Simba Sea Trips

Most boats reach Maya Bay to find it already full. Ours doesn't.

Simba Sea Trips leaves early. The Phi Phi Sunrise Tour departs at 6am, so you watch the sun come up from the water and step onto the beach around 7:15am, while the bay is still quiet and the light is still gold. About an hour later the day-tripper fleet arrives - by then you've had the place almost to yourself.

That is the whole idea. Small groups, a maximum of 18 adults, where most operators carry 30 to 60. Time to swim, to look, to breathe, instead of being herded from stop to stop. Local Thai captains and crew who remember your name, and a proper buffet lunch back at our own pool club rather than a tray on a crowded pier.

Beyond Phi Phi there is Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island - sea caves, hidden lagoons and towering limestone cliffs, explored by kayak - plus private charters shaped around whatever your group has in mind.

Everything is included: hotel transfers, breakfast, lunch, national park fees, and free cancellation up to 24 hours. Phi Phi Sunrise from THB 5,310; Phang Nga Bay from THB 4,500.

Simba has run these waters since 2005 - over 20 years, thousands of reviews at a 4.9 average, and an owner who happens to be a career airline captain. TAT Licence 34/02111.