Coral Island or Krabi from Phuket: Which Day Trip?

What is the real difference in the day?

Mostly it's hours. Coral from Rawai pier is 08:30 to 14:00 (coffee at the pier, thirty minutes across, a long lazy morning on Coral Beach, lunch, then snorkelling at Hin Dam bay round the back of the island). People are often surprised how early they're back. Here's the Coral island trip.

Krabi starts later and ends much later. On the Krabi islands day you're at the pier at nine, out at ten, and back about half past six, because the last stop is the sunset on a sandbar. Before that: Naka Yai, Pakbia with its tidal maze, the Hong island viewpoint (a proper climb), snorkelling off Hong, Lao Lading. Four stops, each one different.

Which one suits small children?

Coral, without much thought. Short crossing, shallow water off the beach, lunch included and home before the heat and the tiredness pile up. That's what the half day is built for, and it's the trip we suggest for the first days of a family holiday (children under four go free, without a separate seat or meals).

Krabi works with kids who are fine on a long day. There's no pre-dawn wake-up, Pakbia and Lao Lading have shallow water near the shore, and life jackets are on board the whole time. The catch is the length: nine and a half hours from the pier, and the best part comes at the very end.

• →Toddlers, or the first day after a long flight: Coral island
• →Older children who like climbing and exploring: Krabi islands
• →A grandparent who doesn't want to swim: either, Krabi has more to look at from the boat

What if the sea is rough that week?

Then the island question changes. Both boat days can be moved or shortened by the weather, and when the authorities close the sea nobody goes out. For those days we have Secrets of Krabi, which is Krabi without a boat at all: the Emerald lake with warm mineral water you can swim in, a hot waterfall, the Tiger Cave temple with its 1,260 steps (optional) and a singing cave. It runs when the island trips are cancelled.

So if your dates fall in the wet months, it's worth keeping Krabi inland in mind as the backup and booking Coral for the first calm morning. We write the forecast logic in more detail on the rainy-season page.

Where does Racha Yai fit in?

If Coral feels too short and Krabi too long, there's a middle option. The Racha and Coral islands speedboat day leaves Chalong, crosses to Racha Yai in about forty minutes, spends the morning at Patok Bay (clearer water, better snorkelling) and the afternoon on Coral island with the water sports. Back at the pier around 16:40.

In price these two near islands sit together at the bottom of our list; Krabi costs more because the day is longer and the park fees are in it. The table on this page pulls the current prices for each trip, so check there rather than in old screenshots.

What do I need to bring?

For Coral: swimwear under your clothes, a beach towel (the hotel one is fine), a change of clothes, sunscreen, a hat and cash if you want parasailing or the banana boat. That's it. Lunch, drinks, masks and the park fee are covered.

For the Krabi islands day the park fees are already in the price too, so cash is only for souvenirs and extra drinks. The one bit of real walking is the climb to the Hong island viewpoint; everything else is flat sand, and the tidal maze at Pakbia is a stroll on wet sand when the water pulls back. Oh, and there's a cocktail served in a coconut on the boat.

How do we book it?

Write in the chat with the trip, the date, your hotel and everyone's ages. The manager confirms the pickup time (it depends on where you stay) and the total, and payment by card online is agreed in the chat once the booking is confirmed. The guide on both trips speaks English. And against a Phi Phi beach day: Coral Island or Bamboo Island.

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