Phuket to Krabi by yacht: a private yacht charter day trip or an overnight cruise to the islands from Phuket, Thailand, which boats go and what it costs in 2026/27

Phuket to Krabi by yacht is a private charter day of seven to ten hours on the Andaman Sea, and with Horizon Cruises Phuket it costs from ฿37,900 for the whole boat: the AQVA 37 speedboat to the four islands with six guests in the rate, from Chalong Pier, outside the peak. The closest departure point is Ao Po Grand Marina on the north-east coast of Phuket, Thailand: Hong Island in Krabi is about 27 km away, 50 minutes on a motor yacht and 35 minutes by speedboat, and the Ocean Pearl 42ft motor yacht offers the Krabi islands from there at ฿49,900 for eight hours with ten guests in the rate. The 88 ft motor yacht Beluga 88 sells the same day with Koh Hong and the Four Islands at ฿214,000 in low season, and a night at anchor there starts at ฿105,000 on the Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42. More than forty of the around 80 boats in the catalogue publish a Krabi route, every rate is per boat for the 2026/27 season, and national park fees are paid separately per person. Send the date and head count on WhatsApp or through the contacts page.

Key highlights

• Krabi is a day trip from Phuket, not a transfer: the yacht leaves in the morning, spends the day on the islands and is back at the same pier by evening, seven to ten hours in all.
• Ao Po Grand Marina is the departure point to count from: 26 to 44 km to the islands against 45 to 58 km from Chalong Pier, so the hour saved under way stays with you.
• Day rates run from a speedboat with six guests in the rate to ฿299,600 on Beluga 88 in the peak with twelve guests in the rate; the price is for the whole boat, and there is no per-seat ticket.
• Two nights afloat on the loop from Phang Nga Bay to Krabi to Phi Phi cost from ฿160,000 on the Astrea 42 and ฿540,000 on Technema 89 Say Yes or Ferretti 80 Sofia with eight guests in four cabins.
• Horizon Cruises Phuket holds 5.0 from 33 reviews on Google.

How far is Krabi from Phuket by boat, and how long does the crossing take?

By road the two provinces are about 180 km apart. By water the islands sit straight across the bay from Phuket's east coast, and the figures below are measured from Ao Po Grand Marina in the north-east of the island, the closest of the four starting points to that side and about half an hour's drive from the airport.

Distance from Phuket to the Krabi islands in a straight line and one-way running time by boat type, 2026/27

Destination	From Ao Po Grand Marina	From Chalong Pier	Motor yacht, one way	Speedboat, one way
Pak Bia	26 km	48 km	40 to 55 min	about 35 min
Hong (Krabi)	27 km	45 km	about 50 min	about 35 min
Lao Lading	28 km	48 km	about 50 min	about 35 min
Poda	42 km	53 km	50 min to 2.5 h	40 to 55 min
Chicken (Koh Kai)	42 km	52 km	50 min to 2.5 h	40 to 55 min
Railay Beach	44 km	58 km	about 1.3 h	about 1 h

Straight-line figures; the track on the water is somewhat longer. The hull decides the time: a speedboat cruises at 25 to 35 knots, a motor yacht at 9 to 28 knots depending on the model, a power catamaran at 8 to 18, a sailing catamaran at 5 to 7 knots, which is why the four-islands day belongs to speedboats and motor yachts.

Day trip, overnight cruise or one-way: which private yacht format fits?

A day trip is the usual answer. The yacht leaves Phuket between 08:00 and 10:00, reaches the first anchorage in under an hour, takes two or three islands with lunch at anchor, and is alongside again by 17:00 to 19:00. An overnight cruise makes sense when the group wants Krabi and somewhere else: a sunset and a night at anchor off Railay or near Hong Island, with Phang Nga Bay the day before or the Phi Phi Islands and Maya Bay the day after. Overnight guests are limited by the cabins, not by the day capacity; rates for 44 vessels are on the overnight yacht charter page and the three-day loop on the 3-day yacht charter page.

Can the yacht drop you in Krabi instead of coming back?

Yes, on the vessels whose page lists a relocation, priced as a supplement on top of the day rate: ฿15,000 each on the 53ft Grand Banks Sambuca, Azimut 46, Cranchi 58 Scenery, Riva 70 Aria Blue and Princess 65, ฿15,750 on Mami Wata, and ฿24,000 to Ao Nang on the Indigos from Chalong. The day on the islands runs at the normal rate with your luggage aboard and ends at a pier in Ao Nang or Krabi town; the supplement pays for the empty return leg.

Two Krabi destinations from Phuket: the Hong group and the four islands

Price lists name the province in two ways, and they are two different days.

The Hong group: Hong Island, Pak Bia and Lao Lading

The nearer route and the one most Ao Po boats sell as an eight-hour day. Hong Island in Krabi is the larger island of the group, with a sandy beach, shallow water and an inner lagoon, inside Than Bok Khorani National Park; it fills with tour boats after ten or eleven in the morning, so leave early, and high tide is the better time to swim, because the low tide exposes sharp reef. Pak Bia, the nearest of the group, has a 400-metre beach and a sand spit that appears at low tide; it is a snorkelling spot rather than a swimming one, so bring a mask and snorkel. Lao Lading, 28 km out, is a sheltered cove with a short white beach between the cliffs, usually the second or third stop of the day with one or two boats at anchor; it hosted the Red Bull Cliff Diving final in October 2013.

The four islands: Poda, Chicken Island, Tup and Mor, with Railay

The further route, 42 to 44 km from Ao Po, sold as a single full day, the four-islands tour. Koh Poda is the beach of the group: a wide strip of sand to sunbathe on with shade along the tree line, basic toilets and seasonal vendors, no accommodation and no pier, so the tender lands on the sand. Chicken Island, Koh Kai on the chart, is the snorkelling stop; between it and Tup and Mor runs the Thale Waek sandbar, which surfaces around low tide and lets you walk between three islands, so that stop is booked against the tide table, not the clock. Railay Beach, a peninsula with no road to it, is added on the vessels whose price list names it. All of it lies inside Hat Noppharat Thara and Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, where the rules in force since 22 April 2025 ban feeding fish and require two metres of clearance from the reef.

Both routes are empty before the longtails arrive from Ao Nang, usually after lunch, so a Phuket charter has the morning to itself. A yacht charter in Krabi booked from the Phuket catalogue means the yacht comes across for the day and goes home. Phang Nga Bay from Phuket is the same crossing, with the Yao islands 16 km from Ao Po and James Bond Island, the most visited attraction of the bay, a little further, and several vessels publish the bay with Hong Krabi as one combined day.

Which yachts go from Phuket to Krabi, and what the day costs

The table lists the vessels Horizon Cruises Phuket charters there most often and the cheapest of each type, with the route as each page names it and the lowest published rate for the whole boat. Guests above the number in the rate are charged per head at the figure on the page.

Phuket to Krabi by private yacht: day rates for the whole boat, guests in the rate as stated, lowest season 2026/27

Boat	Type	Guests	Departs from	Route as the price list names it	From
Beluga 88	Motor yacht, 88 ft	12 in the rate, up to 22	Ao Po Grand Marina	Koh Hong and the Four Islands, 9 hours	฿214,000 low season
The Origin 90	Motor yacht, 90 ft	20 in the rate, up to 30	Chalong Pier	4 islands with Railay, 10 hours; Hong, 10 hours	฿125,000 and ฿135,000
Azimut Atlantis 50	Motor yacht, 50 ft	8 in the rate, up to 11	Chalong Pier	Pak Bia, Lao Lading, Hong, Kai, or Poda, Chicken, Talay Waek, Kai, 8 hours	฿111,000
Leopard 47 Myra	Sailing catamaran, 47 ft	10 in the rate, up to 30	Ao Po Grand Marina	Hong, Lao Lading, Lao Ka, Pak Bia, Rai, 10 hours	฿69,000
Prada 50	Power catamaran, 50 ft	10 in the rate, up to 20	Ao Po Grand Marina	Hong Krabi, 8 hours	฿65,000 low season
53ft Grand Banks Sambuca	Motor yacht, 53 ft	10 in the rate, up to 20	Ao Po Grand Marina	Hong Krabi, 8 hours	฿60,000 low season
Ocean Pearl 42ft	Motor yacht, 42 ft	10 in the rate, up to 20	Ao Po Grand Marina	Krabi Islands, 8 hours	฿49,900 outside the peak
AQVA 37	Speedboat, 37 ft	6 in the rate, up to 12	Chalong Pier	4 islands with Railay, 7 hours; Hong Krabi, 8 hours	฿37,900 and ฿39,900 outside the peak

Beluga 88: the luxury day from Ao Po

Beluga 88 has a crew of five, was renovated in 2026 and accommodates twenty-two guests by day. Her route is nine hours, Koh Hong and the Four Islands, from Ao Po Grand Marina: ฿214,000 from May to October, ฿267,500 from November to April and ฿299,600 in the peak from 20 December to 20 January, with twelve guests in the rate and each guest above twelve at ฿3,000. In the rate are a Thai lunch at anchor, Prosecco and beer, soft drinks and fruit, one return transfer for up to ten guests and the toys from the slide to a 4 m tender; the four air-conditioned cabins stay open all day. She cruises at 9 knots, so the day is built around long anchorages, and her solar power means no generator runs through lunch.

Technema 89 Say Yes and Ferretti 80 Sofia: Krabi as an overnight route

The two other yachts in the luxury line, Say Yes and Sofia, are berthed at Chalong Pier. Their published day routes go to Coral Island, Racha Yai, Phi Phi and Hong in Phang Nga Bay; Krabi appears on their cards as an overnight itinerary, combined with Phi Phi, Phang Nga Bay or the Racha islands, at ฿360,000 for two days and one night in high season with a private chef and all meals included, eight guests in four cabins. A DJ, decorations and photography are arranged separately on request.

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Overnight itinerary: a night at anchor off Krabi and the three-day loop

The Astrea 42, a 2024 Fountaine Pajot sailing catamaran out of Ao Po, publishes two days and one night with Chicken Island, Ao Nang and Railay at ฿105,000 from 2 March to 30 November, eight guests in four cabins; meals on board are ฿500 per guest per meal for groups of six or more, and a chef is ฿4,000 a day plus ฿5,000 a day for groceries. Leopard 47 Myra publishes three days and two nights to Hong Island and the four islands at ฿195,000 for six overnight guests with a chef, all meals and the return hotel transfer in the rate. Leopard 51 Aurora, the power catamaran of the group from Chalong, sleeps eight in four cabins from ฿177,900 for two days and one night.

Overnight charters from Phuket that reach Krabi: rates for the whole boat with crew, guests by cabins, lowest season 2026/27

Boat	Sleeps	Departs from	2 days / 1 night	3 days / 2 nights	Published route
Technema 89 Say Yes	8 in 4 cabins	Chalong Pier	฿360,000 high season	฿540,000 high season	Krabi with Phi Phi or Racha; chef and meals included
Ferretti 80 Sofia	8 in 4 cabins	Chalong Pier	฿360,000 high season	฿540,000 high season	as Say Yes
Beluga 88	8 in 4 cabins	Ao Po Grand Marina	฿428,000 low season	฿642,000 low season	the bay, Krabi, Phi Phi; chef ฿10,000, meals per guest
Leopard 47 Myra	6 in 3 cabins	Ao Po Grand Marina	฿135,000, the bay	฿195,000	3 days: Hong and the 4 islands; chef and meals included
Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42	8 in 4 cabins	Ao Po Grand Marina	฿105,000 low season	฿160,000 low season	Chicken Island, Ao Nang, Railay; Phi Phi Don and Krabi; meals per guest

The standard three-day loop boards at Ao Po, crosses Phang Nga Bay on day one with the first night among the limestone, spends day two on the Krabi side with the second night off Railay or near Hong Island, and comes home on day three through Phi Phi.

Marina and hotel pickup: Ao Po, Chalong or Royal Phuket Marina

The yacht sits where its berth is, so the route and the vessel are chosen first and the boarding point is confirmed with a map pin at booking. Twenty-four vessels in the catalogue are based at Ao Po Grand Marina, a closed marina with no tidal window, half an hour from the airport and close to an hour from the west coast. Royal Phuket Marina and Boat Lagoon serve the same routes from a few kilometres further south, with the start time set by the tide. Chalong Pier serves Patong and the south, and the hulls berthed there sell the islands as a seven-to-ten-hour day with the longer crossing built in. Hotel pickup depends on the vessel and is stated on its page: Leopard 47 Myra and Beluga 88 include a transfer, the speedboats do not.

What's included in the charter, and what you pay on top

On every vessel the rate covers the whole boat, the captain and crew, fuel for the published route and 7 % VAT; where a page publishes a fuel supplement for a longer route, it is shown with the price. Soft drinks, fruit, towels, masks and fins and life jackets are on board across the catalogue. Lunch differs: Beluga 88 serves a Thai lunch on every full day, Sambuca and Myra include lunch on day tours, the Ocean Pearl and the Prada 50 list lunch at a restaurant as a separate à la carte item, and the AQVA 37 lets you bring food and drinks at no charge. Paid separately: the national park fee, per person, cash to the rangers on the islands, with the current figure confirmed with your quote; guests above the number in the rate, from ฿800 a head on the Ocean Pearl to ฿3,000 on Beluga 88; extra hours, at ฿3,600 on the AQVA 37 and more on the big yachts. The general list is on the what is included page, and the card is the one that counts.

When to go: season, weather and the tide

From November to April the Andaman side has calm sea and reliable visibility and every format in the catalogue runs; this is the high season, and the published rates on most vessels rise by a quarter or so against May to October. The peak dates differ by vessel and are on each card; the half-day formats on the big yachts are not sold in those weeks. From May to October the south-west monsoon arrives in bands rather than constantly. The crossing to the four islands is open water across the mouth of the bay, so on a windy morning the skipper will suggest the Hong group or the bay instead; the route in low season is chosen on the morning, and trips are almost never cancelled, they change shape. In any month the tide sets the hour for the sandbar and the swim at Hong.

How to book, deposit and cancellation

Send the date, the number of guests and whether you want the Hong group, the four islands or a night at anchor on WhatsApp or through the contacts page. You get the boats that are free on that date with one final figure in Thai baht, in writing, before anything is paid; the deposit follows the card, 50 % on Beluga 88, Say Yes, Sofia and most of the catalogue with the balance on the day, and full payment at booking on the AQVA 37 and the Ocean Pearl. Payment is by card, bank transfer, cash or USDT, in baht, dollars or roubles. Cancellation terms are on the same page: on the big yachts a deposit cancelled 30 days ahead comes back in full and peak-season dates are non-refundable. Horizon Cruises Phuket has worked here since 2013; the boarding time and the map pin come with the confirmation.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the boat from Phuket to Krabi?

About 50 minutes on a motor yacht and a little over half an hour by speedboat from Ao Po Grand Marina to Hong Island, 27 km away; the four islands at 42 km take 40 to 55 minutes by speedboat and from under an hour to two and a half hours on a motor yacht; from Chalong Pier the run is longer.

How much does a private yacht from Phuket to Krabi cost?

From ฿37,900 for the whole boat on the AQVA 37 speedboat with six guests in the rate, ฿49,900 on the Ocean Pearl 42ft motor yacht with ten in the rate, and on Beluga 88 with twelve in the rate from the low-season figure in the table and ฿267,500 from November to April, all before park fees.

Is the price per person or per boat?

Per boat. Each rate carries a number of guests, six on the AQVA 37, ten on the Ocean Pearl and twelve on Beluga 88, and every guest above it is charged per head at the figure on the card, up to the day capacity shown there.

Can I go from Phuket to Krabi by yacht and stay there?

Yes, on vessels whose page lists a relocation: ฿15,000 on Sambuca, Azimut 46, Cranchi 58, Riva 70 and Princess 65, ฿24,000 to Ao Nang on the Indigos. The day on the islands is charged at the normal rate and the yacht drops you at a pier in Ao Nang at the end of it.

Can a sailing catamaran do the Krabi day?

Only the Hong group, the nearer route: Leopard 47 Myra publishes it as a ten-hour day at ฿69,000 with ten guests in the rate. At 5 to 8 knots the four islands are an overnight route for that hull, which is how the Astrea 42 sells them, as two days and one night with Chicken Island, Ao Nang and Railay.

Which is better, Phang Nga Bay or Krabi, for a day from Phuket?

Phang Nga Bay is the shorter run, with the Yao islands 16 km from Ao Po, and the sightseeing day of limestone, caves and the lagoon at Hong; Krabi is the beach and snorkelling day further out. Several vessels, the Azimut Atlantis 50 among them, publish both, and some combine the two in one eight-hour day.

Are national park fees included?

No. Hong Island, Pak Bia and Lao Lading lie in Than Bok Khorani National Park and the four islands in Hat Noppharat Thara and Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park; the fee is paid per person, in cash to the rangers on the islands, children at a reduced rate, and the current figure is confirmed with your quote.

What happens if the weather is bad on the day?

The crossing to the four islands is exposed, so on a windy morning the skipper offers the Hong group or Phang Nga Bay on the same vessel at the same rate. A full refund applies only when the Thai Meteorological Department bans boat operations, as the AQVA 37 page states.