If your circumstances change and you no longer wish to take a tour you have already paid for and booked in advance, the following cancellation fees apply:

*Dependent on which boat or tour you have booked — every boat company has its own cancellation policy. We will discuss the exact terms with you.

Provided you tell us in time, we will happily cancel your tour and issue a full refund, less any transaction fees already incurred by money transfers or card processing (approximately 5%).

Occasionally a tour may be cancelled by the operator — for example, in low season when a tour has not reached its minimum booking numbers. In this case you will always receive a full refund, or the option to move your booking to another date.

Weather cancellations

If the weather is not suitable or safe, the decision to operate rests 100% with the Captain of the boat or the main tour operator. If they decide not to operate that day or night, we will notify you and you will be offered a full refund or an alternative date.

Our partner operators maintain their vessels to a high standard. However, as with any form of maritime travel, mechanical issues can very occasionally occur without warning — even on well-maintained boats. A mechanical fault handled with a proper safety response does not constitute negligence or unsafe operation; it is an inherent, if rare, part of travel on the water.

What happens if a vessel develops a fault during your tour

• Safety first: standard maritime safety protocol is for guests to remain safely on board while the captain diagnoses the issue and coordinates assistance. Waiting times for a replacement vessel depend on sea conditions and distance from shore, and estimates may change — the crew's priority during this time is resolving the situation safely, which can limit communication.
• Replacement vessel: wherever possible, the operator will arrange and pay for a replacement vessel to reach you on the water so your tour can continue.

Refunds in the event of a mechanical issue

• Where a replacement vessel is provided and the tour continues, the tour is considered delivered and no full refund is applicable. This is because the operator bears the significant cost of deploying and paying a second vessel in full to complete your trip.
• In recognition of any delay experienced, a partial goodwill refund or compensation may be offered at the operator's discretion. Phuket Dream Company will always advocate on your behalf in these situations.
• If the tour cannot continue at all and no replacement vessel can be provided, you will be offered a refund proportionate to the undelivered portion of the tour, or the option to reschedule where available.
• If a replacement vessel is offered and you decline to continue the tour, this is treated as a cancellation on the day and no refund is applicable.

Once the day of your tour arrives, your boat, captain and crew have been reserved for your group, prepared for the day and paid for in full. From that point the cost is committed and cannot be recovered, which is why the following applies:

Deciding not to travel on the day

• If you arrive at the pier or meeting point and decide you no longer wish to travel — while the tour is operating and conditions are safe — this is treated as a cancellation on the day and no refund is applicable. This applies regardless of the reason, including a simple change of mind.
• Where the weather, sea state and vessel are suitable and the operator is ready to depart, the service has been made available to you exactly as booked. A refund cannot be issued on the basis of preference alone.

Trips already underway

• Once your vessel has departed, the tour has commenced and no refund is applicable, whether you choose to continue or to return early.
• If you ask to return to shore before the itinerary is complete, we will always arrange this for your comfort — but the booking is treated as delivered and no refund or partial refund applies.

Completed trips

• Where the itinerary booked has been delivered in full — all destinations visited and the return completed — the service has been provided and no refund is applicable.
• Refund requests made after a completed trip are considered only where there has been a genuine failure to deliver the service booked. Dissatisfaction raised after the event, where the itinerary was completed as arranged, does not qualify.

When you book a private charter, the vessel and crew are dedicated to your group for the duration of your booking, and no other paying passengers are carried.

Assistance to other vessels

It is the duty of every captain at sea, and long-standing custom in Thailand, to render assistance when another vessel needs help — for example with boarding or disembarking passengers in shallow water or at a busy beach. Boats in the vicinity commonly assist one another for a few minutes at a time, and your captain may do the same. This is normal, expected practice, is a matter of safety at sea, and does not constitute a breach of your private charter or any reduction in the service you booked.

Where such assistance takes place while your group is ashore or at leisure, and your itinerary continues as planned, no refund or compensation is applicable.

• If you are not present for pick-up at the place and time specified on your tour voucher, or do not join the tour for any other reason, no refund is applicable regardless of the reason (including medical reasons). Any claim should be submitted to your travel insurance company.
• If you choose to provide your own transportation to the tour, a map and latest arrival time will be attached to your voucher. If you fail to arrive at the specified location by the latest arrival time and the tour cannot be provided, no refund is applicable.

Some tours involve a transfer fee and/or a National Park fee, which are payable in addition to the tour price where relevant. Refusal to pay these fees — claiming the information was not specified on the website or that a voucher with payment information was not received — will result in refusal to participate in the tour. In that case, transportation back to your hotel is at your own cost and no refund of the tour payment will be granted.

The same applies to cancellations and changes to a tour requested by you, as an updated tour voucher will be sent to you.

• Pregnant women are not allowed on any speedboat tour, longtail boat tour, ATV tour, elephant tour, white water rafting tour or Hanuman World. If the tour operator refuses access due to pregnancy, no refund is applicable.
• Children under 1 year old and persons over 70 years old are not allowed on any speedboat tour. If the tour operator refuses access due to these age limits, no refund is applicable.

Please see the full suitability guide in our Booking Conditions and disclose all health, age and pregnancy information for your group before booking.

The tour program is subject to change dependent on weather and sea conditions. In such a case, no compensation is applicable.

To secure your bookings and ensure a seamless experience, we require full payment prior to any scheduled events. This applies to all our offerings, including tours, trips, and the rental of vessels such as big boats and catamarans for private, group and company events.

• To confirm a reservation, a deposit must be paid by the due date specified on your invoice.
• The remaining balance must be settled in full by the designated final payment date.
• Failure to meet these deadlines means the booking is considered unconfirmed and may be subject to cancellation.

How confirmation works

Phuket Dream Company operates as a booking agent, facilitating reservations on your behalf and making payments to the operators of the tours, trips and events you choose. Bookings are not considered 100% confirmed until full payment is received.

As one of several agents booking these trips and events, confirmation for groups and functions is on a first-come, first-served basis — the group that completes full payment first secures their desired dates. Operators, boat companies and hotels require advance arrangements for staffing, stock, menus, and entertainment, which is why deposits and full payments must be met by the specified due dates.

If a cancellation is due to a Force Majeure event — such as COVID-19 — full refunds will be issued.

A "Force Majeure Event" includes but is not limited to: fire, earthquake, flood, windstorm or other extreme weather events, war, civil commotion, riot, blockade or embargo, breakdown, union dispute, epidemic, pandemic, lack or failure of courses of supply, passage of any law, order, regulation, ordinance, proclamation, demand, requisition or requirement, or any other act of any government authority outside the reasonable control of either party, whether or not foreseeable, which renders performance impossible.

We will not be liable in any way for bodily injury, delay, illness, death, damage, or other loss or detriment to person or property, or financial costs both direct and indirect incurred, or for our failure to perform, commence, or complete any duty owed to you, if caused by a Force Majeure Event.

Costs associated with travel to the designated meeting point, overnight accommodation, meals, etc. are not covered by us — which is why we strongly recommend travel insurance be taken out prior to travel.