In Pattaya the same stretch of water is sold in two different units, and the unit decides the bill more than the figure does. A seat on the daytime speedboat to Koh Larn costs ฿1,200 (≈ $33) per person. A private hull starts at ฿19,000 (≈ $526) for the whole boat, and that sum does not move: two of you or ten, it is one payment.
- Private yacht Sea Lord (41 ft) — Pattaya Yacht Charters, ฿19,000 (≈ $526) per boat, up to 12 guests, 4 hours
- Private yacht — Ocean Marina Yacht Club, ฿25,000 (≈ $692) per yacht, up to 10 guests, 4 hours
- Private Serenity catamaran (73 ft) — Serenity Yachting, ฿35,000 (≈ $970) per boat, 2-hour sunset run, priced for 25 guests
- Marry Merry sailing catamaran (Lagoon 440) — Pattaya Yacht Charters, ฿39,000 (≈ $1,080) per boat, up to 20 guests, 4 hours
- Deep-sea fishing — Sangsang Thai Fishing, ฿15,000 (≈ $415) per boat, up to 8 anglers, 6 hours
- Koh Larn speedboat — Manta Marina Pattaya, ฿1,200 (≈ $33) per person, group capped at 12, 6 hours
- Sunset catamaran — Manta Marina Pattaya, ฿2,500 (≈ $69) per person, up to 30 guests, 3 hours
- Serenity day catamaran — Serenity Yachting, ฿2,700 (≈ $75) per person, up to 45 guests, 7 hours
The first five lines are priced by the hull, the last three by the seat. Below is the arithmetic of where those two systems meet, and why the meeting lands on the tenth guest exactly.
What taking the whole boat actually means
It means one payment for the vessel instead of a payment for every person who steps aboard. A party of ten pays the same ฿25,000 (≈ $692) as a couple does, so the per-person question is not one you put to the seller — you answer it yourself, dividing the price of the hull by the number of people who will actually turn up.
The Ocean Marina yacht charter is ฿25,000 (≈ $692) for four hours with a skipper, up to ten guests; fuel, water, ice and snorkel gear are already in the price. You board at Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Na Jomtien, south of the city, head for Koh Larn and Koh Sak, anchor in a calm bay to swim, and come back to the same berth. The marina holds a 4.4 rating from 4,100 reviews.
The deep-sea fishing charter offers no choice of unit at all: ฿15,000 (≈ $415) per boat, up to eight anglers, six hours from Bali Hai Pier, with a captain and a deckhand aboard and all rods, tackle and bait included. There is no discount for empty seats. A smaller party does not lower it: the boat is still ฿15,000, which is ฿7,500 (≈ $208) each if only two of you go.
Ocean Marina is not the only hull sold whole. The 41-foot Sea Lord from Pattaya Yacht Charters is ฿19,000 (≈ $526) for the four-hour morning block and takes up to twelve guests; from the same operator, the Lagoon 440 sailing catamaran Marry Merry is ฿39,000 (≈ $1,080) for four hours and up to twenty. On both, 7% VAT and a ฿200 per-person guest pass sit on top of the boat price. The 73-foot Serenity catamaran starts at ฿35,000 (≈ $970) for the two-hour sunset run, and the base price is written for 25 guests.
At what group size does the whole boat beat buying seats?
Divide and see. ฿25,000 split ten ways is ฿2,500 (≈ $69) a head, exactly the price of one seat on the sunset catamaran. Eight guests make it ฿3,125 (≈ $87); six, about ฿4,167 (≈ $115); four, ฿6,250 (≈ $173); two, ฿12,500 (≈ $346).
Now run it the other way: how many daytime speedboat seats does the price of the yacht buy? ฿25,000 ÷ ฿1,200 = 20.8, so 21 people. The yacht takes ten. Check it by division: ฿25,000 ÷ 21 = ฿1,190 (≈ $33). The crossover where the hull undercuts the seat sits at twice her capacity — in this pair it never arrives.
| Guests | Whole yacht, ฿25,000 (≈ $692) · 4 h | Whole fishing boat, ฿15,000 (≈ $415) · 6 h | Catamaran seat, ฿2,500 (≈ $69) · 3 h | Speedboat seat, ฿1,200 (≈ $33) · 6 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | ฿12,500 (≈ $346) | ฿7,500 (≈ $208) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 3 | ฿8,333 (≈ $231) | ฿5,000 (≈ $139) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 4 | ฿6,250 (≈ $173) | ฿3,750 (≈ $104) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 5 | ฿5,000 (≈ $139) | ฿3,000 (≈ $83) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 6 | ฿4,167 (≈ $115) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 7 | ฿3,571 (≈ $99) | ฿2,143 (≈ $59) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 8 | ฿3,125 (≈ $87) | ฿1,875 (≈ $52) | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 9 | ฿2,778 (≈ $77) | the boat takes eight | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
| 10 | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | the boat takes eight | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) |
All figures are per person, rounded to the baht, converted at ฿36.1 to $1. The programmes run 4, 6 and 3 hours: read the price together with the hours.
What a bigger group changes is not the sign but the gap. For two, the yacht is more than ten times a speedboat seat; for eight, 2.6 times; for ten, 2.08. Fishing behaves the same way: ฿15,000 across eight anglers is ฿1,875 (≈ $52) each, across four it is ฿3,750 (≈ $104).
The hour costs differently too. Four hours of yacht work out at ฿6,250 (≈ $173) an hour for the whole hull, or ฿625 (≈ $17) an hour per guest with all ten aboard. Six hours of fishing come to ฿2,500 (≈ $69) an hour for the boat. A seat on the three-hour catamaran runs about ฿833 (≈ $23) an hour, and the six-hour Koh Larn day ฿200 (≈ $6).
The conclusion is short. In Pattaya the whole boat buys you the timetable, the guest list and an empty deck; a lower price per head is not on the menu. In this comparison the numbers coincide exactly once — ten guests on the yacht against one catamaran seat, ฿2,500 and ฿2,500. Past that point you are paying for nobody else being aboard.
What does the charter include, and what is paid separately?
The price unit says nothing about what is aboard: ฿25,000 for the hull and ฿1,200 for a seat each carry their own set.
| Programme | Price | Hours | Guests | In the price | Paid separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yacht, Ocean Marina | ฿25,000 (≈ $692) per boat | 4 | up to 10 | Yacht and skipper, fuel, water and ice, snorkel gear | Catering, watersports toys, marina and park fees |
| Fishing, Sangsang Thai Fishing | ฿15,000 (≈ $415) per boat | 6 | up to 8 | Boat and fuel, captain and deckhand, rods, tackle and bait, water and soft drinks | Food, hotel transfers, gratuities |
| Sea Lord yacht, Pattaya Yacht Charters | ฿19,000 (≈ $526) per boat | 4 | up to 12 | Boat and fuel, captain, deckhands and an English-speaking steward, snorkel gear and light fishing tackle | 7% VAT, ฿200 per-person guest pass |
| Marry Merry catamaran, Pattaya Yacht Charters | ฿39,000 (≈ $1,080) per boat | 4 | up to 20 | Lagoon 440 under sail, kayak, SUP, snorkel and fishing gear, air-conditioned saloon | 7% VAT, ฿200 per-person guest pass |
| Serenity catamaran, private | ฿35,000 (≈ $970) per boat | 2, sunset | priced for 25 | 73-foot catamaran, snorkel gear, fishing tackle, kayak, SUP and a deck slide | Catering, minibus, each guest above the base 25 |
| Serenity catamaran, day trip | ฿2,700 (≈ $75) per person | 7 | up to 45 | Thai buffet, drinks, snorkelling, kayak, SUP, slide, hotel pick-up, marina fees and island entry | High season ฿3,250, alcohol |
| Koh Larn speedboat | ฿1,200 (≈ $33) per person | 6 | up to 12 | Transfers, snorkel gear, Thai lunch, life jackets, guide | National park fee, island watersports, transfers |
| Sunset catamaran | ฿2,500 (≈ $69) per person | 3 | up to 30 | Cruise, skipper and crew, soft drinks, light bites, snorkel gear, sun-nets | Alcohol, transfers, gratuities |
The sets differ. On a charter the extras are what you fill the day with — catering, a chef, watersports toys. On the seats they are entry fees and the ride there. The catch from the fishing day goes home with you, or the crew prepares it.
Weather outranks everyone. In bad conditions the trip is rescheduled for safety — you move your date or take a full refund. The exact berth or meeting point is sent after booking.
Yacht, speedboat, catamaran: what the difference feels like
These four boats are four different days. The gap between them is not only money: they leave from two different points in town, run from three to six hours, and take between eight and thirty people aboard.
Yacht, 4 hours
She leaves from Ocean Marina in Na Jomtien, south of town, not from Bali Hai. Out to Koh Larn and Koh Sak, anchor for a swim and a snorkel, back to the same berth. Up to 10 guests with a skipper, ฿25,000 (≈ $692) per boat.
Koh Larn speedboat, 6 hours
Boarding at 08:30 at Bali Hai, back in Pattaya around 14:30. Up to 12 on board, a guide, a Thai lunch and snorkelling in sheltered bays, ฿1,200 (≈ $33) per person.
Sailing catamaran, 3 hours
Board at 17:00, swim and snorkel around 17:40, the sunset leg at 19:00, alongside again at 20:00. She holds 30 people; a seat is ฿2,500 (≈ $69).
Fishing, 6 hours
Jigging and bottom fishing over the reefs and wrecks first, trolling the drop-offs by midday. Peak season October to March, ฿15,000 (≈ $415) per boat.
The yacht and the fishing crews work in English, Russian and Thai, and neither day asks for any boating experience. On the fishing charter the crew coaches beginners and families through the technique all the way out.
Who does not need the whole boat?
A couple, almost never. That is ฿12,500 (≈ $346) each against ฿1,200 (≈ $33) for a seat on the daytime speedboat. If two of you want water without strangers on it, a jet ski is closer to the point — the 9 Islands tour is ฿7,900 (≈ $219) per machine for two riders across five hours, or ฿3,950 (≈ $109) each, and 6 Islands is ฿5,900 (≈ $163) for 3.5 hours, ฿2,950 (≈ $82) apiece.
A large party runs into berths rather than money — but the ceiling has risen. The Ocean Marina yacht takes ten guests, the fishing boat eight, the Sea Lord twelve, the Marry Merry twenty, and the Serenity catamaran is priced for twenty-five. Fourteen guests is the point where the ฿35,000 Serenity sunset hull matches a ฿2,500 catamaran seat per head; below that number seats are cheaper — the speedboat holds 12, the sunset catamaran 30, the Serenity day catamaran 45.
