Phi Phi or Krabi Islands from Phuket: Which Day Trip to Book?

What each day actually is

All three of our Phi Phi days are speedboat days, and they share a backbone — Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon inside the limestone of Phi Phi Leh, the Viking Cave, Monkey Beach, lunch ashore. The differences are the hour and one extra stop. Khai island for an easy first snorkel on one. Bamboo island plus fishing at Rang Yai on another. On the third you leave before dawn, watch the sun come up from the boat and are in Maya Bay by about seven. If a whole morning with rods appeals more than a stop at Rang Yai, read is the sunrise fishing trip worth it.

Krabi is a different animal. Four islands (Naka Yai, Pakbia, Hong, Lao Lading) and real time at each: around 90 minutes on Naka Yai, about two hours at Hong with the climb to its viewpoint, close to an hour on Lao Lading, and then roughly 40 minutes of sunset on a sandbar. There's no film beach and no famous lagoon. You get a slower day, and more of it standing in the water than sitting in a boat. The Krabi day's first stop, Naka Yai, has its own page: Naka Island from Phuket. This is the Krabi Hong, not the lagoon stop near James Bond island (which Hong island is which).

Start time and how long you are out

Honestly, this decides it for most people. The sunrise trip collects you between 04:00 and 04:30 and is back at the pier around 15:30. Bamboo island and fishing: pickup 06:50, boat at 08:30, pier again at 16:30. The Khai island day is the late riser's Phi Phi — pickup between 07:30 and 08:30 (the guide confirms the evening before), out of Chalong pier at 09:15, back there at 16:15.

Krabi runs later at both ends. You're at the pier at 09:00, the boat goes at 10:00 and returns around 18:30, after the sun has set. Kids who won't survive a 04:00 alarm? Or just on holiday from alarms? Then you already have your answer. One caveat from the card: the timings slide a little with the season and the sunset. How the Krabi boat gets out to the islands from Phuket is on Krabi islands by speedboat from Phuket.

Time on the water and seasickness

All three Phi Phi days travel by speedboat, and the cards don't pretend otherwise: the Bamboo island trip notes that the speedboat legs are fast and suggests a motion sickness tablet half an hour before boarding, and the Khai island card asks for the same tablet. The sunrise trip isn't recommended during pregnancy or with back problems, because the ride is bumpy.

On the Krabi day most of the hours go to the stops themselves — add up the itinerary and well over five of them are spent at the islands and the sandbar. The card doesn't name the type of boat, so if that matters to you, ask in the chat before you book. For crossings and what helps on the water, see I get seasick. Which Phuket boat tours can I do?

Swimming and snorkelling

Phi Phi has the famous water. There's a swim in Pileh Lagoon (on two of the trips it depends on the tide), snorkelling stops around Phi Phi Don, and on the Khai day the shallow water at Khai island, which its card calls the easiest first snorkel there is. Maya Bay works by park rules: on the Bamboo island trip you walk in along the boardwalk and swimming inside the bay isn't allowed, the Khai day swims and snorkels from the water beside the bay, and the sunrise trip gives you time on the beach around seven, before the day boats.

The Krabi water is quieter. Snorkelling is off Hong island, masks and life jackets are on board, and Pakbia and Lao Lading have shallow water near the shore where you can stand. At low tide Pakbia turns into a tidal maze you walk on wet sand. The card's answer to whether the trip suits someone who doesn't swim well is a plain yes: you can keep a life jacket on all day, snorkelling included. For snorkelling alone, Khai island or Racha Yai compares the shallow first stop of our Phi Phi day with Racha Yai.

What's included, and what you pay on the day

Lunch, masks and snorkels, a guide, insurance and transfers come with all four trips. The difference is the national park fee. It's in the price on the Phi Phi sunrise trip and on the Krabi day; on the Khai island day and the Bamboo island and fishing day it's paid in cash on the day, so bring baht in small notes. Those two cash-fee days are compared stop by stop on Phi Phi with Khai or Bamboo island.

The extras differ as well. The sunrise trip hands out breakfast boxes at the pier, with tea and coffee on the boat. The Bamboo island day finishes with fishing at Rang Yai, tackle included, though the captain calls it off in strong wind. The Krabi boat serves soft drinks, fruit and a cocktail in a coconut. Prices for each trip are in the table on this page, in baht.

Which one fits you

Two questions do the work: is Maya Bay the reason you're going, and how early can you face getting up? Everything else follows from those. If you've already had your Phi Phi day, day trips after Phi Phi picks up from there. With only three days, three days in Phuket suggests which day to use for it. If Krabi is up against a short Coral Island morning instead, see Coral Island or Krabi from Phuket. Already set on Krabi? Krabi four islands or Hong island sorts out which Krabi day you mean. Some Phi Phi days end at Rang Yai island with hand-line fishing, called off in strong wind.

• →Maya Bay before the day boats, and a 04:00 pickup doesn't scare you — Phi Phi at sunrise
• →A first snorkel in shallow water without a pre-dawn start — Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai island
• →Bamboo island's white sand, then fishing — Phi Phi, Bamboo island and fishing at Rang Yai
• →Long stops, a later start and a sunset on a sandbar — Krabi four islands
• →Weak swimmers who want water they can stand in — Krabi four islands

Guide, children and booking

Every tour in our catalogue runs with an English-speaking guide. Children aged 4 to 9 pay the child price on the sunrise and Krabi days, and from ten the adult price applies; for the other two, ask about children's prices in the chat. For a family that wants a shorter sea day, the Coral Island tour price for a family works out a total for two adults and two children. Phi Phi with a fishing stop, or a whole day of fishing? Sunrise fishing or the Phi Phi, Bamboo and fishing day.

Payment is agreed in the chat after the booking is confirmed. Send the tour, the date and your hotel, and we confirm the pickup time. Still torn? The Krabi four islands tour, and whether it's worth it and is the Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai speedboat day worth it look at each trip on its own. Booking the Krabi day is set out on how to book the Krabi four islands tour. The first stop of the Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai day has its own page: the Khai islands from Phuket. If Phi Phi wins and the children are small, sunrise speedboat or catamaran with kids helps pick the boat.

Questions people ask