Most beach clubs have a little gimmick. Something to draw the crowds in, and that’s just smart marketing in the main. After all, if you’re not different from your competitors, why should anyone visit?
But Yona Beach Club is different from almost every other beach club on Earth in one critical aspect. That is, Yona is not on land; it’s on a boat, floating in the ocean, and thus, it’s the world’s first and currently biggest floating beach club.
Our review team loves to sample something new, so they were keen to get aboard Yona Beach Club for a day and find out if the experience was all it’s been made out to be. This is what they discovered when they visited Yona Beach Club in Phuket, Thailand.
Introduction – Getting To Yona Beach Club, Phuket
It’s fairly easy to get to Phuket, but it’s also not entirely straightforward. That’s because Phuket is not the capital of Thailand; that’s Bangkok, and Bangkok is where most international flights are going to terminate.
That means most people will need to fly to Bangkok and then either stay in the capital (which is our preferred option) for a couple of days or jump straight on another plane (after hanging around the airport) and head to Phuket.
It’s a pretty short flight from Bangkok to Phuket, but we confess, it’s not our favourite journey and we doubt it ever will be.
Once you are in Phuket, Yona Beach Club is relatively easy to get to, though it’s on the opposite side of the island from the majority of the beach clubs in this area. It shouldn’t take more than an hour in a taxi or ride-share to get here, though we would probably avoid tuk-tuks unless you’re staying nearby. It’s going to be a long and uncomfortable ride if you do go by tuk-tuk.
As you might expect, you have to park nearby or get dropped off by your ride-share and then jump on a boat that takes you out to Yona Beach Club before you can spend the day there.
This can feel like a bit of an adventure, but if the water is a little choppy, it can also make you feel a bit queasy before you start the day at Yona.
Where Is Yona Beach Club, Phuket? MC1-5 63/102 Moo.2, Koh Kaew, Mueang Phuket, Phuket, 83000, Thailand
Online: YONA
Opening Hours: Yona has two sets of opening hours. A chill vibe morning, which runs from 9.30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and then a party vibe afternoon from 2 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. It is possible to attend both of these sessions, but they must be booked and paid for separately.
On Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – only the afternoon session is available
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – both sessions are available
As with most clubs in Thailand, Yona does not have any season closing times, but may be closed for public holidays or elections. It may also occasionally be closed for maintenance work to ensure its safety as a floating venue.
This venue occasionally holds special events, which may necessitate changes in opening times.
The shuttle boat service to Yona Beach Club departs from Royal Phuket Marina and departs every 20 minutes.
What’s Available At Yona Beach Club, Phuket?
There are four bars, a restaurant, an infinity pool, a range of seating areas including cabanas, sofas and daybeds, as well as a second-floor terrace area, and an open upper deck.
Our Detailed Review Of Yona Beach Club, Phuket
We apply a standardised approach to assess every beach club, ensuring a just evaluation for owners, management, and staff, and delivering reviews in a consistent format that simplifies comparing different locations.
The assessment process is detailed as follows:
- A team is tasked with reviewing the venue.
- Each member must visit the beach club, with the option to visit independently and on varying days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, scoring the club from 1 (least notable) to 5 (most notable) in predefined categories, while also recording their experiences.
- After all team members have submitted their scorecards, they convene to discuss their observations and finalise scores for each category.
- A selected team member then composes the review, incorporating the team’s discussions and final scores, before it is shared on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
Credit where credit’s due, the booking process at Yona is among the best we’ve encountered in the beach club industry.
It’s all done on their website. They provide you with a seating plan, you can choose the specific seats that you want, the cost of those seats and the associated minimum spend is made very clear when you book.
You can pick a date easily enough (though this is, oddly, the only confusing part as they leave a bunch of past dates in and grey them out, rather than just removing them as they elapse) and then it’s a swift process through to paying the deposit.
We confess, if you want us to be predisposed to have a good time at a club, you can start by making it easy for us to book a seat.
Ambience and Atmosphere
There are two beach clubs in one at Yona, and the morning sessions are indeed chill and laidback. With an emphasis on family fun, there are also a lot of kids running around, and it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
The afternoon party sessions are much busier, and as they offer access without a guaranteed seat to this session, you can find it can be uncomfortably busy on certain days.
Overall, there’s a social and convivial vibe to both parts of the day, and that’s a good thing. One thing we’d note is that we were fortunate enough to visit this club in good weather; we’d be interested to know how much fun it is if a storm suddenly shows up.
Location And Accessibility
Phuket is a slightly awkward location to get to. It’s not the worst place on Earth for connecting flights, etc., but most people can’t get there on a direct flight.
Then, once you arrive, this beach club is on the opposite side of the island from most of the other popular spots, and you need to catch a boat to get to the beach club.
If you miss a boat, you will have to wait 20 minutes for another one, 20 minutes that you’re paying for at the beach club if you have a seat. And because this club requires a boat to and from the venue, you can’t extend your time there, either.
However, we’ve added a point because there’s no doubt that a floating beach club has one of the most unique beach club locations, and that’s worth something.
Aesthetic And Design
The floating beach club thing is pretty dramatic, and there’s no doubt in our minds that your Instagram shots from around the pool here are going to wow your mates back home.
It’s really beautiful and it will take your breath away. However, we did feel that they’d not paid quite as much attention to the rest of the ship, and while it’s nice enough, it’s nowhere near as memorable.
Overall, it’s an excellent design, but it’s not quite the best that we’ve ever seen, though the floating gimmick certainly compensates for that to some extent.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
It’s the land of smiles, and the staff here are both friendly and professional. We didn’t think that they were the best we’d ever encountered, but overall, we were impressed with their manner and knowledge.
Service Speed and Efficiency
We also thought that, given the challenges of managing a food and drink business in a narrow corridor shaped like a boat deck, the service was speedy and efficient.
It wasn’t quite at the stage where the staff anticipate your needs, but it was very good and the staff are a credit to the Yona Beach Club.
Food Quality and Variety
The menu is very good at Yona, and there’s plenty of choice for a day by the sea. We also found the quality to be solid, and the food we ordered was very tasty.
However, the prices are substantially higher than both the local area and even other locally competing beach clubs; you are constantly paying a huge premium at this beach club for the privilege of floating for a bit.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
Similar conclusions can be drawn about the drinks, too. They’re strong, well-presented and look great in your Instagram feed.
But the prices are jaw-dropping, including 12,500 Baht for 1.5 litres of Sangria. Sangria is a way to mask the taste of cheap, crappy wine; it ought to be fair less expensive than this.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
Overall, we thought that the standard of cleanliness when we arrived was excellent, but we could see that there were some challenges keeping everything, ahem, “ship shape” during the course of the day.
Again, much of this is due to the shape of the vessel rather than any failing on the part of the staff.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
We thought that the seats were OK, not the most comfortable that we’ve ever tried, but OK and frankly, we weren’t expecting much more.
We can imagine that the sea air sees rather higher turnover of furniture than the clubs further inland, and they’ll have to balance that out when it comes to deciding what to install here.
Music and Entertainment
The morning session has both piped music and a singer, who is fairly entertaining if you like safe family-oriented music, and it’s pleasant enough.
The afternoon session is all about DJs, and they bring a lot of local talent in to man the decks with the occasional surprise appearance from international stars.
It’s not the absolute best entertainment and music we’ve come across in a beach club, but it’s definitely much better than average.
Seasonality
While officially there’s no real seasonality in the tropics, this part of Thailand often has monsoon rains that last for weeks at a time.
We’re not sure we’d want to be out on a boat being rained on at that time of year, both because of the safety risk and because it would be no fun.
Pricing and Value for Money
It’s not the most expensive beach club on Earth, but it must be competing for the accolade of most expensive beach club in Southeast Asia.
We understand that being based on a boat is going to cost more than being based on land, but there’s no getting around the fact that Yona Beach Club is pretty dreadful value for money, particularly when compared to some other clubs in Phuket and the beach clubs of Bali.
Beach Access and Quality
One of the things about a boat floating in the ocean is that it doesn’t have a beach of any kind, which means you can’t access it, and there’s no quality to speak of.
We would also note that swimming in the ocean in Phuket is a bad idea because of the pollution, which means don’t jump off the side of the boat, no matter how tempting the water looks.
Sustainability Practices
This beach club has made some public commitments regarding their commitment to sustainability, but sadly, they don’t provide any kind of reporting on this.
So, we know that they’re paying at least lip service to the environment, but can’t tell how much progress they’re making towards their goals, etc. It’s a start, we guess, but they can certainly do better.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
Normally, we’d be quite enthusiastic about a beach club offering a boat ride to and from the club, boating insurance, a welcome drink, a daybed and a towel.
But given the extremely high price of a seat in this beach club, we simply can’t be. Plus, as the club is on a boat, the ride to and from the door and insurance ought to be taken as a given, anyway not proferred like a bonus for the guests.
Safety and Security
This club certainly feels like there’s enough security presence to ensure your safety on a day-to-day basis, and it does a bag check.
But there’s a niggling wonder in the back of our minds over how safe it would be if it sprung a major leak or got caught in a surprise heavy-duty storm.
Event Hosting Capabilities
You can rent out the boat for private events, but it’s not a service they promote heavily at Yona, and we can imagine that’s because it’s going to interfere with their overall guest acquisition strategy.
Consistency of Experience
Our team attended this beach club a few times while they were in Phuket, and they also spoke to other regular guests and pored over customer reviews online.
The general consensus was that this club offers a very consistent experience, and it’s one that is actually above average, just dragged down by the high prices.
However, there’s no doubt that this club isn’t really seeking to improve its services, but to keep doing what it’s doing, instead.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
This beach club has all the basic amenities that you could need for a day on the waves, but if you do need something else that they don’t have, it’s an onerous round trip back to shore, so make sure to bring everything you might want for the day.
Summary
We would be raving about Yona Beach if it weren’t for the extraordinary pricing. Go for a whole day as three people, and you will need to fork out 14,000 Thai Baht just to sit down. That’s nearly $500 USD for seats. Sure, they throw in a drink, pool access, a towel and insurance, but still, you can have an amazing day out in Phuket for the price of a seat here.
And then, on top of that, you are required to spend another 20,000 Thai Baht on food and drink, and while it is fair to say that food and drinks are quite expensive here, that amounts to another $600 USD on consumables. And if you don’t spend that much? You’ll have to pay it anyway as a minimum spend.
Though at 12,500 Thai Baht (just under $500 USD) for 1.5 litres of sangria? You may not have that much trouble spending all that and more here.
The floating setting is really cool, and it looks amazing in pictures. But we feel lucky to have timed our visit for a sunny day; we doubt it’s anywhere near as much fun if it rains.
Overall, this is a place that would be great, but instead ends up feeling like an endless cash drain. Sure, it’s not that expensive compared to Ibiza or St. Tropez, for example, but we could spend a week in Bali’s beach clubs for the same cost as a day here.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Yona Beach Club, Phuket?
Yes! Despite being on a boat in the ocean, there is a single large swimming pool in the centre of the main deck surrounded by day beds.
It is completely safe to swim in this pool, and there is no contamination from the water in the ocean around the boat.
We found the pool area to be very clean and well-maintained on our visit, and we felt that it was one of the highlights of spending time at Yona Beach Club.
Despite your incredible proximity to the ocean, it’s not recommended to swim in the ocean anywhere around Phuket.
That’s because the water is badly polluted and represents a danger to human health. In particular, no one should allow children into the ocean water.
What Is There To Do At Yona Beach Club, Phuket?
You can swim, eat, drink and lounge on a daybed in the early day session at Yona Beach Club, Phuket.
In the afternoon session, all the same options are available, as well as the chance to dance and enjoy music from the live DJs present.
If you wish to enjoy both sessions at Yona Beach Club, they must be booked and paid for separately. You cannot rely on turning up for the morning session and being allowed to stay for the afternoon session, as it may be entirely booked out.
The floating platform nature of this beach club means that there are strict limits on the number of people who are allowed in at any one time, and the club cannot exceed these thresholds without putting its guests at risk.
Is Yona Beach Club, Phuket, A Child-Friendly Venue?
Yona Beach Club is nearly 100% family-friendly for the morning sessions. The only restriction on children attending this session is that they must be over the age of 4 years old.
This is for safety reasons, and the club is not able to relax this requirement. You may be required to provide proof of your children’s ages before they are allowed to board.
The morning session is designed for families, and it’s a laid-back vibe with a live singer for entertainment. Every morning booking comes with guaranteed seating, which is often essential when you’re with kids.
While there is a lifeguard at the pool, parents are required to supervise children who use the pool and to be responsible for their safety.
However, the afternoon session from 2 p.m. onwards is only open to individuals over the age of 20. This is an adult’s only, party-oriented session with very different behaviours and vibe to the morning.
Who Is The Owner Of Yona Beach Club, Phuket?
Yona Beach Club is owned by Yohan Cardinal. He is the owner and founder of this beach club as well as the Hype Boat Club.
The beach club is named after his daughter, Youna. Yohan is a French national who moved to Thailand to set up a yacht charter business.
His business entity has several Thai partners for legal reasons. It’s also worth noting that this beach club has had some legal problems regarding waste and safety prior to opening, but these have been fully resolved now.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Yona Beach Club, Phuket
Yona Beach Club is a very nice place and offers a unique experience, but it does so at a very steep price tag.
We’d suggest that most people might be better off saving their cash and going to a less expensive venue.
However, if you really want to spend some time at a floating beach club, this is going to be one of your best (and only) options to do so.
