A Boat Day for a Villa Group on Koh Samui: The Per-Person Maths and the Planning

What a group boat day on Koh Samui costs per person

Divide the boat price by your headcount. The half-day charter (about four hours) is ฿28,000 for the whole boat and the full day (about eight hours) is ฿49,000, whether two of you come or fifteen. Spread across a group, it works out like this:

The charter figures are the boat price divided by the number of guests, rounded to the nearest 10 baht. On a charter a child takes a full place, because the price is for the boat. On the shared trip, children aged 4 to 11 pay the child fare of ฿1,900.

The charter's share per person drops with every guest you add; the shared fare does not. Compare the charter column with the shared fare for your own headcount. The table uses our live prices, so the comparison is always current. They are not quite the same product: the shared trip is about five hours with lunch from twelve dishes, while the half-day charter is about four hours with a menu planned with you. The full day has no shared equivalent, so judge it on what eight hours on the water is worth to you.

Fifteen guests is the limit, children included, because that is what the boat is certified to carry. A villa of sixteen means someone stays ashore.

When shared seats are the better Koh Samui boat trip for groups

Shared seats make sense for a group that is happy to go on a weekday, on a set route, with a few other guests. The Half-Day Trip runs Monday to Friday, boards at 09:00 and is back alongside by 14:00. The fare already covers a welcome coconut, soft drinks, snorkelling gear and a lunch each person chooses from twelve dishes when you book, and children aged 4 to 11 get a supervised snorkelling session with the crew in shallow water.

What you give up compared with a charter:

• The whole deck. The boat takes fifteen, so if your group books ten seats, up to five people from outside your group can join.
• The weekend. Shared trips run Monday to Friday only. A Saturday or Sunday with us is always a charter.
• The route. The shared trip goes north along the Big Buddha coast, then round to Silver Beach (Crystal Bay) or Coral Cove on the east coast, chosen on the day. It is a good route, but it isn't yours to change.
• The clock. Hotel pickup is between 07:00 and 08:15, depending on your area.

Children on the child fare change the sums, so add up your own mix before you decide.

Half day or full day for a mixed-age villa group

A half day suits most groups with young children or grandparents; a full day suits a group that wants to swim, eat and lie about without anyone watching the clock. About four hours is enough for some coastline, a swim and lunch, and short enough that a four-year-old is still cheerful when you come back in. Eight hours at a wooden boat's 6 to 7 knots gives the crew room for a longer route and the group more time in the water and a long afternoon on the roof-deck beanbags.

The things that usually decide it:

• The youngest. The minimum age is four on every trip, charters included. If anyone in the villa is younger, somebody stays ashore with them, and a half day keeps that separation short.
• The heat. There is a shaded cabin and a shaded stern, but eight hours on the water in the hot months is a long day for anyone who doesn't like the sun.
• Teenagers. There is phone charging on board but no Wi-Fi. For some groups that is the whole point.

Our guide to a Koh Samui boat trip with kids covers seasickness, lunch for fussy eaters and packing for children in more detail.

Grandparents and anyone unsteady on steps

Check mobility first, not last: the boat is not wheelchair accessible, and anyone going ashore steps down from the boat into the dinghy. Grandparents who are steady on their feet have plenty to do without getting wet: the teak cabin is shaded, there is a marine toilet on board, and nobody has to swim or go ashore.

If someone would rather skip the dinghy at a beach stop, say so when you plan the route.

Planning a chef menu for a whole villa

Chef menus are planned with you after booking, so collect your group's needs before the crew ask.

Gather this in the villa group chat:

• Who is vegetarian, vegan or avoiding something, and why (preference or allergy).
• Every allergy, named precisely: "tree nuts" is more useful than "nuts".
• What the children will actually eat, including the one who eats only one thing.
• On a full day, whether you want one long meal or food spread through the day.

What to tell the crew before the day

Tell the crew anything they would otherwise find out on the boat. They message the lead guest on WhatsApp after booking, so have the answers ready in one message.

• Headcount and ages, with the under-twelves and anyone who will need a hand flagged.
• Who swims well, who doesn't, and who wants to jump off the roof.
• Food needs and allergies, as above.
• Where to collect you: one villa address, or several hotels.
• The kind of day you want: two or three stops, or one quiet anchorage and a long lunch.
• Anything you are celebrating.

The crew will also ask for every guest's passport details, because the Marine Department needs a manifest for each sailing. Collect them in the group chat before you book and nobody has to chase an uncle for a photo of his passport at breakfast.

Payment, drop-outs and weather: the rules that matter to a group

A charter is paid in full online, by card or PromptPay, by the person who books. There is one price for the boat, so how you split it is between you; settle who owes what before the card goes in.

Because the price is per boat, one person dropping out doesn't change it. It only raises everyone else's share: ten people on a half day pay ฿2,800 each, and if two pull out the other eight pay ฿3,500 each. The dates that matter are the cancellation tiers for the whole booking:

• 5 days or more before: full refund.
• From 24 hours to 5 days before: 50% refund.
• Under 24 hours: no refund.
• Cancelled by the crew for weather, sea conditions or safety: your choice of a free reschedule or a full refund.

Weather is the part nobody controls. From mid-October to mid-December the north-east monsoon makes a moved trip more likely. The east coast takes the swell first. The north coast is sometimes easier, but a strong north-easterly makes it rough too; the crew decide on the day. Seas settle from late December. Our rainy season guide has more on those weeks.

A luxury boat charter on Samui, or a slower one

If a luxury boat charter on Samui means a motor yacht to you, ours isn't one: she is a slow, handcrafted teak boat that stays on the island's north and east coasts, and never a party boat. Our comparison of a wooden boat and a speedboat sets out the trade-offs.