Small boats and local guides, since 2017
Selat Island Tours runs two twelve-seat boats from Kuah Jetty, with four guides who grew up on the island. Here is how we started, who takes you out, and what happens when the weather turns.
About
Two boats and a jetty
We started in 2017 with one boat and a whiteboard at Kuah Jetty. The whiteboard is still there, and the day's departures still go up on it in marker every morning, because the wifi at the end of the jetty has never once worked.
The boats are two now, both twelve-seaters. Forty people on a boat is a ferry, not a tour: nobody hears the guide, half the group never gets in the water, and the coves worth seeing are too shallow to enter.
The guides
All four are from the island and licensed by the tourism board. They pick the beach by the tide and the wind that morning, not by the brochure, which is why two island-hopping trips are never quite the same and why the itinerary says three islands rather than naming them.
Between them they have Malay, English, Mandarin and enough Thai for the Koh Lipe crossing. Ask for a specific guide when you book and we will try; on a busy Saturday we cannot promise.
Weather, and getting your money back
Who decides whether a trip runs?
We check the harbour at six and the harbour master has the last word. If a trip cannot run safely you hear from us by half past, on WhatsApp, with a new date or your money back. Your choice, not ours.
Does rain cancel a trip?
No. Rain here arrives at four and leaves at five, and the boat has a roof. Wind cancels, and so does a harbour master who closes the jetty. Those are the only two.
What if I cancel?
Free up to 24 hours before departure, refunded to the same card within three working days. Inside 24 hours we keep half, because the seat is gone by then. No-shows are charged in full.
Can I move my booking instead?
Yes, once, to any date in the next three months, and it costs nothing. Message us; it takes a minute and it is easier for both of us than a refund.
Licensed by Tourism Malaysia, insured for twelve passengers per boat, and inspected by the Marine Department every year. The certificates are on the wall at the Cenang office if you want to look at them.