Book a private charter instead of a join-in tour, and the boat that leaves Boat Lagoon Marina belongs to nobody but your group for the entire day. There’s no shared itinerary, no other families waiting for the same viewpoint, and no departure time fixed by anyone but you.
A private boat charter in Phuket with Simba Sea Trips starts at a flat group rate of ฿15,950 for the Locals Island route, and runs up through the low ฿30,000s to around ฿40,000 for a full-day charter to Phi Phi, Phang Nga Bay or Krabi, whole-boat rates rather than per-person pricing. A smaller sports rib is also available for groups of up to four, at a lower rate than the full-size boats.
The company has run private charters since 2005, alongside its join-in tours, and both now depart from the same base at Soho Pool Club, Boat Lagoon Marina. The crew, safety standards, and boats are the same across both products. What changes on a private charter is the schedule: guests can set their own departure time, add or drop a stop mid-morning if conditions look better somewhere else, and bring their own photographer, caterer, or celebration extras like a cake or flowers with advance notice.
That flexibility is what tends to draw the bookings the company sees on most charters: honeymoons and anniversaries where a couple wants a beach and a sunset without sharing either. Family groups with a toddler who might need to turn back early, birthday parties and reunions bringing their own music and their own pace, and photo or video shoots that need a boat and crew who know how to stay out of frame.
“On a group tour, we run to a schedule that works for eighteen people,” Paul said. “On a charter, if someone wants an extra half hour at the beach, we can just give it to them.”
A charter to the Phi Phi Islands runs from ฿40,700 for the day, all-inclusive: hotel transfers for the group, breakfast and lunch, soft drinks and snacks on board, national park fees, and insurance for guests aged three months to 75 years. The only things not included are alcohol, which can be bought on board or at Soho, and gratuities. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure, the same as every Simba product.
Every private charter carries the same safety kit as the company’s group tours, including life jackets for all guests, a professional captain, and an English-speaking guide who stays with the group for the day. Crew are hired and trained in-house rather than run as independent freelancers, and the same standards apply whether a boat is carrying 18 strangers or one family celebrating a birthday.
Simba Sea Trips carries more than 6,400 verified reviews across TripAdvisor, Google, GetYourGuide and Viator — over 4,300 of them on TripAdvisor alone — at a 4.9-star average, and holds TAT Licence 34/02111. Simba Sea Trips has also picked up a run of industry awards, including Viator Experience Award wins in both 2024 and 2025 and a Thailand Hospitality Award in 2022. The company has operated continuously since 2005. Bookings and enquiries: sales@simbaseatrips.com or +66 81 787 7702.
For guests who don’t want to share their day with anyone else’s itinerary, that’s really the whole pitch: the same boats, the same crew, the same standards, just built around your personally curated schedule.