FAQs

• Complete the booking form that can be found on the Booking page or alternatively click on the ‘Book This Tour’ button found on each tour page.
• Please fill out all the necessary fields in our booking form as they are needed by our insurance company and the Thai government.
• Credit cards are accepted payment methods.  Balance of payment can be paid in cash or credit card.
• Please note your booking is not guaranteed until payment of the deposit has been received.
• We will contact you by email the afternoon before your tour to confirm  pick-up time.

We offer a full refund, no questions asked, if you cancel at least 24hrs before the scheduled
departure. I.e., your tour departs at 6am on a Friday, you must cancel by 6am on the Thursday to
receive your refund.

As a general rule, most people do not get seasick on our boats. However if you suffer badly from motion sickness, we do offer you seasickness tablets in the morning. It is advisable to take these at least 30 minutes before the trip. If you suffer from severe seasickness, then perhaps reconsider booking a boat tour.

Simba has long prided itself on committing to the lowest passenger numbers per boat of any speedboat operator, not only in Phuket but across Thailand.

We believe that low passenger numbers are an important factor in making the Simba tour experience superior to any other speedboat tour in Phuket.

Over the course of a typical 12-month season we average just under 14 people per boat. This includes adults and children and we are very confident no other operator in Phuket will ever match such low numbers. Indeed, it is unlikely they could even determine what their average load is! Incidentally we average 1 child per tour.

Simba 7: 16 – 18 adults (licensed to 26)

Simba 8: 16 – 18 adults (licensed to 26)

Simba 9: 16 – 18 adults (licensed to 26)

Please be aware that tour operators are increasingly using the ‘small group’ descriptor for tours that take 25 – 30 passengers, nearly a 100% increase on Simba’s policy!

The monsoon season in Phuket does bring about stronger winds, bigger swells and a higher chance of rain, but it also means less tourists! Before we undertake any of our trips, whether in the dry or monsoon season, we check the tides, swell chart, satellite images, local weather radar and weather reports. If we feel there is any danger to you, our boat or us we will cancel the trip as early as possible. Simba will cancel a trip if we feel anyone’s safety is compromised.

Because of the exposure to the Indian Ocean sea swells, we assess our Phi Phi tours on a daily basis, and these can be subject to cancellation between May and November.  If this is the case, you have the choice of a full refund, or a switch to a Phang Nga bay tour where the water conditions are generally better.

During May to September our Phang Nga Bay tours are more protected from the elements and generally has smaller waves and wind effect.

The concept of ‘safety first’ is extremely important to us.

Yes, Simba has limited accident insurance for all registered guests aged between 3 months and 75 years old. Guests over 75 years old guests need to arrange their own insurance cover. For any cover to be valid we MUST have your correct name and age and passport #, for all booked guests in your group.

All of our boats are also commercially insured as per applicable Government regulations.

We hold a valid TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) license and our tour guides are licensed (Simba has a very strict policy of only employing Thai tour guides as per national labour laws).

We are not insured for pregnant women, pre-existing back injuries or other pre-existing medical conditions. Please advise us prior to booking if any member of your group is pregnant.

The insurance cover provided by Simba is limited in nature and may not extend beyond a reasonable level of base treatment and hospital care. For most foreseeable injuries that might occur on tour the coverage is adequate.

No personal belongings such as cameras and phones are covered by our insurance, so please avoid dropping them over board.  Wet bags are provided on board the boats for protection. Simba will not reimburse passengers for any personal items lost or damaged.

Note that any action Simba may take with respect to (1) assisting with organization of medical assistance or (2) allowing claims to be made under Simba’s customer insurance policy, is conducted on a ‘no liability basis’.

Yes, Simba always has English speaking tour guides onboard.  On request, we have Mandarin speaking guides also, and this would need to be arranged well ahead of the tour (min. bookings apply).

Please note that in accordance with Thai Labour Law we only employee Thai Nationals as tour guides.

Yes, all our trips are suitable for children (4-12 years) and they will enjoy themselves throughout the day. However, if you have younger children, it can be a very long hot day for them. We also do not have a storage area for prams/strollers etc. Please note we can insure down to 3 months of age only.

Please note, each tour will involve a number of deep water swimming stops and accordingly it is very important that you commit to looking after your child whilst in the water, particularly if they are not confident swimmers. The crew and guide have a responsibility to monitoring all passengers whilst in the water and cannot devote themselves to any one group.

This is a very difficult question for us to answer, as we do not personally know your health issue and are not doctors. If you have any mobility issues maybe this is not a trip for you, as you will have to climb up and down ladders and on and off the boat. If you have severe medical conditions (back pain etc), please seek your doctor’s advice before booking a trip. Only you can tell whether you are capable of undertaking this trip.

Please note our passenger insurance does not cover any events / injury associated with pre-existing conditions.

We often have non-swimmers onboard all the various trips we do. Phang Nga involves more sightseeing, cave exploring and canoeing so it holds much more interest for non-swimmers. Phi-Phi also involves sightseeing and stopping at magical islands so you can explore from the safety of solid ground! For those adventurous, yet maybe weak swimmers, we can provide life jackets, floating noodles and even hold your hand through the whole experience. We also try to select snorkeling spots that are protected and don’t have strong currents.

If you are pregnant it is not advisable to undertake tours on speedboats for medical reasons. Our insurance company will not cover any pregnant women and accordingly, we are not comfortable booking pregnant ladies. If you do choose to join us it is strictly at your own risk. If you need to leave the tour prior to its scheduled conclusion any costs for boat hire to bring you back to port early will be for your cost – NOT Simba.

There are no additional costs on a Simba tour. However, we do stop at some places where there will be a bar, so if you would like an alcoholic beverage, you may purchase one yourself. Tipping is customary but not obligatory around Phuket, so if you would like to show your gratitude for our Thai staff there will be a tip box at the end of the day.

A 7% VAT tax is also applied on all transactions in Thailand and added to the ticket prices initially seen on our website.

You will also notice at time of payment that we apply a 3% Booking Processing Fee. This recovers only a portion of the fees we incur to process your order and payment.

As most things are provided for you on-board, we ask you to travel as lightly as possible. We suggest that you dress for a day at the beach (bathers, shorts t-shirt and flip flops or sandals). Bring with you a hotel towel, sunscreen, camera and some cash or credit card to pay for the balance of the trip (& tipping / incidentals).

Please do not bring big bags on the boat as we simply do not have space to store them.  We can keep your luggage safe at our office throughout the day while you are on tour.

We provide dry bags for your use throughout the day, to keep your electronics and personal items dry thoughout the day.

Snorkels, masks and flippers are provided on the boat.

Simba is on Google Maps.  Use this link for navigation.

We are located in the middle of Phuket Island and you need to allow at least 35 minutes travel time from most of the west coast beach areas.  If you are staying north of the airport, then please allow 40 minutes.

What time do we get picked up?

At Simba we create a custom pickup schedule for each day to minimise your time en-route to the marina.

Our staff prepare the hotel transfer routes the day before your tour.  You can expect to receive an email detailing the actual pickup time early in the afternoon, the day before your tour.

Please note if coming to us by motorbike, a parking space is provided which is about 5 minutes walk from our premises at SoHo Pool Club.  Motorcycles are not allowed within the marina area.

AT TIME OF BOOKING (DEPOSIT & BOOKING FEE)

A 25% deposit is required to confirm your booking. The deposit percentage required may change from time to time.

Our payment gateway is Stripe, where most credit cards are accepted, and also Apple Pay, amongst others.  

Due to sharply rising costs associated with credit card payments (both on-line and ‘card present’) we have introduced a service fee of 3% across bookings for most tours.  Simba pays nearly 6% in fees to allow customers to (1) pay deposits online via the Stripe portal and (2) pay any balances owing via credit card on-line or Visa/Mastercard on the morning of the tour. We recognize that for many customers, credit card is a convenient means of payment and we will continue to allow card transactions as a means of payment for both deposits and balances outstanding.

BEFORE TOUR DEPARTS/PAYMENT OF BALANCE

Cash (baht),Visa, Mastercard and AMEX  on arrival at our office for payment of your balance owing before departure. 

There is an ATM located near our office if you need to withdraw cash.

Our website booking page, simbaseatrips.com shows 100% real time seat availability on all of our tours currently scheduled to run.

There can be several reasons you cannot see your desired tour on a particular date such as:

• The tour is already sold out
• There may be insufficient demand to run each tour type every day  (this applies to Low Season mostly)
• Insufficient resources to run that tour with our current tour offerings on that date

If you are able to request far enough in advance, we may be able to schedule a tour for you if it’s not already available.

At short notice, we are generally unable to schedule an additional tour on your preferred date unless your group size is 6 or more for boat tours, or 3 or more for the Khao Sok National Park tour.

This is due to us having minimum required numbers for a tour to take place, as we need some time to sell additional spots on the tour to other guests.