In short, an excursion to be absolutely avoided, despite the lovely, smiling, and attentive staff.
We had some fun, but this was far from a “lazy trip.” The original driver was rude, yelled at us for being five minutes late, and even took photos without consent, very unprofessional. The trip itself was rushed with too many unnecessary stops (snorkeling, swimming, quick sightseeing, short lunch). There was no time to relax, and the buffet provided was terrible, so we went to another restaurant. The slide was nothing like the pictures, instead of a nice long pink one, it was an orange, sharp, painful slide. Everything felt stressful and poorly organized. The only positive was the friendly staff.
The actual trip was as expected and worth the price paid (around £50 not full price). You get off at 3 islands, the snorkelling is about 40 mins. Didn’t consider the weather changing so deffo recommend bringing waterproofs or be prepared to get wet. It’s great for photos ops but if that’s not your thing money may be better spent on a different experience. The drive time was not as advised 1.5 hr on way there, half hour of which driver couldn’t find the guests and return journey was about the same. Not a problem but expect transport to be longer than advertised. The crew and guide were great, Tony was funny and informative.
The staff is good, they only sell you a semi "private" catamaran tour for more comfort and you go with 70 other people, during the whole day you can only use the space above the catamaran for 30 minutes, it includes Khai Island and they only let you stay for 25 minutes, you get off, get on and go, in the restaurant they only give you natural water and if you reach a glass because it runs out, I really do not recommend it, you can find the same tour for half the price or even better.