Every year, a good number of our private charters go to corporate groups. Team retreats, incentive trips, conference social events, client entertainment — turns out the Andaman Sea is a very effective venue for all of them.
I’ve been doing this long enough to know what makes a corporate boat trip work and what makes it fall flat. Let me save you some planning time and tell you both.
Most corporate activities in a destination like Phuket are versions of things people have done before. Golf days, cooking classes, beach barbecues — all perfectly fine, none of them particularly memorable. A day on the Andaman Sea is different for a simple reason: there is no equivalent of it at home. Your team can’t go sea canoeing through a hidden lagoon in a limestone karst island on a Tuesday in Manchester or Melbourne. The experience is genuinely novel, which means it produces a different quality of conversation and connection.
There’s also something about being on a boat together that levels hierarchy in a way that a conference room never does. The MD and the new recruit are both in the water, both looking at the same reef, both slightly sunburned by 2pm. The boat creates a context that the office can’t. I’ve watched it happen on dozens of corporate charters and it’s consistent — people come back from a day on the water with a different relationship to their colleagues than when they left.
For corporate and large group outings, a private charter is almost always the right call. Here’s why.
Privacy. Your group has the boat to themselves — no other tourists, no shared experience, no explaining who you are and why you’re all here. The day is yours. The conversations you have, the moments that happen, the atmosphere on the boat — all of that belongs to your group.
Flexibility. We can build the day around your group’s priorities. Want to include a specific activity — kayaking, snorkelling, paddleboarding? We’ll build it in. Want to spend more time at one location and less at another? Done. Have a dietary requirement across a group of 30 different people? Tell us in advance and we’ll sort it. A fixed shared tour can’t do any of that.
Capacity. Our charter vessels can accommodate groups of various sizes. Tell us how many people you have and what kind of experience you’re after, and we’ll match you to the right boat.
There’s no single template because the right day depends entirely on the group. But here’s a structure that tends to work well for corporate outings.
Morning departure from Phuket, hotel pickups arranged. First stop: snorkelling or swimming at a beach that’s spectacular but not overrun — we know which spots to use and when. This gives people who want activity something to get into immediately, and those who want to sit on the deck with a coffee the space to do that.
Mid-morning: move to the main destination — Phi Phi for the beach and marine experience, or Phang Nga Bay for the sea caves and limestone landscape. Both work well for corporate groups, though Phang Nga Bay tends to generate more collective conversation — canoeing through a sea cave together is intrinsically a shared experience in a way that lying on a beach isn’t.
Lunch on the boat or at a beach restaurant, properly prepared, dietary requirements handled. Early afternoon is typically the most relaxed part of the day — people who want to swim do, people who want to talk do, people who want to nap on the bow of the boat in the sun are welcome to. There’s no forced team-building exercise. The environment does that work naturally.
Return in the afternoon, back to hotels in time for people to shower and rest before an evening dinner.
For smaller corporate groups or client entertainment, the James Bond Sunset Experience is worth serious consideration as a private charter. The boat to yourselves, canoeing through the sea caves of Phang Nga Bay in the late afternoon, dinner on the water as the sun sets over the karst islands, bioluminescent plankton in the caves after dark.
And the combination of extraordinary natural setting, shared adventure, and dinner together is one of the better client entertainment formats I’ve seen — it creates the kind of evening that people talk about for months.
Group size. We handle corporate groups from 8 to 50+ people, sometimes across multiple boats. For larger groups, a multi-boat format can work well — it maintains the small-group atmosphere while accommodating the headcount.
Lead time. For a corporate group of 20 or more, booking 4–6 weeks ahead is advisable, particularly during high season. For private charters during the Christmas/New Year period, book earlier. Good dates disappear.
Catering. We can accommodate virtually any dietary requirement across a group, but we need to know in advance. A list of dietary requirements sent when you book is all we need.
Photography. We can arrange for a photographer or videographer to join the trip if you want professional content from the day. Worth considering for incentive groups where the documentation is part of the value.
Invoicing. We can issue company invoices for group bookings. Get in touch with the details and we’ll handle the paperwork.
The easiest way to organise a corporate charter is to contact us directly with the group size, your preferred date range, and a rough idea of what you’re after. We’ll put together a proposal within 24 hours.
➤ Private Charter enquiry — Corporate & group bookings
For more detail on the private charter experience generally, our guide to chartering a private boat in Phuket covers everything from what’s included to how to customise the day.
— Captain Mark
Exceptional, uncrowded island day trips from Phuket. Family-owned and operated since 2004.
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