What Is The Average Group Size On A Private Boat Tour In Phuket?
Often we are asked when we are out with clients what is the average group size we work with on our Private Boat. The answer is generally between 2 and 6 people. We find that generally, our clients wish to explore the islands (like Phi Phi or James Bond) at their own pace, with their own space and the freedom to choose to stay, go, or even sleepover if that’s what they want.
A true private boat like 5 Star Marine is a boat that is designed to be flexible to you, what you want and to ensure we deliver the best experience that you could possibly have on the day.
You want to stay longer on a beach with no problems, you want to snorkel 4 times no problems, you don’t want to get wet, no problems.
Customized Private Boat Tours
There is literally nothing we cant do to customize our Private Boat Tours for you and this generally appeals to couples looking for something romantic, young families worried about kids getting tired of people who have visited Phuket before and just want to avoid the crowds and visit the best destinations at the best time.
So while our main Private Boat, 5 Star Marine Lucus 1 can hold up to 35 people we generally do not run the boat full and just create a luxurious space and environment for you and your family to enjoy the entire boat.
Are All Private Speedboats In Phuket The Same?
When I first came to Phuket over 11 years ago I hired a Private Speedboat to take me to Phi Phi Island and also on a separate day to James Bond Island. While the speedboat was ok (not amazing, but it didn’t sink) the tour was no different from a standard Group Tour, just done on a Private Speedboat.
Fast forward 11 years and with years of experiencing chartering, leasing, hiring, and going on Private Boats in Phuket I’ve come to realize that when most tourists visiting Phuket ask an agent, tour desk or online operator for a Private Speedboat what they are really getting is a Group Tour boat, hired Private for the day.
This means your concept of arriving at destinations without the crowds, visiting remote spots, finding hidden gems are all pipe dreams. The captains of these group tour boats that are rented to go Private are not trained on how to avoid the crowds, devise routes that discover unique locations, and generally give you a “True Private” experience.
For me, a true Private Boat Tour in Phuket experience is where I find beaches, snorkeling spots, lagoons, restaurants where there are very few people, that are probably not even on a brochure and are uniquely beautiful.
So, when you look at hiring a Private Speedboat in Phuket my answer to the question as it relates to this post is NO not all Private Speedboats are the same.
This is one of the reasons that 5 Star Marine is so popular and well-reviewed. Our company designs programs and tours to suit the customers on the day, the conditions on the day and the tides on the day.
While we will provide an itinerary to you prior to booking, we will also advise you that this may be adjusted on the day as we visit and pass by locations that intrigue you. For example, yesterday we conducted a private tour of Hong Krabi, this tour included 7 stops at some absolutely stunning locations and each stop was completely private, with no other boats.
When booking a Private Boat in Phuket we strongly advise that you ensure that the boat is a “True Private Boat” and not just a Group Tour boat that has been provided to your Privately for the day.
Because if it’s just a group tour boat, then you won’t enjoy the tour as much and it won’t be as memorable as if you take a true Private Boat like the 5 Star Marine boat here in Phuket.
Private Speedboat Agents In Phuket
We often see posts on Facebook forums and Trip Advisor where visitors to Phuket are asking who are the best agents on Phuket to book tours through or hire Private Speedboats from.
Obviously, as a Private Boat Charter provider in Phuket, we have agents across Phuket who promote our private boats to visitors, but we always advise our agents to allow the potential customers to talk directly with our boat management team. We advise this so that you, the potential customers can hear the latest news on the weather, wind, wave, and tide conditions.
Sometimes people make bookings with Agents and they just don’t realize that the agent may not have been on a private boat before, visited Phi Phi in the last 5 years, or even seen the private speedboat that you are booking.
This is why we make our team available to any agent on Phuket who is promoting our private boat charter to potential customers. So when you are talking to your Private Speedboat Agent you can always feel free to request to ask to talk to the boat owner or manager directly so you can get the most up-to-date information.
When it comes to weather, sea conditions, pick-up times and route planning the team who are out on the water every day are the best people to talk to as they know the most current conditions and what to expect when you are booking.
Why Are Private Boat Tours More Expensive Then Group Tours In Phuket?
Here at 5 Star Marine, we specialize in Private Boat Tours, and often customers we talk to prior to joining onboard our VIP Private Speedboat ask us why our tours are more expensive than traditional Group Tours.
The reality is quite simple, on a Private Boat Tour we limit the number of people on our boat to just you, your family and friends. This means if it’s just the 2 of you on a romantic cruise or your extended family of 10, the only people on the boat are you and your friends with our crew.
By limiting our boat to just Private Boat Tours we create exclusivity of experience for you that you could not have on a Group Tour. Group Tours can be more affordable as they are filling their boats to capacity.
For example, let’s assume that most group tour boats can take 48 people on the boat. If you pay, as an example, 2000 THB per person to be on the boat, then that boat will be producing an income of 96,000 THB for the day.
Now as a responsible Private Boat Tour company we do not charge anywhere near this 96,000 THB price, in fact, you’d be quite surprised by how affordable private boat tours can be.
With that said though you should keep in mind, that when we conduct a private boat tour the entire boat, equipment, crew are all dedicated to making the day out on the sea the most incredible day for just YOU!
We are not focusing on the other 40+ people on the boat. So YES, Private Boat Tours are more expensive, but how often do you get the chance to cruise around the stunning islands of the Andaman Sea in the luxury of a VIP Private Boat?
Why Does 5 Star Marine Private Charters Look So New?
If you’ve read the history of 5 Star Marine you’d understand that for many years prior to starting 5 Star Marine we operated private tours through our tour agency, Lisa Phuket Tours.
Our Agency was one of the top agencies in Phuket for Private Boat Tours, but on most tours, we were using boats that we leased. In 2019 we decided to make a change and invest in building a fleet of our own private VIP Speedboats.
The advantage of using private boats that we owned is we had full control over the experience you would receive with us. The quality of the private boat, the equipment on the boat, the crew, everything we could control, resulting in a better overall experience for you, our customers.
Now with that said, if you read any of the reviews on the Lisa Phuket Tours facebook page you would realize that we were highly recommended and our tours were much loved.
This is because we were very particular about the boats that we leased. Now we can take our business to the next step, we can enhance our guest’s experience and ensure 5 Star service across the board.
That’s why 5 Star Marine looks new, when in fact it’s not new. 5 Star Marine is just an extension of our Lisa Phuket Tours business, which has been running for 3 family generations here in Phuket.
So if you’re looking for a Private Boat Charter in Phuket then contact our team at 5 Star Marine or Lisa Phuket Tours.
