Racha and Coral Island One Day Trip + Sunset by Luxury Catamaran From Phuket

A fabulous day!

This was amazing value for money! It was a lovely relaxed day spent out at sea and visiting some beautiful islands along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Response from the operator: Thank you for sharing your kind feedback. We’re delighted to hear that you felt the experience offered amazing value for money and that you enjoyed a relaxed day at sea while visiting beautiful islands along the way. We truly appreciate you sharing your experience and hope to welcome you again in the future. Best Regards, Oh-Hoo Team

via Tripadvisor

Not Luxury Catamaran experience Phuket Thailand

I booked this trip due to 197 reviews on Tripadvisor, most of which were positive, and many of which I fear were faked. The Racha and Coral Island area off the east coast of Phuket are in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. But this trip was anything but luxury. And when you go thru the labyrinth of contractors and subcontractors it’s easy to see why. The companies or entities involved were: OH-HOO Travel, Honeymoon Catamaran Tours to name two that sit under or somewhere relative to Luxury Catamaran. First problem- the pick up. We were told we had to be ready for pickup by 0640. The pick up was more or less on time. The drive not long, but I was charged an extra pick up fee. It was in the fine print so I swallowed it. We then waited for well over 2 hrs at Honeymoon for other people to arrive. We then had another transfer to the pier. A wait there for 30min. We were finally on the boat by shortly before 10am. Second problem- the boat. It’s NOT the one in the photo. It was an old boat that had seen much better days. The toilet was inoperable. The seating limited, the life jackets deficient AND it’s advertised as max 30 pax. There were 45 on our boat plus crew of 6. The boat was overloaded and over crowded. Most seemed to be a Chinese tour group. Third problem- the provided snorkeling equipment was nearly all faulty. I know people don’t look after stuff, but most of the fixes were minor and this was a minor problem. Fourth problem- this old boat only had one speed- SLOW. Maybe it was for passenger comfort. It did get us there and back and had we left by the advertised time we would have been back at the dock earlier. It was about 7-8pm before we got back to the dock and then had to wait for the ridiculous system to get off the main pier. I have 2 stars because the tour people on the boat did try. But they were generally less than the normal Thai pleasant. And who can blame them with the hand they had been dealt? This was a bulk-package-el cheapo experience. There was NOTHING luxury about it.

Response from the operator: I'm genuinely sorry to hear that your experience with the Racha and Coral Island tour did not meet your expectations. Your feedback is crucial for us. It helps pinpoint the specific issues that need immediate improvement, such as verifying the accuracy of the promotional materials and improving the logistical coordination to reduce waiting times and ensure a smoother, more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. We are addressing these concerns with the respective contractors to ensure that the description of our tours accurately reflects the actual experience and that our service standards are upheld consistently. Thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. We are committed to enhancing our services and hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a much better experience in the future.

via Tripadvisor

Don't do this tour until the guide is FIRED! HE ASSAULTED ME!

On Apr 26, 2024 I was doing Racha and Coral Island by a "luxury" catamaran where I'd also see the sunset later in the day (I put luxury in quotations because it wasn’t compared to the other catamarans I saw that day. Some of them were two levels, had tons of pillows, and even some had water slides, our was just a catamaran).  Our first stop was Racha Island. Here we did snorkeling in a very limited area before getting onto the island itself, which we needed a longtail boat for. The scenery was nothing special, so no photos there, but the day only got worse after that. When I returned to the pier at the time they said to get back on the boat, it was gone. Yes, they did leave me behind. Luckily, I had bought a Thai SIM card so I was able to contact the tour company and tell them what happened, it took over half an hour before the boat returned for me. Now, instead of them apologizing, the tour guide literally told me to swim to the boat, which was like 100m away. I had my phone with me, so I said no. They then got a longtail boat to take me to the boat, but before I even stepped off it, he was telling me I had to pay 40THB to the driver, which is like $2. That’s nothing, but the principle was. They left me, then expected me to pay, so I told them no, you pay. The tour guide then started yelling at me to pay and even said he wouldn't let me on the boat if I didn't, so I told him no again. This time he literally grabbed my arm. When I told him to let me go he did, but only to go to the water cooler and literally, throw a bottle at me and then punch me. Naturally, I defended myself. For the record, I’m fine, but after I made sure he had stopped, I went to the front of the boat to steer clear of him.  The rest of the group was stunned at what had happened, and while the tour guide came to the front and apologized to the group for the inconvenience, he said nothing to me. I basically ignored him for the rest of the day.  In general, the whole tour was pretty boring, so I wouldn't recommend it. Plus, by the end of the day, not once did the guide ever come to apologize. The boat photographer, on the other hand, was very friendly and apologized on his behalf, but that doesn't do it for me. This was the worst tour I had ever been on in all the countries I have visited, and because of that, I'll be sure to do a review and let everyone know.  I will note though, that the James Bond and the Racha tour are run by the same company. The tour company itself is good, but I guess there's just a bad apple in the bunch. Hopefully he doesn't work in customer service again. I work in customer service and I don't care if you're having a bad day or not, you punch a customer and you're fired on the spot. Simple as that. The day after I saw the bruising the guide had left on my face around my eye and I'll be happy to provide the damage he did to the tour company. Update: I told the company about the incident and they just left me open on WhatsApp, I want a full refund for this tour.

Response from the operator: Dear valued customer, We are deeply sorry to hear about the distressing experience you encountered during your recent tour with us. Your safety and satisfaction are of utmost importance to us, and we sincerely apologize for the unacceptable behavior displayed by our tour guide. Please know that we are taking this matter very seriously, and we are conducting a thorough investigation into the incident. Such behavior is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the standards we uphold at Oh-Hoo. We assure you that appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that incidents like this do not occur in the future. We understand your disappointment and frustration, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to make things right for you. Please allow us some time to investigate the matter further, and we will be in touch with you shortly regarding your refund request. Once again, we apologize for the unacceptable experience you had, and we thank you for bringing this to our attention. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we strive to improve our services and ensure that all our customers have a positive and memorable experience with Oh-Hoo. Warm regards, Oh-Hoo Team

via Viator

Surrounding and staff great, snorkeling, beverage and pick up could be better

It began not so good. Where picked up one hour to late. After that we where dropped of at a little shop where you get instructions. There we heard that we get only snorkel set and no flippers. Had to rent them extra for 300 bath each person. Also there where no softdrinks on board. The ad said softdrinks included. But okay after that everything was good. The crew was nice so was Racha Island and Coral Island. Both beautiful. Only if you like Snorkling it is not the trip I would recommend. But if you want to see beautiful Islands it is great because the surrounding is top. Also stopt for fishing which was nice.. So for the crew, catamaran and islands I give 5 stars but for the drinks and snorkeling equipment and Snorkling it self and also the late pick up 3 stars. Next time I would rent a private boat with skipper because you can choose yourself how long to stay on an island. Now it was one our each island. More traveling then relaxing this way.

via Viator

Disappointing tour

Disappointing day with regard to beach at Racha Island. Beach was low quality with no facilities but there was a taxi @ 150 thb pp for our party of ten so 1500 thb £38 GBP to travel a half mile across the Island to a much better beach with good facilities, so why not land ashore at that beach. Snorkelling was at a poor quality site and although mask and snorkel were available fins had to be hired at extra cost. A small shoal of local small fish were attracted to just below boat with bait but seabed was pretty baron, sand and occasional small rocks but little if any wildlife. and we were only allowed about 10-15 minutes in the water anyway. On the positive side the food was very good and plentiful with ample soft drinks and fruit later in the afternoon was very good. . As the the crew referred to us as 'foreigners' on board (British) although a party of ten out of 37, the rest seemingly being Thai or Chinese we were made to feel like 2nd class citizens being last for everything. Crew not very helpful when my wife suffered a knee injury due to a high step down from one level deck to the lower deck (We are both 75 yrs old and in good health and fitness but could have done with a little assistance negotiating that step. Overall have had much better experiences in the Caribbean on similar trips and this trip is not something I would recommend to others

via Viator