Character Boat Charters in Krabi, Thailand
There is another way to experience Krabi. “Classics in the Tropics“.
Small boats.
Small groups.
Traditional sailing.
Krabi Boat Lagoon
A Different Kind of Krabi Boat Experience
Krabi is famous for its dramatic limestone scenery, tropical islands and beautiful coastline. But there is another landscape that many visitors never experience.
The rivers and waterways surrounding Krabi Boat Lagoon form an extensive sheltered estuary, winding between mangroves, limestone formations and quiet stretches of open water.
It is an environment ideally suited to relaxed small-boat sailing.
Rather than following a fixed tourist itinerary, Character Boat Charters is about spending time on the water. Depending on the boat, conditions and your interests, you might help with the sails, take the helm, explore the river or simply sit back and enjoy the scenery.
There is no need to hurry.
For us, the sailing is part of the experience.
Meet Our Character Boats
Traditional Boat Charters with Character
Cornish Cormorant
Post Boat
Stornaway 18
Our small fleet has been chosen because every boat offers something different.
They are not anonymous charter boats. Each has its own design, sailing characteristics and personality.
The collection includes Cornish Cormorants, a Drascombe Lugger, a Stornoway 18, a Deben Lugger, a Post Boat and a traditional 12-foot lug-sail dinghy.
Some are inspired by the working sailing boats that once populated the coasts and estuaries of Britain. Others reflect the traditions of simple dinghy cruising and recreational sailing.
Together, they provide an unusual opportunity to enjoy classic and traditional small-boat sailing in the warm waters of Krabi, Thailand.
For experienced sailors, there may even be something reassuringly familiar about stepping aboard.
For newcomers, they offer a wonderfully simple introduction to sailing.
Drascombe Lugger
Orwell Corinthian
Deben Lugger
Traditional Lug Sail Dinghy
Sailing for Families, Couples and Small Groups
🌿Character Boat Charters is deliberately focused on small groups and personal experiences.
🌿You do not need any previous sailing experience.
🌿Families can enjoy an easy introduction to being on the water together. Couples can spend a quiet few hours exploring the estuary. Friends can share a relaxed sailing trip, while experienced sailors can rediscover the pleasures of handling a traditional small boat.
🌿Children can also become part of the experience rather than simply passengers.
🌿Under appropriate supervision and conditions, there may be opportunities to help with a line, understand how the sails work or try taking the helm.
It makes sailing engaging, memorable and — most importantly — fun.
Rediscover the Pleasure of Small-Boat Sailing
Character Boat Charters also has something special to offer sailors visiting Thailand.
If you have spent years sailing dinghies, Drascombes, traditional boats or small cruising yachts, you probably understand the attraction already.
There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about a small sailing boat.
No rush. No need for elaborate systems. Just the wind, the water and a responsive boat.
For sailors escaping the European winter, Character Boat Charters provides an opportunity to enjoy that experience in an entirely different environment — warm tropical waters, mangrove-lined rivers and the spectacular landscape of Krabi, Thailand.
It may be thousands of miles from home, but the pleasure of sailing a good small boat remains exactly the same.
Classics in the Tropics
Traditional sailing boats are normally associated with harbours, rivers and coastlines.
Seeing them sailing beneath tropical skies gives them an entirely different character.
We sometimes think of the experience as “Classics in the Tropics“.
Traditional rigs, simple boats and relaxed sailing — but surrounded by mangroves, limestone cliffs and the warm waters of southern Thailand.
It is an unusual combination and one of the things that makes Character Boat Charters different.
Explore Krabi’s Rivers and Estuary
Our home at Krabi Boat Lagoon gives us direct access to an extensive network of rivers and sheltered waterways.
This is where Character Boat Charters feels most at home.
The estuary offers wide stretches of water for sailing, smaller waterways to explore, and constantly changing scenery as the tide moves through the mangroves.
Birdlife and the natural environment form part of the experience, while the dramatic limestone landscape provides an unmistakably Krabi backdrop.
Most importantly, these waters allow us to concentrate on what Character Boat Charters is really about:
enjoying a boat rather than rushing towards a destination.
Part of Java Yachting
🌿Character Boat Charters is part of Java Yachting, bringing together our experience in sailing, boating and activities on the water in southern Thailand.
🌿From our bases in Krabi and Phuket, Java Yachting provides sailing training, outdoor education programmes, Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, school activities and recreational sailing experiences.
🌿Character Boat Charters extends that experience into something deliberately more relaxed.
🌿No courses.
🌿No qualifications required.
🌿Just an opportunity to step aboard and enjoy sailing.
Your Boat. Your Group. Your Day on the Water.
We deliberately avoid trying to turn every charter into the same experience.
Different boats suit different people, and sailing conditions change with the weather and tides.
Tell us who is coming, what sort of experience you are looking for and whether you have sailed before.
We can then help recommend a suitable boat and plan an enjoyable time on the water.
Whether you are introducing your children to sailing, rediscovering a pastime you have enjoyed for decades, or simply looking for something different to do while visiting Krabi, we would be delighted to welcome you aboard.
Discover Character Boat Charters
Explore the boats, learn more about sailing from Krabi Boat Lagoon and start planning your own relaxed sailing experience.
Traditional boats. Warm water. Small groups. A quieter side of Krabi, Thailand.