking, its methodology and the data are published, and positions are not sold.