Travel / Vol. XVI Best Of Updated September 22, 2026

THE BESTBOATDAYS

Ranked by how early I had to get up, which is also how good they were.

A boat moored off a sandbank, clear shallow water — Left at nine, back by four

Sitting on the bench of a boat, sea through the window

the early ones win →

Lauren tested

Words & testing · Lauren Fowler Open story ↓ Photograph · Lauren

Filed under
Travel / Boats / Best Of

Published
September 22, 2026

Best by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Every product here was bought with my own money or tested for at least six weeks. No brand has paid to be included, and nothing is ranked higher because it pays more.

There is a strong correlation between how early a boat leaves and how good the day is, and it is not subtle. The early boats get the empty places.

These are the days I would do again tomorrow, roughly in order of how early the alarm was.

Maldives

Name to confirm

The sandbank that appears at low tide

Twenty minutes out, four hours entirely to ourselves.

A sandbank that exists between tides and is gone by four. Arranged the evening before with the guesthouse for about thirty dollars for two, which remains the best value of anything I have ever booked.

Best for: The best day of a trip
When to go: Low tide — ask locally the night before

Thailand

Name to confirm

The marine park day boat

Forty-two islands, a lagoon in a collapsed volcano, one unpleasant climb.

A full-day boat from Koh Samui. The climb to the viewpoint is forty genuinely horrible minutes and the view at the top justifies it completely.

Best for: One big day out
When to go: February to April, calmest water

Maldives

Name to confirm

The snorkelling stop with the reef sharks

Ankle-deep water, small sharks, and no one else on the beach.

Blacktip reef sharks and rays come into the shallows at certain times of day. Harmless, extraordinary, and the sort of thing a resort would charge for as an excursion.

Best for: Anyone nervous about the sea
When to go: Early morning or late afternoon

Sun rays breaking through clouds over the sea — Indonesia

Indonesia

Name to confirm

The sunset boat back

The best hour of every boat day is the ride home.

Nobody books the ride back and it is consistently the best part — the light, the tiredness, and nothing left to do.

Best for: The end of any of the above
When to go: Whenever the boat turns around

How to book one

Locally, the evening before, in cash. A boat arranged through a hotel concierge costs several times what the same boat costs arranged at the harbour, and it is frequently the same captain.

Agree the return time before you leave. "Sunset" means different things to a captain who has been up since five.

What to bring

More sunscreen than you think — the reflection off water is brutal and I have the one real burn of my adult life from forgetting this. Reapply every ninety minutes, not two hours.

A dry bag, a cap, and cash. Almost nothing on a boat day takes a card.

What comes on the boatBest by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Recommendations are selected independently.