Planning a trip to Phuket and want to explore your picturesque surroundings like a rockstar? Well then, make sure you hire yourself a shamelessly glamorous boat from Isabella Yachts and look forward to long lazy days at sea, discovering picture-perfect sandy coves fringed with powder white sand and turquoise warm waters.

I heard about Isabella Yachts through a good jet setting friend of mine and got in touch once I arrived in this popular Thai holiday destination.

Isabella herself came to greet my other half and I as we relaxed at the shamelessly fabulous Dreams Beach Club – formerly Nikki Beach Phuket. Warm and welcoming in nature, Isabella guided us onto a luxurious Sunseeker yacht nestled on crystal clear water.

As we took off our shoes and climbed aboard, we marvelled at the ultra chic design of the vessel and elegant interiors. As we explored, we discovered three air conditioned bedrooms boasting contemporary furnishings, a large shaded seating and dining area on the main deck and most importantly – plush sunbeds at the front and back.

Being the sun-starved Brits that we are, we spent a great amount of time topping up our tans on these comfortable sun-traps, sipping on ice cold glasses of Champagne (a nice touch Isabella) as we gazed out across the aquamarine ocean.

Whilst soaking up the warming rays onboard, I listened intently as Isabella regaled us with the inspirational story behind starting her successful business. Born and bred in Switzerland, Isabella had always been in love with the sea. After a worldly education in prestigious international schools, and finishing with a masters in Media Communication & Management at Webster University London, she made the brave decision to leave drizzly London life behind to start Isabella Yachts in sunny Thailand.

Yearly summer trips to Sardinia since the age of three ignited a love for the sea and the world of boating. In 2010 Isabella celebrated achieving her international boat license by sailing around the scenic shores of Italy, Croatia, Spain, Greece and the Caribbean before falling in love with the clear blue waters of Phuket.

Isabella believes that, “Thailand is the only place where you can enjoy sailing in warm weather all year round!” Hence why she cleverly decided to start her yachting business in Phuket.

“My childhood friends around me were getting married and making babies, but I craved something different,” she revealed whilst taking a sip of sparkling water as we sailed calmly though the Andaman sea, “I wanted to start a business on my own, doing what I loved. Some people thought it was crazy for a woman to take such risky path instead of simply conforming to how society expects her to live life.”

I felt great admiration towards this fiercely independent, twenty-something year old woman who gave up a cozy, “safe” life in London to run her dream business in one of the most beautiful corners of the globe.

A passionate advocate for environmental sustainability and sustainable tourism, I was pleased to hear that Isabella is also constantly striving to implement and maintain eco-friendly measures at Isabella Yachts – something other yacht rental companies tend to neglect.

I learnt that Isabella’s yacht rental company includes 25 private (sailing and motor) yachts ranging between 10ft to 300ft in length. The company specialises in crewed yachts charters, but can offer bareboat charters for their stylish sailing boats as well.

Isabella instructed our captain to take us to the 5 Star Amanpuri resort – a favourite of Jay Z and Beyonce, situated on a lush coconut grove overlooking the Andaman Sea and famed for it’s pristine private beach. We stopped the yacht and jumped into the inviting water (it had been silently beckoning me throughout the whole journey).

After a short swim we made our way up the grey stone steps towards the world-famous luxury resort where we feasted on a lavish three course lunch shaded from the sweltering heat of the Thai sun.

We were also taken to a quaint private beach where we posed for photos on soft cream sand and bought ice cold coconuts to drink from a wooden beach shack.

It was hard to pry ourselves away from our exotic yachting adventure, but after a blissful afternoon with the lovely Isabella and friendly captain, our time on board was reaching its end.

We ended our sun-drenched day at sea with the pleasure of Isabella’s company at Dreams Beach Club, where we feasted on buttery soft sashimi and rock lobster salad to a heady soundtrack of funky house.

I made a mental note to return next year for more epic yachting shenanigans, and Isabella would definitely be the first person I’d call…