Phuket Private Boat Charter
By October 28, 2020 Private Boat Charter Comments Off

Phuket Private Boat Charter

Are you looking for a Private Boat Charter while visiting Phuket?  You may be overwhelmed by the options available to you.  Just a quick google search will show up millions of results from large companies to small, from owner-operated companies to agents.  So how do you decide which is the right Private Boat Charter for you?

Selecting A Phuket Private Boat Charter

In our experience of selling, operating, and provided Private Boat Tours for 13 years here in Phuket we find that Private Boat companies fall into a couple of different categories:

Private Boat Agents

Private Boat Agents are companies that don’t actually own the assets that they are chartering to you.  They have a relationship with the owner of the company that they are chartering from and make a commission.  While Private Boat Agents are necessary to help owners like us, you will find that Agents will be providing prices and promises above what the Private Boat Charter company will deliver.

For example, in 2019 we received a booking from an Agent and they told us that they had explained to the customer the need to pay the national park fee and that it was not included in the price paid to the agent.

Upon meeting the customer we did a pre-trip briefing and found out they had no idea what the National Park fee was and the agent told them that everything was included.  To ensure a good customer experience our company took a loss and paid the National Park fee for them and cut ties with the agent.

So when booking with a Private Boat Agent ensure that every promise they are making to you is a promise that the Boat Owner will back up.  An easy way to tell if they are an agent is to ask for a photo of the exact boat they promise you will go on, or even call the owner so you can talk to them.

Group Tour Companies Providing Private Rentals

These companies are companies that generally target the Group Tour market, but if you wish you can choose to take one of their Group Tour boats on a Private Boat Charter.  Generally, this means you will be taking a boat that has a lot of wear and tear with a crew that is set on a normal “route” and is not experienced in offering true private tours.

When I first came to Phuket I did this and would say it was the single worst experience I have had on a tour in Phuket ever.  The crew did not care about our experience, were unhelpful about lunch options, and wanted to get back to the pier as soon as possible.

While these companies have their place in the market, from a price point of view they are on part of even slightly higher than a True Private Tour company but they offer service which is of an inferior standard on boats that don’t appear or operate as VIP.

True Private Boat Charter Companies

I believe that 5 Star Marine is one of those companies.  We do not do group tours, our staff is trained to provide Yacht Like service to our customers, and we design and run programs that go anywhere from Phi Phi to Phang Nga, Krabi to Koh Rok and Koh Haa and beyond.

Our team is heavily trained on making sure they avoid crowds, they deliver custom experiences and receive feedback from our customers and adapt on the fly.  Each and every single tour we do here on our Private Boat Charters are 100% customized we never do the exact same tour twice.

Private Boat Lucus 1 Renovation And Covid19 Deep Cleaning
By April 13, 2020 5 Star Marine News, Private Boat Charter Comments Off

Private Boat Lucus 1 Renovation And Covid19 Deep Cleaning

During the Corona Virus (Covid19) period we here at 5 Star Marine Phuket decided it would be ideal to take our Private Boat, Lucus 1 out of the water for yearly maintenance.  During this maintenance period, we did a deep clean on Lucus 1.

What Is A Deep Clean?

All fixtures and fittings from the private boat were removed.  This includes seats, roofs, masks, snorkels, life jackets, and more.  We removed everything off the boat and cleaned all of these fixtures and fittings in anti-bacterial solutions.  Once they were cleaned in the anti-bacterial solution we then cleaned them again per our normal process.

We wanted to be 100% sure that we had completely removed any risk of contamination.  Now while we say this it’s important to note that we have no record of any guests, staff, or crew contracting Covid19 and we stay regularly in contact with our guests.

In addition to cleaning the fixtures and fittings of the private boat, we also took the time to use an anti-bacterial solution to clean the boat itself.  This combined with the fact that we sanded back to our base original paint and then re-painted the boat means that Lucus 1 is one of the cleanest and newest looking Private Boats in Phuket.

 

Lucus 1 Private Boat Refurbishment Photos

private boat lucus 1 renovation and covid-19 deep cleaning
private boat lucus 1 renovation and covid-19 deep cleaning
private boat lucus 1 renovation and covid-19 deep cleaning
private boat lucus 1 renovation and covid-19 deep cleaning

We look forward to seeing you all back onboard Lucus 1 and conducting Private Boat Tours once this Covid19 period has passed.

Stay Safe and Stay Healthy.

What Are The Best Private Boat Tours For Young Children?
By April 5, 2020 Phuket Tips, Private Boat Charter Comments Off

What Are The Best Private Boat Tours For Young Children?

As a father of a 7-year-old boy, I understand what it’s like to take Children out on tour as a parent.  Lucus, my son, has been coming out on boats since he was 6 months old and I’ve found that as he gets older the kinds of tours that he can join the change.

Based on my personal experience with my son Lucus and the children we’ve had on board here is what we would recommend in terms of Private Boat Tours for young children.

 

Lucus On A Private Boat
Lucus On Board At 7 Years Old

Age 6 Months to 2 Years Old – Private Boat Tours

At this age, your child is most probably too young to really experience any of the tours so the tour selection should come down to something that you would like to see and is safe for your child as well.

Generally, this means you should consider a tour into Phang Nga Bay / James Bond Island as the water is calm, the speed of the Private Boat slower, and the chance of bumps during your ride considerably less.  Also, Phang Nga Bay tours can be done in as little as 3hrs if you wish to push through the tour between nap and feeding times.  In our experience, though you can have your child nap on our large outdoor cushions or in your pram/stroller.

A secondary location that also offers a similar level of safety and sea conditions would be Hong Krabi.  This location also offers the ability for you to snorkel whereas Phang Nga Bay does not.

 

Kids On A Private Boat Tour
Some Fun On Board Lucus 1

Age 2 Years Old – 6 Years Old – Private Boat Tours

At this age, your child needs to be kept engaged with multiple new things to see, explore, and do otherwise they may become agitated on tour.  My son from 2-4 years old, personally loved the Phang Nga Bay Private Tour, Khai Island Private Tour, Raya Island Private Tour, and Hong Krabi Tour.

As he got older, around 5-6 Years old his preference moved towards Phi Phi Island Private Tours as there was more to see and he was a confident swimmer.  Again it’s important for her to time stops frequently and use our outdoor cushions for nap time.

 

7 Years And Above – Private Boat Tours

Generally, any tour would be suitable for a child of 7 years and above.  Just check on sea conditions prior to departing as one negative experience with a child could ruin any future chances of going on a Private Tour.

 

What Is A Traditional Phi Phi Island Private Boat Tour?
By March 28, 2020 Island Hopping, Private Boat Charter Comments Off

What Is A Traditional Phi Phi Island Private Boat Tour?

Often when we are discussing with potential clients a Private Boat Charter to the Phi Phi Islands we are asked what is a traditional Phi Phi Island tour.  Our answer is generally direct and maybe a little confusing for our guests.  You see, we say we don’t have a traditional Phi Phi Island tour, every single tour we run out to Phi Phi Island is unique, customized, and tailored to the customers on the Private Boat.

As a Private Boat Charter company, we encounter a wide range of guests.  We have guests who love snorkeling, guests who want to see reef sharks, guests who want to snorkel from the boat, guests who want to snorkel from the beach, guests who want to sightsee.

Camel Rock At Phi Phi Island

Due to the wide range of guests we have and the wide range of tours they wish to experience we build a custom program for every single guest.  When building that program for a Phi Phi Island tour we consider the guest’s desires, the sea conditions, the water clarity, and the wind direction.

If the wind is coming from a certain direction it may make sea conditions more pleasant in different areas of Phi Phi Island.  So this is why every single time that we run a Private Charter Boat to Phi Phi Island we take a different course, we stop at different locations and we time the tour differently.

What Can You Expect From A Phi Phi Island Private Boat Tour?

Instead of giving an EXACT plan of what we will see and do at Phi Phi Island, we allow our guides and captains to have complete flexibility on the day.  With that said there are a few things we can guarantee you’ll have the opportunity to experience.  Those things include 2 or more wonderful snorkeling spots, 1 or more great beaches for relaxing, 1 or more spots to view the local monkeys, 1 or more beautiful lagoons, and a quiet spot for lunch.

Quiet Lunch Spot At Phi Phi Island

If you’d like to find out more about a Phi Phi Island tour, simply contact us and we’d happily discuss how we can customise a Private Boat Charter to Phi Phi Island for you.

Can I Do James Bond Island And Phi Phi Island In One Day?
By June 20, 2019 Island Hopping, Private Boat Charter Comments Off

Can I Do James Bond Island And Phi Phi Island In One Day?

When people who visit Phuket are short on time, they are on a short stay or it’s just one of many stops we are often asked if it’s possible to do James Bond and Phi Phi Island all on the same day.

The answer is simple, yes.

BUT, and there is a big but, you have to rent a Private Boat and experience both Islands from the comfort of your own Private Charter.

The reason being that if a group tour company attempted to do both locations in one day they could not possibly do it. With up to 90 people on a group tour boat, they could not do each stop with 90 people going on and off the boat all in one day.

By taking a Private Speedboat like our 5 Star Marine Private Boat you will be able to complete both trips in one day as there are fewer people on the boat (just you and your family or friends) and we can design a program that specifically suits you.

This is a popular program that we have run with clients who visit Phuket only just once in their lifetime so they can see some of the most popular sites as well as some of the hidden gems. When you do both James Bond and Phi Phi on the same day with us, we will create a program that ensures you are not transiting too long on the boat.

Generally the programs we design only have a maximum of 20 minutes of travel time between each of the islands. How is that possible?

Again, it’s easy for Private Boats like ours where we can design the program to break up the transit and also ensure you see some spectacular sites.

If you are looking to do both wonderful locations in one day, just contact us for more details.

Private Speedboat Agents In Phuket
By June 14, 2019 5 Star Marine News, Private Boat Charter Comments Off

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.