The word "excursion" covers wildly different things on Samui: an eight-hour day in a marine park, three hours with a kite instructor, a private yacht for twenty. Prices differ by a factor of thirty, and the names give none of that away.
What follows is the full list of what leaves Samui for the sea, with operator prices, durations and departure piers. The included-versus-extra question is handled separately, because that is where budgets usually go wrong.
- Cheapest — a group day in Ang Thong or at Koh Tao, from ฿2,300 ≈ $64 per person.
- Without a tank — a snorkeller's seat on the dive boat, ฿2,900 ≈ $80 with lunch.
- Private — from ฿22,000 ≈ $609 for a sunset yacht to ฿79,000 ≈ $2,188 for a full day.
In short
group sea days on Samui run ฿2,300 to ฿2,900 ≈ $64–80 per person, diving starts at ฿4,650 ≈ $129, and a private boat starts at ฿22,000 ≈ $609 for the hull. National park fees and island entries are almost always paid separately.
What actually leaves Samui for the sea?
Five groups. Group sea days by speedboat, the slow kayak day in the same park, diving and snorkelling from the dive boat, private charters, and the shore-and-speed set — jet ski, kite, lake fishing. Most departures leave in the morning and are back by evening.
The difference between formats is not the route but how many people are aboard and who sets the clock. A group day is cheaper and runs on the operator's timetable; a private day costs a whole hull and runs on yours.
The two big days: Ang Thong and Koh Tao
The Ang Thong Marine Park speedboat day starts at ฿2,300 ≈ $64 per person plus the ฿300 ≈ $8 park fee on the day: eight hours, pickup at 08:30, departure at 09:45 from Bangrak pier, back at 16:30. Inside it are snorkelling at Koh Wao, the climb to the Emerald Lake and kayaking under the cliffs.
The Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan day costs the same — from ฿2,300 ≈ $64 — but runs 8.5 hours with pickup at 08:00, and the Nang Yuan entry is added on top: ฿250 ≈ $7 per adult and ฿120 ≈ $3 per child. The same park can also be taken slowly: the Bluestars kayak day is ฿2,800 ≈ $78, eleven hours from Nathon pier, park fee included.
Diving and snorkelling
Certified divers go to Sail Rock: two dives on the granite pinnacle between Samui and Phangan, from ฿4,650 ≈ $129 per person, about eight hours, hotel pickup at 07:45. Without a certificate you are not taken.
Without a certificate there is the try dive off Koh Tao: two dives to 12 metres, a maximum of two students per instructor, ฿5,900 ≈ $163 per person, gear, lunch and transfer included. And a snorkeller's seat on the dive boat is ฿2,900 ≈ $80 with lunch — the seat for a non-diver travelling with divers.
Private departures and charters
The most affordable whole-hull charter is the sunset sail on a 52-foot yacht: ฿22,000 ≈ $609 for the charter, two guests already included, each further guest ฿2,500 ≈ $69, up to six aboard, three hours with tapas and a bottle of champagne.
A half day on a classic wooden Thai yacht to the Five Islands and Pig Island is ฿25,900 ≈ $717 for the hull, six people included, each further adult ฿1,200 ≈ $33 and child ฿800 ≈ $22, about four hours forty-five. A full private day is ฿79,000 ≈ $2,188 for a charter of up to twenty, and the Ang Thong version starts at ฿89,000 ≈ $2,465.
Shore and speed: jet ski, kite, fishing
Four hours on a jet ski around the island is ฿6,500 ≈ $180 per machine carrying up to two people — cheaper than any charter listed here. A kitesurf discovery lesson at the Hua Thanon spot is ฿7,000 ≈ $194 for three hours with a private instructor, all gear included.
A category of its own is trophy lake fishing at Taling Ngam: twelve hours from 08:00 to 20:00, ฿7,000 ≈ $194 per fishing person, short sessions from ฿3,300 ≈ $91. Giant Siamese carp, Mekong catfish and Amazon redtails; a no-catch-no-pay policy applies.
What is in the price and what is not
Important
the national park fee is almost never included. At Ang Thong it is ฿300 ≈ $8 per person on the day; at Koh Nang Yuan ฿250 ≈ $7 per adult and ฿120 ≈ $3 per child. There is one exception: on the Bluestars kayak day the marine park fee is already in the price.
The hotel transfer, by contrast, usually is included — on the speedboat days, the kayak day and the try dive it is in the price. On the dive boat the free pickup covers Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak and Choeng Mon, and we confirm other areas when you book.
Where they leave from, and when
The speedboats to Ang Thong and Koh Tao leave from Bangrak pier on the north coast, with pickup at 08:30 and 08:00 respectively. The Ang Thong kayaks start from Nathon on the west coast at 08:00, the dive boats from Bophut, with the Sail Rock pickup at 07:45.
Tip
Bangrak is about 10 minutes from Chaweng, 11 from Bophut and from the airport, and 33 from Lamai. If your trip has two or more sea days, staying on the north coast saves an hour a day on the road alone.
