Similan island tours
Discover the Similan Islands with a Private Tour Experience
TL;DRA Similan Islands private tour means a whole boat chartered just for your group, for the day. Budget roughly ฿43,400–80,000 per boat from Khao Lak or Phuket, plus ฿500 per foreign adult in park fees. You pick the start time and the stops. The park's 08:00–16:00 hours and its no-overnight rule? Those still apply.
A Similan Islands private tour means your group, alone, on a chartered speedboat or speed catamaran for the day. You pick the pickup time, the order of stops, how long you stay in the water. For 2026–27, published charters run about ฿43,400–80,000 per boat from Khao Lak or Phuket, plus the national park fee of ฿500 per foreign adult. Split six or eight ways? Closer to a premium join-in ticket than you'd think.
Below: what a private tour includes, who runs them, the cost per boat and per person. And the park rules that no amount of money gets you around.
| Subject | Relation | Object |
|---|---|---|
| A Similan Islands private tour | is | a speedboat or catamaran chartered by one group for the day |
| A private charter | costs | about ฿43,400–80,000 per boat |
| 5 Star Marine | runs | private Similan boat tours from Phuket Boat Lagoon |
| Love Andaman | charges | ฿48,000 (3 engines) or ฿66,000 (4 engines) for 1–4 people |
| The park fee | is charged | per person on top: ฿500 per foreign adult |
| A private boat | cannot stay | in the park after 16:00 |
Introduction to the Similan Islands
What are the Similan Islands?
The Similan Islands are an archipelago of 11 granite islands in the Andaman Sea, about 70 km off the coast of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand. Protected as Mu Ko Similan National Park since 1982. The park covers 140 km², and almost all of that is sea.
You won't mistake these islands for anywhere else. Huge rounded boulders stacked at the water's edge. Beaches of fine white coral sand. Water so clear you can count fish from the boat. Sail Rock, the balanced boulder above Donald Duck Bay on Island No. 8, is the photo everybody's after, and underneath, granite reefs and coral gardens make the Similans one of Thailand's best-known spots for diving and snorkelling.
Understanding Private Tours
What is Included in a Private Tour?
A private Similan tour usually covers the same basics as a join-in trip. What changes is that the boat, the crew and the timing are all yours. Inclusions vary, so read this as a checklist. Not a promise:
- Boat and crew: captain, deckhands and usually an English-speaking guide.
- Hotel transfer: included by Siam Adventure World. Love Andaman charges extra: ฿3,500 for an 8–10 seat van to its pier.
- Snorkel gear and life jackets.
- Lunch: a beach picnic or set meal. Siam Adventure World offers vegetarian and gluten-free food on request.
- Drinks, fruit and snacks on board.
- Insurance: tour accident cover.
- Park fees: sometimes included (Siam Adventure World), often not (Love Andaman, Five Star Thailand Tours).
Why pay for privacy at all? Because you can leave before the join-in fleet and reach Donald Duck Bay before it fills up. You can skip stops you don't care about and hang around where the turtles are. Families with small kids, photographers, anyone with mobility worries... they get the most out of that freedom. A typical private day still runs the classic route, mind you: Sail Rock on Island No. 8, two or three snorkel stops, lunch on a beach, then Honeymoon Bay or Princess Bay on Island No. 4.
Comparing Private Tour Options
Here are the private Similan charters that published prices for the 2025–26 or 2026–27 season:
| Provider | Departs | Boat price | Extra people | Park fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five Star Thailand Tours, Sunrise Private Tour | Phuket | ฿43,400 for two | +฿2,200 adult, ฿1,500 child | Not included (cash at the park) |
| Love Andaman, 3-engine speedboat | Tablamu Pier, Khao Lak | ฿48,000 for 1–4 | +฿1,500 each | +฿500 per foreign adult |
| Love Andaman, 4-engine speedboat | Tablamu Pier, Khao Lak | ฿66,000 for 1–4 | +฿1,500 each | +฿500 per foreign adult |
| Siam Adventure World, speed catamaran | Nam Khem Pier, Khao Lak | On request | Boats up to 20 or 32 guests | Included |
| Typical market range (Forbes & Partners) | Phuket | ฿50,000–80,000+ | Fixed per boat | Usually extra |
Three things move the price. First, engines and boat size: bigger boats burn more fuel, and Discovery Khao Lak reckons a speedboat gets through around 500 litres on a Similan day. Second, the departure point, since Phuket adds hours of road or sea. Third, the dates. Last season Love Andaman tacked on ฿10,000 over Christmas–New Year, mid-February and mid-April. Per person, though, the maths turns friendly fast: a ฿60,000 boat is ฿30,000 each for two, ฿10,000 each for six and ฿7,500 each for eight.
Our take: under four people, a small early-bird join-in boat gets you most of the benefit for a fraction of the cost. Six or more? Then compare a charter seriously.
Tour Providers and Guides
Who Offers Private Tours to the Similan Islands?
5 Star Marine is the name you'll hear most for private Similan tours from Phuket. It does private VIP boat trips and nothing else, out of Phuket Boat Lagoon (72 and 73/20 Ko Kaeo, Mueang Phuket), planning each day around the group: which islands, which beach for a picnic lunch, how much snorkelling. Tripadvisor reviews keep circling back to the crew, often by name, and to little touches like fruit platters. Its best advice? The first month after the park opens can bring rough seas, so talk your dates through with them. Contact: +66 64 945 7357, replies within 24 hours.
Other providers:
- Love Andaman: charters from its own Khao Lak pier, with published per-boat rates.
- Siam Adventure World: private speed catamarans from Nam Khem. Guides speak Thai and English, with Italian, French, German or Spanish at extra cost.
- Five Star Thailand Tours: a sunrise private speedboat from Phuket, offered 15 November to 14 April.
On a private tour the guide matters more, because you plan the day together. A good one reads the tide and the other boats, finds quiet snorkel spots, and changes course when jellyfish or swell show up.
Transportation and Logistics
Transportation Options for the Tour
Two boat types rule the private Similan market:
- Speedboat (3–4 engines): fastest, around 60–90 minutes from Khao Lak, but bumpy in any swell.
- Private speed catamaran charter: two hulls and a wider deck. Steadier, more comfortable for children and older guests, and better if seasickness worries you. Siam Adventure World's private catamarans are built around this.
Before you pay, ask about the comfort and safety basics. Life jackets in the right sizes, kids' included. Shade on deck. A toilet on board. How many crew. Whether the boat carries a first-aid kit and oxygen. Private doesn't automatically mean safer, so ask exactly what you'd ask a join-in operator.
Starting Your Tour from Phuket
To start a private Similan tour from Phuket, you've got two choices:
- Drive, then boat: a private van takes you 2–2.5 hours north to Thap Lamu or Nam Khem near Khao Lak, and the speedboat crosses from there. This is the more comfortable option and what most operators recommend.
- Boat the whole way: some charters leave from Phuket piers. Khao Lak Land Discovery puts that crossing at around 3 hours by speedboat each way, which leaves less time on the islands and more chance of a rough ride.
Either way, the park's 08:00 opening and 16:00 closing still apply. A sunrise start from Phuket means a brutally early pickup, and the trip home takes another 3–4 hours after the park shuts. Sleeping in Patong or Kata? Expect a 13–14 hour day. A night in Khao Lak beforehand makes it all gentler; see where to stay and how to get from Phuket to the Similan Islands.
Exploring the Natural Wonders
Marine Life and Activities
A private boat won't buy you different wildlife. It buys you more time with it. Expect reef fish everywhere, clownfish tucked into anemones, blue-spotted stingrays on the sand, green or hawksbill turtles. Payu (Island No. 7) is the usual turtle stop. Reef sharks hang about in deeper water, and manta rays and whale sharks are rare treats, February to April.
What a private day involves:
- Snorkelling at two or three spots of your choosing.
- The short, steep hike to the Sail Rock viewpoint on Island No. 8.
- Beach time and a picnic lunch at Honeymoon Bay or Princess Bay on Koh Miang (Island No. 4).
- Scuba, if you book a dive guide for certified divers. See day trip diving.
Good habits don't stop because the boat's private: reef-safe sunscreen only, no touching or standing on coral, nothing taken off the beach, no feeding fish.
Regulations and Booking
Understanding Park Regulations
Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation runs Mu Ko Similan National Park, and its rules shape every private itinerary, like it or not:
- Season: open 15 October to 15 May; closed for the southwest monsoon.
- Hours: no arrivals before 08:00, everyone out by 16:00.
- No overnight stays on the islands, so private tours are day trips.
- Daily visitor cap, with every guest registered by passport.
- Fees: ฿500 per foreign adult and ฿250 per child aged 3–14; Thai nationals pay ฿100 and ฿50.
- Closed areas: Koh Tachai has been closed to visitors since 2016, and some islands are off limits.
- Conduct: reef-safe sunscreen only, no single-use plastics or foam boxes, drones need a permit.
In practice that means two things. You can't buy a sunset on the islands. And you can't book a date in the closed months. Season dates live on our open season page.
How to Book a Private Tour
Booking a private Similan tour? Four steps:
- Pick your date early, especially for December to April. Private boats sell out first over the holidays.
- Request quotes from two or three providers, for example 5 Star Marine (+66 64 945 7357), Love Andaman or Siam Adventure World. Ask what the price includes: transfers, lunch, park fees, guide language.
- Send passport details for everyone; the park registration needs them.
- Confirm the cancellation terms. Siam Adventure World offers free cancellation up to 3 days before, and weather cancellations are normally refunded or rescheduled.
For a good deal: avoid the peak surcharge dates, fill the boat (the per-head price drops with every guest), and ask whether a Khao Lak departure beats a Phuket one on price. It usually does. Comparing with shared tours? Start from our Similan island tours overview.
Sources checked October 2026: 5 Star Marine: Similan private boat tour, Forbes & Partners: private tour costs, Love Andaman: Similan private charter, Siam Adventure World: private charter, Discovery Khao Lak: Similan snorkelling, Thai National Parks: Mu Ko Similan. Prices change; confirm with the operator before you pay.
