Pattaya 3 Island Tour — Full-Day Yacht Adventure

Your day begins with a van collection from your hotel in Pattaya or Jomtien. On Schedule A, pickups start around 08:10; on Schedule B — which runs Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and returns after sunset — pickups begin around 10:00. The drive south along Sukhumvit takes you to Na Jomtien and Ocean Marina Yacht Club, which sits at kilometre 157. This is not a random pier: Ocean Marina is the largest marina in Southeast Asia, and pulling in among the rows of yachts sets the tone for the day before you have even boarded. At the marina you are met by the crew and walked down to a spacious catamaran — a stable, twin-hulled yacht with a shaded deck, a flybridge, and watersports gear already stacked and ready: snorkel sets, kayaks, paddleboards and fishing rods. A crew member offers you a cold drink and runs a short, friendly safety briefing covering the life jackets, the flybridge water slide, and the plan for the three islands. Tourist insurance is already in place for every guest. Around 09:15 you settle in, and by 09:30 the lines are cast off and the catamaran motors out of the marina into the Gulf of Thailand. The first island is a little over an hour away, so this opening stretch is the moment to claim a spot on deck, feel the breeze, and watch the Pattaya coastline shrink behind you. Because a catamaran sits flat and stable rather than slamming across the waves like a speedboat, you can actually stand, move around and relax from the very start.

The catamaran's first stop is Koh Phai, known to visitors as Bamboo Island and part of the small archipelago of protected islands southwest of Pattaya. Because these islands sit further out than Koh Larn and fall partly under Royal Thai Navy protection, the water here is noticeably clearer and the beaches far less crowded. The yacht anchors in a sheltered bay and the whole deck turns into a playground: the crew opens up the flybridge water slide that drops you straight off the upper deck into the sea, brings out the paddleboards and kayaks, and hands over snorkel gear for anyone who wants to explore the shallows. This is unstructured, do-as-you-please time — and that is the point. You can throw yourself down the slider again and again, paddle a board around the anchorage, kayak toward the beach, drop a fishing line off the stern, or simply swim in water clear enough to watch fish move beneath you. The dinghy shuttles guests who want to spend time ashore onto Koh Phai's pale-sand beach. Around the island you will typically see reef fish, and the eastern and western bays occasionally turn up moray eels and, if you are lucky, a sea turtle. There is no whistle and no rush here: the crew let the group settle into the rhythm of the day, and for many guests this first stop — clear water, the slider, and a beach almost to themselves — is already better than the Koh Larn day they were expecting.

As the morning eases on, the crew serves lunch on deck: a freshly prepared Thai BBQ-style buffet with fried rice, Tom Yum soup, grilled dishes, vegetables and tropical fruit, with soft drinks, ice, water, coffee and tea flowing throughout the day. Eating anchored off an island, plate in hand and feet still damp from the sea, is one of those simple pleasures that a packed beach restaurant on Koh Larn simply cannot match. If you have dietary needs — vegetarian in particular — tell us when you book and we will arrange it with the galley in advance. After lunch the catamaran repositions to Koh Rin, and this is the snorkeling highlight of the day. Koh Rin lies within about ten nautical miles of Ocean Marina yet rarely sees crowds, and it is widely rated as the clearest, best snorkeling spot near Pattaya, with coral reefs and visibility that on a good day reaches 20 metres. The crew hands out snorkel equipment and life jackets for anyone who wants one, and you drop in over the reef to drift among shoals of tropical fish above the coral. Confident swimmers can range further out; nervous snorkelers and children stay close to the boat in the calm, clear shallows with a life jacket. Between snorkels there are still kayaks, paddleboards and fishing rods to enjoy, and plenty of deck space to dry off in the sun before the final island.

The last island stop is Koh Ped, universally known as Monkey Island, and it is the one children talk about for the rest of the trip. The catamaran approaches the small island where a troop of monkeys lives along the shore, and the crew brings out fresh fruit for guests to feed them. Watching the monkeys come down to the water's edge, take fruit and pose — inadvertently — for photos is a genuine highlight, and it is exactly the kind of moment that the standard Koh Larn speedboat run skips entirely. The crew brief you on how to feed the monkeys safely and keep your belongings secure, since the residents are curious and quick. From here the day begins its gentle wind-down, and this is where the two schedules diverge. On Schedule A, the catamaran departs Monkey Island around 16:00–16:30 and cruises back into Ocean Marina by roughly 16:30–17:00, leaving your evening free in Pattaya. On Schedule B — Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays — everything runs later, so you leave the island around 17:40–18:10 and cruise back across the Gulf as the sun sets, arriving at the marina around 18:10–18:40 with the golden hour lighting the water. If a sunset return is what you are after, ask for Schedule B when you book. Either way, the same van is waiting at the marina to run you back to your hotel.

Back at Ocean Marina, your van drops you at your hotel in Pattaya or Jomtien, salty, sun-warmed and usually already planning the next boat day. The full trip runs about eight hours door to door, and it is designed to feel like a proper day out rather than a quick tick-box excursion. There is no gem-shop detour on the way home, no timeshare pitch, and no surprise fee at the marina — the day ends the way it ran, straightforwardly. This trip suits travellers who want more than the standard Koh Larn speedboat run: families whose children will love the water slide and feeding the monkeys, couples who want the space and calm of a yacht (and the sunset return on Schedule B), snorkelers chasing Koh Rin's clear water, and anyone who has done the crowded Koh Larn day before and wants to trade up. If your priority is instead the cheapest possible half-day and the famous beaches of Koh Larn, that is a different trip — see our Pattaya Coral Island tour, which we run honestly and openly alongside this one. To book the 3-island yacht adventure, ask about a private charter of the whole catamaran, or check the low-season rate, message us on WhatsApp +66 89 949 6235 or browse more Pattaya tours.