By Rowan Ellis · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
Good Morning Holiday (PNT Phuket)
3 Khai Islands Relax & Snorkeling Half/Full Day Tour
4.3 (3,134) · from $23
A snorkeling tour in Phuket is a boat day with a mask, a guide and a few reef stops, and the four I compared start at $23. Three go to small islands off the south-east coast or far out to the Similan Islands, and the fourth mixes fishing with snorkeling at Racha Island. For every boat trip I looked at, see my guide to boat tours in Phuket. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page.
My pick for snorkeling in Phuket is the Good Morning Holiday 3 Khai Islands trip at $23: 4 to 8 hours, a snorkel set and soft drinks included, rated 4.3 from 3,134 reviews. If you want the clearest water and can spend 12 hours, I’d book the Oh-Hoo Similan Islands speedboat trip at $91 (4.5 from 1,806 reviews), in the season. I haven’t snorkeled with these operators, so I rely on the listings and review snippets.
Here are the four trips side by side.
| Trip | Operator | Price | Duration | Boat | Rating | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Khai Islands snorkeling and relaxation | Good Morning Holiday | $23 | 4 to 8 hours | Speedboat | 4.3 (3,134) | Free up to 24 hours |
| Similan Islands by speedboat | Oh-Hoo | $91 | 12 hours | Speedboat | 4.5 (1,806) | Free up to 24 hours |
| 3 Khai Islands hop and snorkel | VGA Vacation | $28 | 4.5 to 10 hours | Speedboat | 4.2 (518) | Free up to 24 hours |
| Fishing tour with lunch and snorkeling | Best Exotic | $101 | 9 hours | Not described | 3.3 (3) | Free up to 24 hours |
Good Morning Holiday (PNT Phuket)
My pick: My pick: $23 for three Khai islands, a snorkel set, life jackets and soft drinks. 4.3 from 3,134 reviews.
Oh-Hoo
My pick: The big-water day: Similan reefs for $91 and 12 hours, with lunch and the park fee. Seasonal.
VGA VACATION
My pick: A budget alternative at $28 with breakfast, fruit and a long list of hotel pickup areas. 4.2 from 518 reviews.
Best Exotic
My pick: Mostly a fishing day with a snorkel stop: $101, 3.3 from only 3 reviews. I would pick another trip.
Snorkeling in Phuket is easiest on the Khai Islands. The two Khai Islands trips are the easy way to snorkel from Phuket. Both visit Khai Nai, Khai Nui and Khai Nok by speedboat, and the Good Morning Holiday itinerary gives about an hour of free time, swimming and snorkeling at Khai Nai, 30 minutes at Khai Nui and an hour at Khai Nok. Its trip boards at Roong Siam Pier, and the listing includes motion sickness medicine, accident insurance and unlimited soft drinks. Lunch is only for full-day guests.
VGA Vacation starts at AA Marina with a safety briefing, breakfast and welcome refreshments, then speeds to Khai Nok, Khai Nui and Khai Nai. The listing adds optional jet skiing, a banana boat ride and parasailing for a fee. Guests arrive by 9:00 am and the boat leaves at about 9:15. A reviewer calls the full-day option highly recommended, and another praises the on-time transport and the welcome snack. Both trips get busy, because the Khai Islands are a standard stop, so I’d pick the earliest departure.
For clearer water, the Similan Islands are the trip to book. The Oh-Hoo listing has a van of about 1.5 hours to a private pier, an hour of speedboat, and stops at Koh Miang (Island 4), Ko Bangu and the Similan Islands, with snorkeling at the reefs, a walk to Princess Bay and a Thai buffet lunch. The price includes hotel pickup, snorkeling equipment (mask, snorkel, fins and life jacket), insurance, fruit and drinks and the national park fee of 400 baht per adult and 200 baht per child.
The Similan Islands National Park is closed for part of the year. The closed season follows the monsoon, typically from mid-May to mid-October, and the Department of National Parks sets and confirms the dates, so look at its website before building a holiday around this trip. In the off-season, the Khai Islands are the usual alternative, and the Thai Meteorological Department posts sea conditions at tmd.go.th.
Snorkeling in Phuket costs $23 to $101. The Khai Islands trips are $23 and $28, so you pay $5 more for the VGA Vacation breakfast and hotel pickup in many areas but get a lower rating. The Similan day is $91, which works out at about $7.60 per hour of the 12-hour trip, against about $3 per hour for the Khai day if you take the full 8 hours. The $101 fishing and snorkeling trip is the most expensive per hour, and its 3.3 from 3 reviews is too thin to trust.
What the price covers matters more than the headline. Good Morning Holiday charges extra for fins (100 baht) and beach chairs (150 baht) and lists the 20 baht island entrance fee as included. VGA Vacation lists Thai halal lunch only on the full-day tour. The Similan trip is the only one that bundles the park fee, which is why it is better value than it looks.
None of the 12 boat tours I compared is a dive trip, so I can’t compare certified diving here. What the data does show is snorkeling with equipment supplied, and the Similan listing also mentions a safety briefing before you board. If you hold a diving certificate, ask a dive operator about courses and depths directly. Everything on this page is for snorkelers who are comfortable in the water with a life jacket.
For fishing and snorkeling together, see my fishing charter page, and for a day with several islands, my island hopping page. If you would rather snorkel from a yacht deck, the yacht charter page lists the Phang Nga Bay options with snorkeling gear.
I’d pick in three steps. First check the month: from mid-May to mid-October the Similan trip is off the table, so choose the Khai Islands. Second, decide on pace. The Good Morning Holiday option can be a 4-hour half day, while the full days run 8 to 12 hours. Third, check what your hotel zone costs for pickup, because Good Morning Holiday makes transfer optional and the Oh-Hoo Similan price includes it.
For the whole list of day trips, including the Phang Nga Bay big boats, go back to boat tours in Phuket. Before you book any snorkeling tour in Phuket, read the health notes in the listing and keep to the cancellation window, since all four allow a full refund up to 24 hours before the start.
Snorkeling in Phuket suits beginners, because every trip here supplies gear and a life jacket. Good Morning Holiday lists life jackets for ages 4 and up and says there is no kids’ size snorkel set, so parents of small children should bring their own masks. VGA Vacation lists multilingual guides in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Thai, and a light breakfast on arrival, which helps on a 9:15 am departure.
The Similan day is 12 hours and starts with a van ride of about 1.5 hours, so I would not pick it for toddlers. For a first snorkeling trip in Phuket I’d choose the shorter half-day Khai option, and pay for the full day only if you want lunch and a longer swim. Snorkeling in Phuket is also tide and sea dependent, so keep a flexible date.
The listings name few species, but they describe what to expect. The Good Morning Holiday trip promises clear water, tropical fish and island cats on the beach. VGA Vacation calls the three Khai islands each distinct, with time to snorkel, swim and rest. The Oh-Hoo Similan listing describes coral reefs and marine life at Island 7, Koh Payu, and the Khai Islands are listed with marine life viewing on the itinerary.
Visibility changes with the season and the day, and the listings do not give figures. Check the sea forecast from the Thai Meteorological Department before you go, and ask the guide where the reef is best that day. When you book a snorkeling tour in Phuket, take reef-safe sunscreen and a rash vest if your skin burns, since the boats stay at each island for 30 minutes to an hour.
The four snorkeling trips I compared run from $23 to $101 in US dollars. The Khai Islands day is $23 or $28, the Similan Islands speedboat trip is $91, and the fishing and snorkeling day to Racha Island is $101. Check whether the national park fee and hotel pickup are included, because they differ between listings.
Mostly yes. The Good Morning Holiday trip includes a snorkel set and life jackets for ages 4 and up, VGA Vacation includes masks, and Oh-Hoo lists mask, snorkel, fins and life jacket for the Similan trip. Fins are an extra 100 baht on the Good Morning Holiday trip, so ask before you go.
The Similan Islands National Park is closed for part of the year because of the monsoon, typically from mid-May to mid-October. Thailand's Department of National Parks sets the dates, so check its website before booking. The Khai Islands trips run in more months, though rough seas can still cancel any trip.
My full review of each one, in the order I rank them: