Day Trips from Phuket After Phi Phi: Where to Go Next

Which trips would take you back to Phi Phi

Check this first, because it catches people out. Several of our trips land you on Phi Phi again. The eleven-islands day ends there: Maya Bay at 16:30, Pileh Lagoon at 17:20. The catamaran does Racha Yai in the morning and then spends the whole afternoon around Phi Phi Don, the Viking Cave, Pileh and Maya Bay. All three two-day trips sleep on Phi Phi Don.

Nothing wrong with any of them. Still, if you've already swum beside Maya Bay and done the viewpoint, you'll get more out of a place you haven't seen.

James Bond island and Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay is the most different day from Phi Phi, and the calmest. It starts with about an hour and a half on the road. Then a longtail takes you between limestone cliffs all morning, and you land on James Bond island at 11:30. From 12:30 to 14:00 you sit in a kayak while a local boatman paddles you through sea caves and hidden lagoons (you just look). Seafood lunch is at a restaurant on stilts over the bay; at 15:00 comes the floating village of Koh Panyi.

It isn't a beach day. Our card says most people stay dry apart from their feet, and the longtails keep to sheltered water. If you would rather see the bay from above at dawn, the sunrise skywalk trip picks up at 03:45, puts you on the Beyond Skywalk glass bridge for the sunrise at 06:15, takes a longtail past James Bond island (no landing on that one) and has you back at the hotel around 13:00. The two big days are compared on Phi Phi or James Bond island.

The Similan islands, from mid-October to mid-May

If Phi Phi left you wanting more time underwater, the Similans are the next step up. The national park closes for the monsoon from mid-May to mid-October, so check your dates first. The classic day visits four islands with two snorkelling stops, the climb to the Sail Rock viewpoint on island eight and a Thai buffet lunch on the boat, about twelve hours from pickup to drop-off.

The early departure leaves at 06:00 and reaches Miang island at 08:00, ahead of the main groups, then snorkels in open water where turtles are often seen and climbs to Sail Rock at 11:30. It's the earliest trip we sell, with a wake-up around half past three. On the classic day bring your passport or a copy, because the park registers visitors at the pier, and remember that toilets and a small park shop are only on Islands 4 and 8. Similan islands or Phi Phi compares the two directly. How to book one is on how to book a Similan islands tour.

Racha Yai and Coral island

Closer and simpler. The speedboat crosses to Racha Yai in around forty minutes, and you have Patok Bay from 09:40 until noon to swim and snorkel. Lunch is on Coral island, where the afternoon is beach time, with water sports from the beach operators if you want them. Our Racha card gives Racha Yai the clearer water and the better visibility of the two.

Two other ways in. The sunrise speedboat lands on Racha Yai at 06:40, before it gets busy. Our Coral island half day crosses in about thirty minutes and has you back on Phuket at 14:00, which leaves the afternoon free. The two islands are set side by side on Racha Yai or Phi Phi. Coral Island on its own is described on Coral Island: what to expect.

The Krabi islands, with a sunset on a sandbar

Our Krabi four islands day starts late (you're at the pier at 09:00 and the boat goes at 10:00) and finishes late. Naka Yai comes first, for about ninety minutes, then Pakbia, then Hong island for around two hours with a snorkel and the climb to the viewpoint, then Lao Lading. At 17:50 you watch the sunset from a sandbar, and the boat is back at the pier at 18:30.

Compared with Phi Phi, the stops are longer and the swimming is easier. The card notes shallow water near the shore at Pakbia and Lao Lading, and the only climb of the day is the Hong island viewpoint. Phi Phi or the Krabi islands has the full comparison. Naka Yai, where that day starts, is on Naka Island from Phuket.

A day without a sea crossing

Some people come back from Phi Phi happy never to see a speedboat again. For them there's Secrets of Krabi: a drive to mainland Krabi for a swim in the warm Emerald lake at 09:30, the Blue lake at 10:10, a hot waterfall with thermal springs, lunch, and the Tiger Cave temple with its 1,260 steps (optional, the monastery at the bottom is the alternative). Pickup is between 05:00 and 06:00, and you're back around 17:40.

The Khao Lak safari is the animal day: a monkey cave and the Suwan Kuha temple, an elephant spa with bathing and a ride included, bamboo rafting or canoeing down a jungle river, a turtle farm and a waterfall, all after a 06:50 pickup. Further north, the Cheow Lan lake day crosses a freshwater lake in Khao Sok by longtail. Every trip of ours that never goes out on the sea is on land tours from Phuket. More on that day is on Khao Lak from Phuket.

Which one to book

If I had one more day after Phi Phi, I'd take James Bond island: the biggest change of scene for the least effort, and an easy day on the water. In season, with snorkelling as the point, the Similans win. And if the sea has been rough all week, Secrets of Krabi doesn't need a boat at all. Short on time overall? Three days in Phuket puts two or three trips in order.

• →Cliffs, sea caves and a calm bay — James Bond island and Phang Nga Bay
• →The big snorkelling day, mid-October to mid-May — Similan islands
• →A long swim close to Phuket — Racha and Coral islands by speedboat
• →Easy beaches and a sunset on a sandbar — Krabi four islands
• →Warm water in the jungle, no boat — Secrets of Krabi
• →Elephants, rafting and a cave temple — Khao Lak safari

Booking the next day

Send the tour, the date and your hotel in the chat. Our tours leave from different piers, so the pier and the meeting time come in your booking confirmation, and any transfer surcharge for your area is named in the chat before you pay.

If the authorities close the sea on your date, the trip moves to another date or the payment comes back. Secrets of Krabi, by its own card, doesn't depend on boats, which makes it the easy swap on a windy day. If Surin is on your list, Similan or Surin Islands from Phuket explains what we offer instead.

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