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A birthday on a yacht in Phuket

Updated

Empty striped cushions on a yacht deck under a shade sail, an island off the bow
Day beds on a yacht's deck under a shade sail, an island off the bow.

At a glance

A private yacht or catamaran for the day suits a birthday from November to April, when the sea is calmer: out among Phang Nga Bay's limestone islands, to Phi Phi or Racha Yai, and back as the sun goes down.

  • When: November to April; from May to October, boat trips can be cancelled at short notice.
  • Where: Phang Nga Bay, Phi Phi, Racha Yai or Coral Island; the Similan islands from 15 October to 15 May.
  • Booking: A licensed operator: ask for its licence number, and what the price includes.
  • In the parks: No alcohol, no single-use plastic and no reef-harming sunscreen, on the boat too.
  • Sunset: Between 18:04 and 18:48, depending on the month: plan the trip back around it.

A private yacht or a party boat?

A boat of your own, a yacht, a catamaran or a speedboat chartered for the day, carries only your party, and you agree the route, the food, the music and the hours with the operator. A party boat you buy a ticket for is a different day out: a boat full of people you don't know, on a route someone else has set.

The best time for a yacht party in Phuket

The Tourism Authority of Thailand recommends November to April for Phuket, and the sky is clearest from January to March. From May to October, the south-west monsoon brings rough seas: boat trips can be cancelled at short notice, and when waves of 2 to 3 metres are forecast, the weather office tells small boats to stay ashore. If your birthday falls then, keep a spare day.

The weather and the sea, month by month: When to visit Phuket

Where a day on the water goes

  • Phang Nga Bay: a national park of limestone islands. Ko Tapu, the rock pillar called James Bond Island, is seen from the sandbar on Khao Phing Kan or from a distance: boats may not go close.
  • Phi Phi: a national park too, in Krabi province. Nobody may swim in Maya Bay, a nursery for blacktip reef sharks, and the bay closes from 1 August to 30 September every year.
  • Racha Yai, by boat from Rawai and Chalong: one of Phuket's own islands, where you can stay the night.
  • Coral Island, about 5 km off Rawai, for its reef and fine sand.
  • Ko Yao Noi, across the water in Phang Nga: mainly Muslim fishing and farming villages, so dress modestly in the villages.
  • The Similan islands, a marine park open only from 15 October to 15 May, as a day trip: nobody may stay the night, the park caps its visitors each day, and every visitor needs an e-ticket with a passport number, bought ahead. Ask how long the crossing takes.
A tall limestone pillar topped with trees standing alone in calm green water, a cliff on either side
Ko Tapu in Phang Nga Bay. Photo: engin akyurt, Unsplash License

The national parks charge foreign visitors an entry fee: since 2022, 300 baht an adult at Phang Nga Bay and 500 baht at the Similan islands. Landing on Phi Phi's islands is reported to cost 400 baht an adult.

The islands, the temples and the viewpoints: Things to do in Phuket

Booking a boat for a birthday

A company that sells boat trips to visitors needs a tour-business licence: ask for its number, and check it on the Department of Tourism's website, where a properly registered company shows as normal. The boat needs a licence of its own from the Marine Department, which states how many people it may carry. There's no public lookup for that one, so ask to see it.

Many day trips leave from Chalong's long pier; boats to Racha Yai also go from Rawai, and to Ko Yao Noi from Bang Rong Pier. Ask which pier yours uses.

Before you pay, ask:

  • How many people the boat's licence lets it carry, and how many crew come with it.
  • The route and the hours, and what time you'll be back.
  • What the price includes: park fees, fuel, food, drinks, ice, towels, snorkelling gear, and the drive from your villa or hotel.
  • Whether you can bring a cake, decorations and your own music.
  • Life jackets for everyone, in children's sizes too.
  • What happens if the weather cancels the trip.

On board: life jackets and the parks' rules

  • Put the life jacket on before the boat leaves, and keep it on while you're aboard. Don't board a boat that looks overcrowded.
  • In the national parks, which cover much of Phang Nga Bay and the waters around Phi Phi, no alcohol may be sold or drunk, at sea as well as ashore: in April 2025, a group who chartered a speedboat and drank beer in the water at Phi Phi were fined, and the boat was barred from the park.
  • No single-use plastic or foam in a national park: no plastic cups, straws or foam boxes.
  • In the marine parks, sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate and the other chemicals the parks list are banned.
  • At the reefs, since April 2025, nobody may touch any sea life or feed the fish, and snorkellers keep a life vest on.
  • If you've been drinking, stay out of the water.
  • A drone in a national park needs the park chief's permission and a registered pilot.

Back for the sunset

Some day cruises end at sunset, in the warmest light of the day. This year the sun sets between 18:04 and 18:48, depending on the month. Plan to watch it from the boat near the pier and be ashore before dark: Australia's travel advice is to avoid boats after dark.

Longtail boats moored in a calm bay at sunset, a forested headland in silhouette behind them
Longtails at sunset in a bay on Racha Yai, in 2007. Photo: Tobias Barkskog, CC BY 3.0

Today's sunset and golden hour: Sunset in Phuket

On the day

  • Look at the Thai Meteorological Department's warnings, in English on its website, or call 1182.
  • Anything unsafe on the water: the Marine Department's hotline, 1199, day and night. An emergency at sea: 1465.
  • The Tourist Police answer on 1155, in several languages.

What to bring on a yacht

  • A hat, sunglasses, and a sunscreen without oxybenzone or octinoxate.
  • Shoes you can slip off, in case the crew asks for bare feet on deck.
  • Swimwear under your clothes, a towel, and a layer for the wind on the way back.
  • A dry bag for phones and passports.
  • Plenty of water.
  • If you get seasick, sit in the middle of the boat and look at the horizon, and skip alcohol and heavy or spicy food just before and during the trip; a pharmacist can suggest tablets.

The rest of the birthday: a villa, a beach club, dinner and a night out: Celebrating a birthday in Phuket

  • Friends in shirts and dresses lined up at the bow, sea and islands behind
    Friends lined up at the bow, the sea and islands behind.
  • Couple silhouetted nose to nose against a gold sunset, a limestone island rising behind them
    A couple nose to nose on deck at sunset, a limestone island behind.

On a boat, the light is warmest on the way home, so keep the birthday in photos of everyone on deck as the sun goes down: photos on the water in Phuket