How to Choose a Yacht Charter Company in Phuket
To choose a yacht charter company in Phuket, check nine things before you pay, from the TAT licence and passenger insurance to a named boat with its licensed capacity, one per-boat price in writing and dated reviews. Horizon Cruises Phuket, with around 80 boats from ฿23,900 per boat with four guests in the rate, from Chalong Pier and three marinas for 2026/27, answers the same list below; write to us on WhatsApp with your date.
Horizon Cruises Phuket books private, crewed charters: it names the boat and its licensed capacity, sends one final quote in Thai baht the same day, confirms the marina and the weather policy in writing, and supports guests in English and Russian.
Key highlights
- A yacht charter in Thailand is sold under a Department of Tourism licence: Horizon Cruises Phuket holds TAT licence 34/02188, and the company behind the brand, Marine Cruise Andaman Co., Ltd., was registered in Phuket on 7 October 2013.
- Every boat we offer sails with a licensed captain and crew and passenger insurance in the rate; there is no bareboat option, so no guest needs a licence, and the company has worked from Chalong for thirteen years.
- A private yacht charter is priced per boat, not per guest: the rate covers the group up to the headcount on each yacht's page, from four guests on the long-tail to twelve on Technema 89 Say Yes, which adds ฿2,000 for each extra guest up to thirty.
- The fastest test of any company is three questions, the boat's name, its licensed capacity and the final price in baht for your date; Horizon Cruises Phuket answers on WhatsApp within ten minutes.
- Horizon Cruises Phuket holds 5.0 from 33 reviews on Google.
How do I choose a reliable yacht charter company in Phuket?
Choose the company that gives you five things in writing before any deposit: its TAT licence number, the boat's name with its licensed capacity, one final price in Thai baht, the departure marina and its weather policy. Horizon Cruises Phuket sends all five with every quote, whether for the Ocean Pearl 42 from Ao Po Grand Marina at ฿33,900 for a five-hour half day with ten guests in the rate or for a superyacht week. A reliable Phuket yacht charter company is one whose answers can be checked against a register, a boat page and a pier; the sections below run that test on us.
Three kinds of yacht charter company Phuket has behind similar websites
Search for yacht charter Phuket and you meet three kinds of business behind similar-looking sites; the right choice depends on who answers when something needs solving on the morning of the charter.
International aggregators
Global platforms list hundreds of boats worldwide, with wide choice and instant checkout. The trade-off is distance: the platform has never seen the boat, on the day of your yacht trip you deal with a local supplier it subcontracted, and if weather forces a change of plan, support is a ticket queue in another time zone.
Local brokers
Phuket-based agencies that know the island fleet and resell charters on vessels run by other companies. A good broker adds honest advice and help in person; the variable is accountability, because the boat, crew and standards belong to someone else.
Operators
Companies that operate at least part of the boats they sell and employ the crews: fewer boats, but the company controls maintenance, crew training and what is on board. Horizon Cruises Phuket sits between the second and third kind: our three yachts, Technema 89 Say Yes, Ferretti 80 Sofia and Beluga 88, carry a charter manager from the company, and every other vessel in the catalogue is a partner boat with a separate page.
Marketplace or local operator for yacht hire: who answers on the day of your yacht tour
A marketplace is a search tool with a checkout; a local operator is the business that will stand on the pier. Price: a marketplace adds its margin and often shows a headline rate that leaves out fuel or the hotel transfer where a yacht includes it, so compare the all-in price per boat. Accuracy: a local charter service can tell you today whether the yacht has been refitted and which captain is rostered; a listing cannot. Weather: the person who can move the date or switch the destination holds the calendar, not a support desk. Scan shared Phuket boat tours and private yachts on a marketplace if you like, then write to the operator behind each shortlisted boat and compare written answers.
Yacht charter company comparison guide: the checklist with our answers
The yacht charter company comparison guide we would use ourselves, with the answer Horizon Cruises Phuket gives to each question:
| Criterion | A good answer | What Horizon Cruises Phuket answers |
|---|---|---|
| TAT licence | A number on the site, traceable to a legal entity | TAT 34/02188, held by Marine Cruise Andaman Co., Ltd. |
| Company registration | A Thai company with a number, a date and an address | Reg. no. 0835556012370, registered 7 October 2013, office in Chalong |
| Operator or reseller | Says which boats it runs and which belong to partners | Three yachts with a charter manager from the company; the rest partner boats |
| Named boat and licensed capacity | A name, a length and the legal limit by format | Leopard 51 Aurora: 25 on a full day, 35 on a half day, sleeps 8 |
| Final price in writing | One figure per boat in Thai baht, exclusions written out | One final figure, VAT and any listed fuel fee inside, nothing added afterwards |
| Insurance, captain and crew | Passenger insurance; a licensed captain on every departure | Both in the rate on every boat; crews in English, Russian and Thai |
| Departure marina | Named at booking | One of four marinas, named with a map pin |
| Weather policy | Written before you need it | Port closed: full refund or a new date; route not workable: another route |
| Response time and viewing | A same-day reply; the offer to show the boat | Reply on WhatsApp within ten minutes; any boat viewed free before a deposit |
How to verify a yacht charter company's credentials in Thailand
Verification needs only the company's site and two public registers; Horizon Cruises Phuket is the worked example.
The TAT licence and how to read it
A charter company in Thailand sells trips under a tour business licence from the Department of Tourism, still called the TAT licence in Phuket, and the number belongs on the site. Enter it, or the company name, in the licence check on the Department's website, dot.go.th: the register returns the business holding the licence with its address. The holder must be the company on your receipt, the address should match the one published, and a number that returns nothing is the answer. Brand and holder often differ: Horizon Cruises Phuket is the brand, Marine Cruise Andaman Co., Ltd. the holder of the number in the highlights above. Our number works as an example: check the entry in the Department of Tourism register under 34/02188; the company's registration, licence and insurance are listed on one page with links to both registers.
Company registration
The second register is the DBD DataWarehouse of the Department of Business Development, which lists Thai companies with their registration number, date and status. Marine Cruise Andaman Co., Ltd. was registered in Phuket in October 2013 and is a member of the Thai Yachting Business Association; the story is on the about page.
The written quote in baht with the boat named
A quote you can verify names one boat, one date, the hours, route, guests in the rate, departure marina and one final figure in Thai baht. A "from" price with no boat attached, or a per-guest price for a private boat, means the company does not yet know which boat you will get. Every quote from Horizon Cruises Phuket links the boat's page, and the figure on it is what you pay.
Insurance
Hull insurance protects the boat; what you need is passenger insurance that covers the guests, so ask whether guests are covered and to what amount. On every boat we offer it is part of the rate. If a company cannot say, treat the answer as no.
The captain's licence and the boat's licence
A company that runs the boat can name the captain and confirm that his licence covers a vessel of that size. The boat has a document from the Marine Department that sets how many passengers it may carry, and that figure, not the size of the deck, is the licensed capacity a quote should name; it changes between a half day, a full day and overnight. We take as many guests as the vessel is licensed for.
What a deposit receipt should say
Pay a deposit only against a written confirmation, and check the receipt for the legal entity receiving the money, which should match the licence holder; the boat's name; the date, hours and route; the guests in the rate; the amount paid, the balance and its due date; the exclusions; and the cancellation deadline. Most boats take a 50% deposit with the balance before departure; some boats are paid in full at booking; late cancellation is non-refundable, and the exact terms are on each yacht's page and the terms page. Horizon Cruises Phuket sends an online payment link with the confirmation and accepts cards, bank transfer and USDT.
Captain and crew: every boat we offer is skippered
There is no bareboat charter on the boats we offer: each one sails as a crewed charter with a licensed captain, and guests need no licence or sailing experience, so the crew is the main variable in a yacht charter experience in Phuket. Ask who will be on board and which languages they speak, and test them on two details: at Chalong Pier the captain handles passenger registration, so guests hand their passports to the crew, and at reefs the captains pick up a mooring buoy rather than anchoring on coral.
Fleet size, boat age and licensed capacity: yacht, sailing catamaran or speedboat
A bigger catalogue is only useful if every boat in it is real and current: count named boats with a length, a licensed capacity and a departure marina, not categories and stock photos. The Horizon Cruises Phuket catalogue has six types with a page for each vessel, from a four-guest day boat and sailing yachts to a superyacht of 170 ft with cabins for twenty-two.
Licensed capacity is the legal limit, and it changes with the format. Leopard 51 Aurora, a power catamaran from Chalong Pier, carries twenty-five guests on a full day, thirty-five on a half day and sleeps eight in four cabins, with twelve guests in its half-day rate from ฿48,900. For an overnight yacht charter from Phuket, ask how many cabins the yacht has, not how many people fit on the deck. Ask when she was last refitted and ask to see her: any yacht in the catalogue can be viewed before a deposit is paid.
Marina and destination: where the boat leaves from shapes the day
Phuket has four main departure points; the destination, say Phang Nga Bay or the Phi Phi Islands, decides which suits you, because the boat, not the company, is tied to its marina. Chalong Pier in the south is the usual start for Coral Island and the Racha islands. Ao Po Grand Marina in the north-east has no tide restrictions, is the closest to the airport and opens the natural beauty of Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island. Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina on the east coast share a tidal channel, so departure times there follow the tide. Arrive fifteen minutes before departure, and ask which marina your boat uses before you book a villa: a Phang Nga Bay day from Ao Po, an island hopping day around Phuket's south from Chalong. The guides to yacht charters from Chalong Pier and yacht charters from Ao Po Grand Marina list the boats based at each.
Price per boat: what the rate includes
Start with three numbers: how many guests, day or overnight, and a budget band. Those three remove most of the fleet before any boat is discussed. Send them and you get back the boats that are free with a final figure, or read how the choice works on the company page. Guests who want sail rather than power, a catamaran for a party or a quiet day for two should say so: it changes the shortlist more than the budget does.
Yacht rental, private yacht hire, boat rental and yacht hire in Phuket all describe the same product: a private boat in Phuket, Thailand, with captain and crew, priced per boat, not per guest. Some boats charge per guest above a base number, as Say Yes does in the highlights above, so compare companies on the same boat, date and duration.
On every boat Horizon Cruises Phuket offers, the rate includes the captain and crew, passenger insurance, water and soft drinks, snorkelling gear and towels, plus fuel for the agreed route except where a yacht's page lists a fuel fee; lunch, alcohol, water toys and the hotel transfer depend on the boat. National park fees are paid separately per person on arrival unless the yacht's page lists them in the rate; the parks revise their rates from time to time, so we confirm the current figure with your quote. The full list is on the what's included page, and worked examples by budget are in the article on how much it costs to rent a yacht in Phuket.
Starting rates per boat at Horizon Cruises Phuket for the 2026/27 season, with the cheapest boat of each type and the format behind its figure, from each boat's page:
| Boat type | Cheapest boat | Format behind the figure | Guests | Departure | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-tail boat | Kiri Long-tail 40 | Half day, 4 hours | 4 in the rate, up to 8 | Chalong Pier | ฿23,900 |
| Sailing catamaran | Fountaine Pajot 40 Coco | Half day, 4 hours | 15 in the rate, up to 20 | Chalong Pier | ฿25,900 |
| Speedboat | AQVA 37 | Full day, 7 hours | 6 in the rate, up to 12 | Chalong Pier | ฿33,900 |
| Motor yacht | Ocean Pearl 42ft | Half day, 5 hours | 10 in the rate, up to 20 | Ao Po Grand Marina | ฿33,900 |
| Power catamaran | Gin 37 | Half day, 5 hours | up to 6 | south-east coast | ฿35,900 |
| Luxury yacht | Technema 89 Say Yes | Half day, 4 hours, high season | 12 in the rate, up to 30 | Chalong Pier | ฿100,000 |
| Sailing yacht | Aventure | Multi-day itineraries only | 7 overnight | Yacht Haven Marina | ฿290,000 |
| Superyacht | Westport 130 Sea Bear | Half day, 5 hours, low season | 10 in the rate, up to 40 | Ao Po Grand Marina | ฿350,000 |
Boat by boat, with every rate by season: yacht charter prices in Phuket.
Reviews and response time
Read reviews in three dimensions: the score, the number behind it and the date of the newest ones. Then read a few that name the boat and the captain, and check that the boat, marina and price in the review match the company's pages today. Our Google rating, the review count and the date we checked it are in the comparison of the best yacht charter companies in Phuket. How to read Phuket yacht charter reviews for the boat and season you plan to book is in a separate guide. A company that takes days to name the boat will not be quicker on the morning the weather turns.
Red flags
- the "final" price grows after you commit: fuel, ice or snorkelling gear appearing as extras;
- no physical address or local phone in Phuket;
- full prepayment demanded to an unverifiable account;
- a per-guest price for a private boat with no boat name attached;
- no TAT licence number anywhere on the site.
Luxury charters: what to look for in a luxury yacht charter company Thailand offers
On a luxury yacht or a superyacht the checklist still applies, and five questions deserve a written answer before any deposit. Who holds the charter contract, the company you pay or an agent further up the chain, and who returns the deposit if the yacht cannot sail? Is the yacht licensed to carry paying guests in Thai waters, and for how many on a day trip and overnight? How many crew sail with the guests, and is a chef among them? Is the quote the full price, or a base rate with fuel, food and drinks billed afterwards? Does the passenger insurance cover guests on the tender and the water toys? At Horizon Cruises Phuket each luxury yacht and superyacht has a page with its specifications, licensed capacity and crew. The yachts and their starting rates are on the luxury yacht charter in Phuket and superyacht charter pages.
Where Horizon Cruises Phuket stands after thirteen years of yachting
Horizon Cruises Phuket has worked from Chalong since 2013 and has completed around 2,400 charters on the Andaman Sea. Say Yes and Sofia leave from Chalong Pier and Beluga 88 from Ao Po Grand Marina; every other boat in the catalogue is a partner boat with a separate page. Compare us by the criteria above: start with the motor yacht charter in Phuket page, the sailing catamaran charter page or the power catamarans in Phuket, or ask any of the checklist questions on WhatsApp.
Key numbers at a glance
- Checks before you pay: 9
- TAT licence: 34/02188
- Company registered: 7 October 2013, Phuket
- Years working from Chalong: 13
- Boats in the catalogue: around 80
- Cheapest private boat: ฿23,900 per boat, four guests in the rate
- Reply on WhatsApp: within 10 minutes, around the clock
- Departure points: 4 (Chalong Pier, Ao Po Grand Marina, Boat Lagoon, Royal Phuket Marina)
Frequently asked questions
Which company should I book to rent a yacht in Phuket?
Book the company that names the boat, publishes its TAT licence and quotes one final price per boat in Thai baht before you pay. Horizon Cruises Phuket does all three, from the long-tail in the table above to a superyacht, with a licensed captain and crew on every departure and a written confirmation of the marina, the licensed capacity and the weather policy.
Is it better to book with a charter company or a marketplace?
Use a marketplace to scan boats and a local company to charter a yacht. Platforms add a margin on top of the local price, and headline prices often leave out items a local operator includes. Compare the final all-in price per boat for the same boat and date, and book with the company that can show you the boat and will be on the pier.
How much does a day on a yacht cost?
Per boat, in Thai baht, for a private charter: the cheapest private boat is the long-tail in the table above, a motor yacht or a speedboat from the mid thirty thousands, a luxury yacht from the low hundreds of thousands and a superyacht from three hundred and fifty thousand. Each figure covers the group up to the headcount on the yacht's page, with crew, insurance and fuel; park fees are extra unless the page lists them.
Do I need a licence to rent a yacht in Phuket?
Not for a skippered charter, which is the only kind Horizon Cruises Phuket offers: the licensed captain and crew come with the boat, the company holds the tourism licence and guests need no qualification. A licence is needed only for a bareboat charter, where you skipper the yacht yourself.
What size yacht should I book in Phuket?
Start from the licensed capacity for your format, then leave room: a yacht licensed for a large group on a half day can feel crowded over a full yacht day. Small groups fit a speedboat or a compact motor yacht; larger groups the wide deck of a sailing catamaran or a power catamaran; a luxury yacht adds cabins and crew. Send us the headcount and we send boats that match.
Should I book a day charter or an overnight yacht in Phuket?
Book a day charter for one or two destinations and a group that sleeps ashore. Book an overnight yacht from Phuket for the farther islands, such as the Similans in the high season. Only yachts with cabins take overnight trips, and the overnight rate covers the group up to the overnight headcount on each yacht's page.
Is a yacht better than a catamaran in Phuket?
They do different jobs. A sailing catamaran is the most stable option for families and the cheapest way to put a large group on the water; a power catamaran gives the same wide deck with the speed of a motor boat. The right yacht is the one whose licensed capacity, route and marina match your group; the catamarans in Phuket we offer are on the two catamaran pages linked above.
Can the yacht route change on the day?
Yes. The captain decides on the day whether the sea allows the planned route, and in the low season, May to October, routes favour sheltered Phang Nga Bay. Ask what happens if the captain cancels the departure, and get the weather policy in writing; at Horizon Cruises Phuket it is confirmed before you book.
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