Sea caves, island runs and one very fast hull

Some coastlines only open up at thirty knots.

Which Benagil boat actually goes inside the cave. What a Phi Phi day costs once lunch is in. Whether the Shotover canyon run is worth the fare. Reviews of the speedboat, RIB and jet-boat trips you can book right now.

The sea cave runs Open the full list →

1,840trips to book

$4cheapest seat

346seats under $50

A small boat under the sea arch at Benagil, on the Algarve coast

Most booked on the site Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Option ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 11,663 reviews · from $20

Start here

Benagil, Phang Nga, the Dalmatian islands, a Queenstown canyon.

Four trips that show what a fast hull is actually for. What each one costs, and what the people who went say about it.

What kind of day

Six kinds of speedboat day, and what each one is really for.

A cave run is twenty minutes of the sea being extraordinary. An island-hop is a whole day with towels and lunch. A RIB in the Arctic is a survival suit and a thermos. They are not interchangeable, and the price tells you which is which.

Best ofSea cavesLow hulls through gaps a ferry cannot take Best ofIsland runsFour or five islands in the time a ferry does one Best ofSnorkel daysReef stops, masks on board, lunch on a beach Best ofRIB & ZodiacInflatable tubes, open sky, cold-water coasts Best ofJet boatsShallow rivers, rock walls and a 360 at the end Best ofPrivate chartersThe whole boat, your own route, quoted per hull

Thailand

Nowhere pushes more speedboats off the beach than Thailand.

Phuket and Krabi launch off the beach at eight, hit four islands before lunch and are back before the afternoon squall. The choice is which archipelago, and whether you want the crowds or the early start that beats them.

Most booked in Thailand Pig Island & Koh Tan Snorkeling by Speed boat ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · from $52

The Phi Phi dayMaya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, a snorkel stop and a buffet. from $17

Phang Nga BayLimestone stacks, a sea-canoe hour and the famous rock. from $36

Reef stopsHong, Bamboo and the Similans when the season allows. from $4 Every one of the 439 Thai trips →

Inside the rock

The Algarve, Dalmatia and Vis: three coasts built out of holes.

Benagil, the Blue Cave on Biševo, the Green Cave at Ravnik. All three need calm water and a hull low enough to clear the entrance, which is why the boat matters more than the guide.

Every cave run

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 11,663 reviewsBenagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Option

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,150 reviewsBlue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 6,546 reviewsBenagil Sea Caves Speedboat Adventure Tour

Best ofDalmatian CavesBest ofThe AlgarveBest ofAlbanian Riviera

What fills up first

The speedboat trips more people book than any others.

Every trip on the site →

The most-booked fast boats on the site, in order. The top of this list moves as new reviews land.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 11,663 reviews

Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Option

Meet Atlantis Tours at Portimão’s riverside pier for a 90-minute RIB ride to Benagil Cave. Your skipper handles the coast while guides such as Sergio, Carlos, or Diego keep the trip lively in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. You’ll see Ferragudo, Carvoeiro, Algar Seco, sea caves, and possibly a sunset on the way back.

From · $20

Read our review →

2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,150 reviews Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tour from $111

3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 6,546 reviews Benagil Sea Caves Speedboat Adventure Tour from $20

4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 6,316 reviews Benagil Caves & Dolphin Watching Speed Boat Tour from $40

5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 4,259 reviews Circle Line “The Beast” Midtown/Downtown Speedboat Ride from $34

6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 4,149 reviews Pig Island & Koh Tan Snorkeling by Speed boat from $52

7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,971 reviews High-Speed Thames River Speedboat in London from $90

8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 3,952 reviews Hong Islands Day Trip by Speedboat with Lunch from $43

Mask and fins

The reef stop is what most speedboat fares are really buying.

A snorkel speedboat is a taxi to water you cannot reach from a beach. Gear is almost always on board; what varies is how many stops, how long at each, and whether the crew gets in with you.

1Pig Island & Koh Tan Snorkeling by Speed boatfrom $52
2Blue Lagoon and 3 Islands Speedboat Tourfrom $70
3Blue Lagoon & 3 Islands Small-Group Speedboat Tourfrom $84

Snorkel trips Marine parks Blue lagoons Dolphins & whales Phi Phi

What it costs

What a seat on a fast boat actually costs.

Every trip on the site, grouped by the per-head fare. Short harbour blasts sit at the bottom; whole-day island runs with lunch sit in the middle.

Under $50

Harbour sightseeing, short cave runs and the half-day hops out of a beach resort.

1Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Optionfrom $20
2Benagil Sea Caves Speedboat Adventure Tourfrom $20
3Benagil Caves & Dolphin Watching Speed Boat Tourfrom $40

$50–150

The full-day standard: several islands, a snorkel stop, lunch and a long ride home.

1Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tourfrom $111
2Pig Island & Koh Tan Snorkeling by Speed boatfrom $52
3High-Speed Thames River Speedboat in Londonfrom $90

$150 and up

Arctic RIB safaris, small-group premium boats and the trips that cross open water.

1Húsavík: Original Big Whale Safari & Puffins by Speedboatfrom $175
2Exclusive Early Bird Komodo Tour: Beat the Crowds by Speed Boatfrom $151
3Húsavík: Big Whales and Puffin Island Speedboat Tourfrom $198

Before you board

Four things a speedboat asks of you that a coach never does.

Fast hulls slam. Crews cancel for swell you cannot see from the harbour wall, most operators refuse passengers who are pregnant or have back or neck trouble, and small children are often turned away at the pontoon. Check the boat before you check the itinerary: a covered deck is the difference between a good day and four hours of sun, and a dry bag is the difference between a working phone and a dead one.

Half-day runs Full-day trips Small-group boats Private hulls Harbour blasts Sunset sailings

1Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Optionfrom $20
2Dubai Marina : 1.5-Hour Atlantis Sightseeing Speedboat Tourfrom $23
3Speedboat Sightseeing Adventure of Miamifrom $45

Only by boat

Three places a fast hull is the only way in.

A road gets you to the car park. These three start where the road stops and cannot be reached any other way.

The Algarve

The Benagil dome

The roof of a limestone cave fell in, leaving a beach lit through a circular hole and two arches at sea level. Kayaks and small motorboats get inside when the Atlantic is flat; on a swell day the whole coast shuts and the trip runs past the entrance instead. Go early, before the wind picks up and the queue of hulls forms outside.

1Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Option★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 11,663 reviews
2Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,150 reviews
3Benagil Sea Caves Speedboat Adventure Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 6,546 reviews

See the full list →

New Zealand

The canyon jet boats

A jet boat draws about four inches of water, which is why the Shotover and the Dart can be run at speed through gravel shallows and between rock walls with no propeller to lose. The spins are theatre; the shallow-water engineering is the real trick, and it is a New Zealand invention that the rest of the world imported.

1Shotover River Extreme Jet Boat Ride in Queenstown★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,540 reviews
2Shotover River and Kawarau River Jet Boat Ride★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,682 reviews
3Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast Jet Boat Ride: 55 Minutes★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,499 reviews

See the full list →

The Arctic

RIBs above the circle

North of Tromsø the tour boat is an inflatable with a rigid floor, and you go out in a full flotation suit because the water is four degrees. What it buys you is speed between fjord arms: sea eagles, a whale front if the herring have come in, and a beach nobody has walked on since the last tide.

1Tadoussac/Charlevoix: Whale Watching Zodiac Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 2,716 reviews
2Exhilarating Rib experience – Dingle sea safari★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,349 reviews
3Lysefjorden & Pulpit Rock RIB Boat Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,156 reviews

See the full list →

The whole boat

When the fare is quoted per hull, not per head.

Every private charter →

Charter a speedboat and you are buying the boat, the skipper and the day, and the price stands whether two of you turn up or eight. Split across a family it can undercut the per-seat trips; on your own it never does.

Most booked charter

Dubrovnik Private Speedboat Tour to Elaphite Islands with Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★5.0· 660 reviews· from $387 per boat (seats 2)

1Private Speedboat Adventure with Snacks & Pick-upfrom $116 per boat (seats 2)
2Fully Private Speed Boat Tours, VIP-style Miami Speedboat Tour of Star Island!
3Private Cruise on Lake Como with Speedboat from 1H to 4Hfrom $363 per boat (seats 5)

from $77 per boat

Book ahead

Four boats that sell their seats weeks before you land.

Most of this can wait until you are there and can see the forecast. These four cannot: the boats are small, the parks cap numbers, and the season is short.

01Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset OptionSmall boats, one narrow entrance and a coast that shuts whenever the Atlantic gets up. The calm mornings are spoken for.
02Similan day full day trip by speedboatThe Similan park closes for the monsoon and caps daily visitor numbers when it is open. Seats go long before the gate does.
03Shotover River Extreme Jet Boat Ride in QueenstownOne canyon, a fixed number of boats and a departure every fifteen minutes. Summer afternoons run out first.
04Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tourBiševo only lets boats into the cave in flat water, and the timed entry slots are issued per boat.