The index prices the join-in seat; this page puts the private boat or private guide next to it. A private speedboat to Phi Phi is one fixed price per boat, so from a certain group size it costs the same per head as the join-in median — that group size is in the table.
Join-in = index median per adult, September 2026; private = published rate per boat or per group, checked Sep 5, 2026; per-head column at a party of 6.
| Tour | Join-in median, per adult | Private, per boat or group | Unit | Private per head, 6 guests | Same per head from | Park fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phi Phi Islands | $63 (n = 6) | 47,900 THB (≈ $1,452) | per boat | $242 | 24 guests | 400 THB |
| Phang Nga Bay / James Bond Island | $52 (n = 12) | 39,900 THB (≈ $1,210) | per boat | $202 | 24 guests | 300 THB |
| Similan Islands | $76 (n = 6) | 50,000–80,000 THB (≈ $1,516–2,425) | per boat | $328 | 26 guests | 500 THB |
| Coral and Racha | $39 (n = 7) | 9,900–14,790 THB (≈ $300–448) | per boat, per day | $62 | 10 guests | none |
| Elephant sanctuary | $88 (n = 9) | 3,000 THB (≈ $91) | per person | $91 | per person | none |
| Old Town walk | $59 (n = 5) | 5,900 THB (≈ $179) | per group of 1–2, plus 1,250 THB per extra adult | $55 | 5 guests | none |
| Big Buddha and Wat Chalong | $26 (n = 10) | quoted on request | — | — | — | none |
| Sunset cruise | $60 (n = 9) | €800–1,000 (≈ $929–1,161) | per boat, per day (09:00–17:30) | $174 | 18 guests | none |
Break-even = the group size at which the private rate divided by guests equals the join-in median. Park fee per foreign adult, cash on the day. Indicative — assembled from dated published rates and converted at the ECB reference rate; not a quote.
Source: Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series; Operator price lists, charter brokers and villa agencies, checked 2026-09-05 · All sources
USD per person; private = published rate divided by 6 (per-person products as published) · 32.985 THB and 0.86096 EUR per USD, ECB reference rate of 2026-09-03
| Item | Published rate | Unit | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private speedboat to the Phi Phi Islands, 8 hours, captain and crew, hotel transfer | 47,900 THB (≈ $1,452) | per boat | September 2026 |
| Private speedboat into Phang Nga Bay (James Bond Island), 8 hours | 39,900 THB (≈ $1,210) | per boat | September 2026 |
| Private speedboat half-day (Khai Islands or James Bond Island), 4 hours | 29,900 THB (≈ $906) | per boat | September 2026 |
| Private speedboat charter, basic boats, 10–35 passengers, day rate across operators | 14,000–32,000 THB (≈ $424–970) | per boat, per day | September 2026 |
| Private speedboat to the Similan Islands from Phuket, full day (12 hours door to door) | 50,000–80,000 THB (≈ $1,516–2,425) | per boat | September 2026 |
| Standard longtail boat, private day charter from a beach | 1,500–3,500 THB (≈ $45–106) | per boat, per day | March 2026 |
| Luxury longtail boat with cushions, shade and crew, private day charter for 4 | 9,900–14,790 THB (≈ $300–448) | per boat, per day | September 2026 |
| Private guided walk of Phuket Old Town, 1–2 adults | 5,900 THB (≈ $179) | per group of 1–2, plus 1,250 THB per extra adult | September 2026 |
| Observation-only elephant sanctuary, full-day programme, entrance per person (transport not included) | 3,000 THB (≈ $91) | per person | September 2026 |
Published rates on the retrieval date (Sep 5, 2026); park fees, guide and villa-to-pier car extra where noted. Not quotes.
The index measures the join-in seat — one adult on a boat or a minibus that the operator fills — and publishes the median with its sample size (September 2026). A private version is the same trip with the boat, the car or the guide reserved for one group, priced per boat or per group rather than per person, and the only arithmetic that matters is the group size at which the two meet. Phi Phi is the clearest case: $63 per adult join-in (n = 6) against 47,900 THB (≈ $1,452) for a private speedboat for the day, which is the same money per head at 24 guests and less above that. Phang Nga Bay meets at 24: $52 per adult join-in (n = 12) against 39,900 THB (≈ $1,210) per boat. Coral and Racha on a luxury longtail meet at 10, because the longtail is 9,900–14,790 THB (≈ $300–448) for the day and the join-in seat is $39.
Below the break-even a private boat is paying for privacy, and the table says how much: at a party of 6 the private per-head column is what each guest pays on the private version, next to the join-in median. What the private version also buys is not in the arithmetic — a departure at seven rather than a pickup loop from six, Maya Bay before the join-in boats arrive, an hour longer at Bamboo Island because nobody else needs to be back, a captain who reads the group rather than a schedule. On a private week the boat is one line in the plan, and it is almost always the private one.
Phi Phi by private speedboat is 47,900 THB (≈ $1,452) for eight hours with captain, crew and hotel transfer, park fee of 400 THB per adult in cash on top, and Maya Bay closed from 1 August to 30 September. Phang Nga Bay is 39,900 THB (≈ $1,210) for the full day or 29,900 THB (≈ $906) for a four-hour James Bond run; the Similans are 50,000–80,000 THB (≈ $1,516–2,425) for a twelve-hour day from a Phuket villa, in season only (15 October – 15 May), with the guide at about 2,500 THB and the villa-to-pier car at about 3,500 THB quoted separately. The basic speedboats — older single-engine boats for ten to thirty-five — are 14,000–32,000 THB (≈ $424–970) a day across operators, and the fuel to Phi Phi is usually a surcharge on those; the rate on the table is for the modern twin-engine boats that a private week uses.
The longtail is the other private boat. A standard longtail negotiated on a beach is 1,500–3,500 THB (≈ $45–106) for the day and is the right boat for Coral Island, the Racha crossing on a calm morning and the beaches south of Rawai; a luxury longtail — cushions, shade, a crew that serves lunch — is 9,900–14,790 THB (≈ $300–448) for four. For a group above eight, or for Phi Phi in comfort, the private boat becomes a catamaran or a motor yacht, and that is the yachts page: €800–1,000 (≈ $929–1,161) for a crewed catamaran day, which is also the private version of the sunset cruise ($60 per adult join-in (n = 9)).
The Old Town walk is the one land tour with a published private rate: 5,900 THB (≈ $179) for one or two adults with a private guide, 1,250 THB for each extra adult, children at 600 THB, against $59 per adult join-in (n = 5). The elephant sanctuary is priced per person whether the group is private or not — 3,000 THB (≈ $91) for the full-day observation programme, against $88 per adult join-in (n = 9) for the half-day join-in — and the private element is the car: a driver for the day, quoted per vehicle by the transfer company, replaces the pickup loop. The Big Buddha and Wat Chalong half-day has no dated private list price that this site could verify; operators quote a private car and guide per vehicle on request, and the table says so rather than guessing.
What a private land day changes is the order and the hours: the Big Buddha at eight before the coaches, the Old Town at five when the shophouses light up, the sanctuary at feeding time rather than at the time the minibus arrives. The guide is licensed — Thailand requires it — and the car is air-conditioned, and the difference between a good private day and an ordinary one is almost entirely who the guide is; the plan the concierge team writes names them.
January, February, March, April, October, November and December are the calm months on the west coast — zero to two rough days in the marine normals — and every private boat runs to plan. July, August and September are rough: the Harbour Department holds speedboats in port on the worst mornings, the Similans are closed, and the private day goes into Phang Nga Bay, where the water is enclosed. A private boat has one advantage a join-in boat does not: it leaves when the captain says the crossing is fine, not when the schedule says, and it turns back without a vote. A rough-sea cancellation by the Harbour Department is refunded or moved; the reserve date in a private plan is what makes it a change of order rather than a lost day.
The reference figures here are published operator rates checked on Sep 5, 2026, converted at the ECB rate of 2026-09-03 (32.985 THB per dollar); the join-in medians are the index's own, September 2026, with sample sizes. Neither is a quote. A request through the form below returns the boat, the guide and the car for your dates, priced for that week, with the park fees listed as the cash they are.
47,900 THB (≈ $1,452) per boat for eight hours with captain, crew and hotel transfer (rate checked Sep 5, 2026), plus the park fee of 400 THB per adult in cash. Against the join-in median of $63 per adult it costs the same per head at 24 guests. Basic older boats are 14,000–32,000 THB (≈ $424–970) a day with fuel to Phi Phi often extra.
From a certain group size, yes: a private boat is one price for the boat, a join-in seat is a price per person. Phang Nga Bay by private speedboat costs the same per head as the join-in median at 24 guests, Coral and Racha on a luxury longtail at 10, Phi Phi at 24. Below that a private boat is paying for privacy and hours.
1,500–3,500 THB (≈ $45–106) a day for a standard longtail negotiated on the beach; 9,900–14,790 THB (≈ $300–448) for a luxury longtail with cushions, shade and crew for four (extra passengers on top). Park fees, lunch and fuel to distant islands are extra on both.
Yes, in season (15 October – 15 May): a private speedboat is 50,000–80,000 THB (≈ $1,516–2,425) for a twelve-hour day door to door from a Phuket villa, plus the park fee of 500 THB per adult, a guide at about 2,500 THB and the villa-to-pier car at about 3,500 THB. The join-in seat is $76 per adult (n = 6).
5,900 THB (≈ $179) for one or two adults, 1,250 THB per extra adult and 600 THB per child, for a private walking tour with a licensed guide — against $59 per adult on the join-in walk (n = 5).
No — the sanctuary prices per person: 3,000 THB (≈ $91) for the full-day observation programme, transport not included. The private element is the car and driver for the day, quoted per vehicle, which replaces the shared pickup loop and lets the visit start at feeding time.
Almost never: Phi Phi 400 THB, Phang Nga 300 THB, Similan 500 THB per foreign adult, paid in cash on the day. Coral, Racha, the Old Town, the sanctuary and the Big Buddha carry no park fee.
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