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Private River Yachts in Bangkok: Prices, Hours and Group Sizes
Yacht charter in Bangkok starts from ฿11,999 for an hour and a half on a six-seat river yacht, and the cheapest vessel rented by the hour costs ฿2,699 an hour. Nine two-hour charters on the Chao Phraya cost between ฿18,000 and ฿69,000. Below: how the price units compare, what a charter costs per guest, which vessels the market calls yachts, how food packages move the price, and what to put in a request.
How a private river charter is priced
A river charter in the city is sold in five different units, from ninety minutes to a full day, and the unit decides what a figure really buys.
The whole boat, with captain and crew
A private charter here means the whole boat for your group, not a seat on a shared dinner cruise with a ticket per person. The Rent-Trip section on this page brings together 25 river vessels, from a five-seat mahogany launch to a two-deck cruise boat for up to 120 guests, and every one of them goes out with a professional captain and crew. Charter boats on the Chao Phraya come in sizes from about 25 to 105 feet — roughly 7.6 to 32 metres — so the crew is part of the vessel, not an option you add or skip. That makes a yacht charter in Bangkok closer to booking a venue on the water than to renting a craft you steer yourself. In my view, the first number to check in any offer is not the price but the hours behind it — two figures for different durations cannot be set side by side.
Five ways a price is quoted
- Ninety minutes: four boats, among them Napa Nara and Capella, are priced for a 1.5-hour cruise from ฿11,999.
- Two hours: nine vessels, from the Private dinner cruise boat to Pruek, carry a price for a two-hour charter.
- By the hour: nine boats, from the Water Limousine at ฿2,699 to the Signature Hacker Craft at ฿19,900, are priced per hour.
- Per cruise: Manohra Cruise and the Saffron Fine Dining cruise are priced per cruise, and their duration is not stated.
- Per day: the Traditional Thai rice barge, set up for a cocktail party on the river, costs ฿34,950 for the day.
Every price as an hourly figure
| Price unit | Boats | Price | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5-hour cruise | 4 | ฿11,999–21,204 | ฿7,999–14,136 |
| 2-hour charter | 9 | ฿18,000–69,000 | ฿9,000–34,500 |
| One hour | 9 | ฿2,699–19,900 | ฿2,699–19,900 |
| Per cruise, hours not stated | 2 | ฿90,000–400,000 | — |
| Per day | 1 | ฿34,950 | — |
Prices from ฿2,699 an hour to ฿400,000 a cruise
Twenty-two of the 25 boats can be reduced to a price per hour; the other three are barges and a fine-dining vessel priced per cruise or per day.
Ninety-minute cruises for small groups
The cheapest way onto the river with a vessel to yourselves is a 1.5-hour cruise: Napa Nara takes up to 6 guests for ฿11,999. Capella, a small yacht for 5, costs ฿13,950, and the Hacker-Craft Classic mahogany boat, also for 5, costs ฿14,500 for the same ninety minutes — only ฿550 apart. Irene Aqua stands out at ฿21,204 for up to 8 guests. Two extra seats against Napa Nara cost ฿9,205 more, so for a party of six the smaller yacht is the clear saving, while a party of seven or eight has no choice in this group but Irene Aqua or a two-hour charter. Yacht rental in Bangkok at this scale suits a couple, a family or a small group of friends. Is ninety minutes enough? For a short sightseeing run with a small group it can be; for a dinner on board, the two-hour boats below give more time.
Two-hour charters side by side
| Boat | Guests | 2-hour price | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private dinner cruise boat | up to 35 | ฿18,000 | ฿9,000 |
| Aurora | 8 | ฿24,552 | ฿12,276 |
| Thong Chaophraya | 100 | ฿31,248 | ฿15,624 |
| Bangkok Horizon | 10 | ฿35,712 | ฿17,856 |
| Dao Marine | 40 | ฿44,640 | ฿22,320 |
| 70 ft luxury yacht | 40–50 | ฿45,000 | ฿22,500 |
| Two-deck cruise yacht | 80–120 | ฿45,000 | ฿22,500 |
| Legacy | 30–40 | ฿54,000 | ฿27,000 |
| Pruek | 10–30 | ฿69,000 | ฿34,500 |
Boats rented by the hour
Eight river boats are priced by the hour, from ฿2,699 for the 14-seat Water Limousine up to ฿13,000 for the 40-seat Patravadi Show. Between them sit Supapan for 20 guests at ฿5,000, Sala Thai for 15 at ฿5,300, Supatra 7 for 25 at ฿6,300, Supatra for 32 at ฿7,300, Grand Supatra for 40 at ฿8,400 and Riva Viva for 35 at ฿10,899. The ninth hourly option is the Signature Hacker Craft at ฿19,900 for a one-hour sunset cruise for up to 5 — the highest hourly figure in the section for the smallest group. Hourly prices look low next to the two-hour charters: two hours on Grand Supatra at its hourly rate come to ฿16,800 for 40 guests, against ฿44,640 for Dao Marine with the same capacity. The minimum number of hours for these boats is not stated, though, so ask for the minimum before you multiply.
Barges and fine dining by the cruise or the day
Three vessels sit outside the hourly logic. Manohra Cruise, a teak rice barge for 60 guests, is priced at ฿90,000 per cruise, and the Saffron Fine Dining cruise for 80 guests at ฿400,000 — about 4.4 times as much and the top of the whole range. Neither price says how many hours the cruise lasts, so neither converts into an hourly figure. The Traditional Thai rice barge for 10 guests is priced for the day, at ฿34,950, and is set up for a cocktail party on the river. For these three, ask what the price includes — the hours on the water, the food and the number of guests — before comparing them with anything else on this page.
Group size and the cost per guest
Capacity ranges from 5 seats on the Hacker-Craft launches to 120 on the two-deck cruise yacht, and the price per head ranges from under ฿200 to ฿5,000.
How many guests the boats take
| Group size | Boats | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 | 8 | Napa Nara, Irene Aqua, Bangkok Horizon, rice barge |
| 11 to 40 | 12 | Water Limousine, Pruek, Legacy, Dao Marine |
| 41 to 120 | 5 | 70 ft yacht, Manohra Cruise, Thong Chaophraya |
Price per guest at full load
Divided by the full guest count, a two-hour charter costs from about ฿312 a head on Thong Chaophraya, which takes 100 guests for ฿31,248. The two-deck cruise yacht comes to about ฿375 a head with 120 on board, the 70 ft luxury yacht to ฿900 with 50, and Dao Marine to about ฿1,116 with 40. At the small end the arithmetic turns around: Napa Nara works out at about ฿2,000 a guest for ninety minutes and Bangkok Horizon at about ฿3,571 for two hours. The eight hourly river boats are the cheapest per head of all — from about ฿193 per guest per hour on the Water Limousine to about ฿353 on Sala Thai. Saffron, at ฿5,000 a guest, is the most expensive seat in the section. Per-head figures assume every seat is taken, so they only help once you know your headcount.
When a bigger boat costs less
A larger vessel is not always the dearer one. Thong Chaophraya, built for 100 guests, costs ฿31,248 for two hours, which is ฿4,464 less than Bangkok Horizon for 10 at ฿35,712. Dao Marine for 40 guests at ฿44,640 and the two-deck cruise yacht for up to 120 at ฿45,000 are only ฿360 apart, though one holds three times as many people. The price follows the class of the vessel and its fit-out more than the number of seats. So for a group of 12 to 40, do not start from the boats sized exactly to your group — check the next size up as well, because it may cost the same or less.
What counts as a yacht on the river
The word yacht covers five different kinds of vessel on the river, and each class answers a different kind of trip.
Small motor yachts for up to ten
Five small motor yachts make up the entry level: Napa Nara for 6, Capella for 5, Irene Aqua and Aurora for 8 each, and Bangkok Horizon for 10. Their prices run from ฿11,999 to ฿35,712, and the first three are priced for ninety minutes, the last two for two hours. A private yacht on the Chao Phraya of this size gives a small group the whole deck without strangers at the next table, which is the main difference from a shared cruise. Aurora and Bangkok Horizon add half an hour against the ninety-minute boats and cost ฿24,552 and ฿35,712. If your group is close to the limit — 6 on Napa Nara, 8 on Aurora — confirm the exact headcount the yacht accepts, because there is no spare seat to fall back on.
Three-deck and one-deck yachts for 30 to 50
Legacy and Pruek are the two three-deck yachts in the section. Legacy takes 30 to 40 guests and costs from ฿54,000 for two hours; Pruek is a 27-metre teak yacht for 10 to 30 guests at ฿69,000, the highest two-hour price on the page. The 70 ft luxury yacht — about 21 metres — has a single deck for 40 to 50 guests and costs ฿45,000 for two hours. So the one-deck yacht holds more people for less money, and what the extra decks buy is space split across levels rather than extra seats. In my view, a reception where guests mingle suits the open single deck, while a dinner with separate areas fits the three-deck boats better.
Cruise boats for 40 to 120 guests
Four vessels are built for larger events. Dao Marine, a large river yacht, takes 40 guests for ฿44,640; Thong Chaophraya, a cruise boat for 100, costs ฿31,248; and the two-deck cruise yacht takes 80 to 120 guests for ฿45,000 without food. The Private dinner cruise boat, on two levels, takes up to 35 for ฿18,000. Alongside them, the hourly boats offer 14 to 40 seats each, from the Water Limousine to Grand Supatra and the Patravadi Show. For a company event of 80 or more, the choice narrows to the two-deck cruise yacht, Thong Chaophraya and the Saffron vessel — three boats in the whole section.
Teak barges and mahogany launches
Two kinds of traditional craft round out the section. Manohra Cruise is a teak rice barge for 60 guests at ฿90,000 per cruise, and the Traditional Thai rice barge takes 10 guests for a day at ฿34,950. At the other end of the scale are two Hacker-Craft wooden launches for 5 people each: the Classic mahogany boat at ฿14,500 for ninety minutes and the Signature Hacker Craft at ฿19,900 for an hour. The two launches may or may not be the same boat — they leave from different piers and carry different prices. If you book one of them, name the pier and the exact product, so the quote you receive matches the boat you picked.
Food packages and one boat with several prices
On the river, the same vessel often carries several prices, and the difference is usually the menu, not the boat.
Boat only or with a menu
The two-deck cruise yacht is the clearest example: ฿45,000 for two hours for the boat alone, and ฿65,900 with food, so the menu adds ฿20,900. Legacy is offered in three packages for the same two-hour charter — ฿54,000 with a buffet, ฿59,900 with the standard menu and ฿69,900 with a set course — a spread of ฿15,900, or about 29% over the lowest price. The cards on this page show the lowest of these figures — ฿54,000 for Legacy and ฿45,000 for the two-deck boat — so treat them as a floor. When you book a private yacht in Bangkok, ask first whether the quote is for the boat alone or for a package, and which menu it covers.
Flat price or per head
The cards on this page show one price for the whole vessel, whatever the headcount up to its limit. The Private dinner cruise boat works differently: ฿18,000 covers the boat for a two-hour lunch or a Thai set dinner, but above 11 guests the price is counted per head, at ฿1,600 a guest. That makes it the cheapest two-hour boat for a small party and a different calculation for a large one. With a group of 30, ask for the total in baht, not the per-head figure — only then can it be compared with Dao Marine or Legacy at a flat price.
A two-deck boat at two prices
The same class of vessel can carry very different figures. A two-deck cruise yacht for 80 to 120 guests costs ฿45,000 for two hours without food, while a two-deck yacht for up to 80 guests is offered from ฿90,000 — twice as much for a smaller headcount. Behind such a gap there can be a different vessel, a different deck plan, a meal or a different time of day. Line up four facts for each offer — hours, headcount, food and pier — and compare the totals only when all four match.
Piers, hours and a request that gets a comparable quote
Duration and the boarding point are the two details that most often go missing from a request, and both change the final price.
Two hours as the base, extra time on top
Two hours is the base length of a private river charter, and additional hours can be added at extra cost. Nine of the 25 boats are priced for exactly two hours, four for ninety minutes and nine by the hour, so the two-hour block is the common reference point. If you need three hours on Legacy or Pruek, the price for the third hour is not stated — ask for it as a separate figure. One practical point: a ninety-minute yacht booked for two hours is no longer the cheapest option until you know how the extra half-hour is charged.
Boarding piers named for three boats
Only three vessels in the section come with a named boarding point. The Signature Hacker Craft leaves from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel pier, the Classic mahogany boat from Maharaj Pier, and the Traditional Thai rice barge is based in Khlong San, on the west bank. For the other 22 boats the pier is not stated, and on a long river that matters: getting your guests to the wrong landing costs time from a charter counted in hours. Ask for the exact pier with every quote, and check how your group will reach it.
What to put in a charter request
- Date and hours: give the date, the start time and the number of hours, so ninety-minute, two-hour and hourly boats become one total.
- Headcount: state the full number of guests, including children, because capacity limits on the small yachts leave no spare seat.
- Food: say whether you want the boat alone, a buffet, a set menu or drinks only, since packages change the price by thousands of baht.
- Pier: name the landing you prefer or ask which one the boat uses.
- Exact boat: name the vessel from the cards on this page and ask whether the quote is for that boat or a similar one.
Reading two quotes side by side
Two quotes are comparable only when they describe the same trip. Convert both to a total for the same number of hours; if one is per head, multiply it by your headcount; if one includes food and the other does not, add the menu to the cheaper one. Check the pier and the time of day, because a sunset slot and a midday cruise are not the same product. A quote that leaves any of those four points open is a starting figure, not yet a price you can book against.
Key points before you book a river yacht
Five figures to keep in mind
- Entry price: a 1.5-hour cruise starts from ฿11,999 for 6 guests, and hourly boats start from ฿2,699 an hour.
- Two-hour range: nine two-hour charters cost ฿18,000–69,000, with the middle at ฿44,640.
- Per guest: a full 100-seat boat comes to about ฿312 a head for two hours; a six-seat yacht to about ฿2,000 for ninety minutes.
- Packages: food can add ฿20,900 to a two-deck boat and ฿15,900 between the cheapest and dearest menu on Legacy.
- Crew: every boat goes out with a captain and crew, and the base charter is two hours, with extra hours charged on top.