A day at Yona Beach Club, explained

I’m Ploy. I was born in Phuket Town, spent seven years running reservations and guest relations for beach clubs and boat operators on the west coast, and now plan trips freelance. I have done Yona in both seasons and both sessions, with honeymooners, hen parties and one very patient grandmother. This is the briefing I give before anyone pays.

You cannot walk in, and everything follows from that

YONA is a roughly 1,200 m² vessel with three decks, launched in late 2021 and anchored offshore with sea in every direction. On board: a 22-metre infinity pool on the main deck, a smaller pool on the Sunset Terrace, four bars, a rooftop doing signature cocktails, and a restaurant serving sharing plates, sushi, pizzas and Thai classics. The only way on is the club’s shuttle boat — about 10 minutes each way, roughly every 20 minutes, and you want to be at the pier 30 minutes before your slot. Every confusing thing about Yona — the timetable, the dress check on land, the moving pier — comes from that one fact.

Morning or afternoon

The day splits into two sessions that never overlap. The morning, 9:30 to 14:00, is family-friendly, with last check-in around noon; one reviewer, Josh, called it the more chill of the two, and he is right. The afternoon, 14:00 to 21:30, is adults only — the venue checks photo ID at the pier, and I tell guests to confirm the current minimum age when they book — with last check-in around 17:00. Take the morning for children or a quiet swim, the afternoon for the DJ and the sunset.

The ticket is mostly lunch money

This is the part people miss. The morning pass carries about 1,500 THB of food-and-drink credit, the standard afternoon pass about 2,000 THB, and there is a women-only afternoon option with about 1,000 THB and a kids’ pass with about 500. Reserved seating scales the same way: cabanas run from about 8,000 THB of credit for up to four people to 14,000 THB for up to seven. Every package includes the shuttle both ways, a welcome drink, towels, pool access and passenger insurance. So arrive hungry and order steadily — Gillian’s group had 6,000 THB between them and still left 1,500 unspent. Spend it all and the day feels fair; sit on it and the ticket feels expensive. The full tier table is on ticket prices. Two practical notes: pool beds sit in full sun, so bring sunscreen, and outside food and drink are banned — the whole list is on what to bring.

Which pier, on your date

Yona moves with the seasons, because the west coast sea gets rough in the monsoon. From roughly mid-November to late March it anchors in Patong Bay and the shuttle leaves from Patong Boat Pier; the rest of the year it sits off the east coast and the shuttle runs from Royal Phuket Marina, near Phuket Town — a 30–40 minute drive from Patong depending on traffic. Going to the wrong pier is the single most common mistake I see, so check the departure point on your booking against how to get there, and agree your taxi fare in advance or use a ride app.

Dress for the pier, not the pool

The dress code is smart casual and it is enforced on land, before you board. Swimwear is fine once you are at the pool; wear a cover-up, shorts or a dress everywhere else. Tank tops on men, cut-offs, sportswear and football shirts get turned away, and after seven years of watching that happen at check-in desks I have no sympathy left. The deck itself is barefoot-friendly and sandals are fine for the pier. The full rules, including what women actually wear, are on dress code.

When to book a boat day instead

Yona is a pool with a DJ on the sea. If what you want is waves, beaches and islands, book one of the alternatives: the Phi Phi speedboat day is the most-reviewed trip on this site, the sunset catamaran is the party that keeps moving, the James Bond Island cruise is the premium sunset, Coral Island is the short budget run, and the elephant sanctuary is the land morning. I compare them all on boat parties and all experiences.

A first visit that works

Book the afternoon session a few days ahead with the pier confirmed for your date. Arrive 30 minutes early, dressed for the check, ID in hand. Claim your seat, put sunscreen on before the pool bed cooks you, and start ordering against the credit early rather than in one panicked burst at 20:00. Move to the Sunset Terrace before the light goes, then take the shuttle back with the credit at zero. Do it that way and the whole strange machine — pier, boat, credit, DJ — runs exactly as designed.

Ready to book?

Pick your session first, then the seat. The day pass options and the pier dress check are the two things worth reading before you pay — everything else sorts itself out on the boat.

Frequently asked questions