Five Pearls or Four Pearls: Which Two-Day Tour from Phuket?
By the PhuketGO tour desk on Phuket — we book and run these trips every week · Updated 3 October 2026
Five Pearls and Four Pearls are both two-day trips from Phuket with a night on Phi Phi Don and a landing on James Bond island on day one, and the main difference is the Krabi afternoon. Four Pearls spends it at Railay beach, while Five Pearls goes to Lao Lading and Hong island, then adds an optional glowing-plankton swim at night and a stop at Rang Yai on the way home.
Tours and prices in Thai baht
| Tour | Duration | Adult | Child 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four pearls of the Andaman Sea: two days, one night | Two days, one night | 5,000 ฿ | 4,500 ฿ |
| Five pearls of the Andaman Sea: two days, three regions | Two days, one night | 5,400 ฿ | 4,900 ฿ |
Prices come straight from our booking system. Children under four join free on most trips — each tour page says so.
Side by side
Same idea, same island for the night, different stops. Here is how the two cards compare on the points people ask about.
- Pickup — Four Pearls at 06:50, Five Pearls at 06:00–06:30
- James Bond island landing — 10:10 on Four Pearls, 10:00 on Five Pearls
- Krabi afternoon — Railay beach on Four, Lao Lading and Hong island on Five
- The night — fire show and beach parties on both, plankton swim only on Five
- Maya Bay on day two — 09:00 on Four, 09:45 on Five
- Back at the pier — 16:30 on Four, 17:00 on Five after Rang Yai
Day one: Railay or Hong island
Four Pearls: the pier at 08:10 with tea and coffee, off at 08:50. Panak island at 09:30, James Bond island at 10:10 with the sea gypsy market, canoes at Talu at 11:00 and lunch in Panyi village at 11:50. Then into Krabi: a view of the royal residence at 13:30 and Phra Nang beach at Railay at 13:50, with the Fertility cave and time on the sand. The Twin and Chicken islands and a snorkel close the afternoon.
Five Pearls: breakfast at Royal Phuket Marina at 07:30–08:00 and a speedboat at 08:30. Panak at 09:10 and the Ice Cream Cave at 09:20, which needs low water. James Bond island at 10:00, canoes at Talu, lunch in Panyi at 11:30. Lao Lading at 13:00 for a swim, then Hong island at 14:20, with its beach and the climb to the viewpoint. If Five Pearls is the one you're leaning towards, is the Five Pearls two-day tour worth it weighs it on its own.
The night on Phi Phi Don
Four Pearls checks in at 16:50, as a rule at Andaman Beach Resort (or a hotel of the same class if it's full), with a viewpoint at 17:20 and dinner at 19:50. Five Pearls checks in at 16:10 at a sea-view hotel the card doesn't name, with dinner and wine at 18:50 and, at 19:30, an optional night swim among glowing plankton and an evening boat in the bay. Hotel details for both are on which hotel is on the Four Pearls tour.
On both, the fire show, the Thai boxing bar and the beach parties are optional. You can simply have dinner and sleep. The 19:30 plankton swim on Five Pearls is explained on glowing plankton on a tour from Phuket.
Day two: Maya Bay, Pileh and the way home
Four Pearls has breakfast at 07:30 and leaves for Phi Phi Leh at 08:45: Maya Bay at 09:00, a swim in Pileh Lagoon at 10:00, the Viking Cave, Monkey Beach, a snorkel, lunch on Phi Phi Don at 12:00 and Bamboo island at 13:50. The pier at 16:30.
Five Pearls starts with an optional viewpoint at 06:00, then breakfast and check-out by 09:00. Maya Bay at 09:45, seen from the boat when the bay is closed; Pileh at 10:40 if the tide is high; lunch at 12:30, Bamboo at 14:00 and Rang Yai at 16:00, with the pier at 17:00. The full Maya Bay morning on all our overnight trips is on does the Phi Phi overnight tour visit Maya Bay in the morning.
The extras on Five Pearls
Five Pearls runs in our Comfort+ format, on a speedboat with front boarding. That adds coffee and a light breakfast at the pier, beer at the pier, Wi-Fi on the boat, towels, disposable mouthpieces and rain ponchos, music on board, and wine with ice cream back at the pier. What the format means across our tours is on what is Comfort+.
Which one would I book?
Railay is the reason to pick Four Pearls: the cliffs and a beach you can only reach by boat, plus an earlier finish on day two. Five Pearls if you want Hong island's viewpoint and the plankton night, and you don't mind a 06:00 pickup and a longer way home. That Hong is in Krabi; for the kayak Hong next to Ko Tapu see which Hong island is on a James Bond tour.
Neither goes to Samet Nangshe; if that viewpoint is on your list too, Samet Nangshe and James Bond island in one day explains how to fit it in. If you're weighing Four Pearls against two ordinary day trips instead, see Four Pearls or separate Phi Phi and James Bond day trips.
- Railay beach and the Fertility cave — Four Pearls
- Hong island viewpoint and the plankton swim — Five Pearls
- The earlier return on day two — Four Pearls
- Coffee, towels and wine at the pier included — Five Pearls
On both trips
Included: the hotel, two lunches, one dinner and one breakfast, hotel transfer, national park fees, masks and snorkels, life jackets, soft drinks, fruit and insurance. The Phi Phi Don viewpoint ticket is paid on the spot. Children aged 4 to 9 pay the child price, and from ten the adult price applies.
Every tour in our catalogue runs with an English-speaking guide. Send the trip, the date and your hotel in the chat, and ask about cancellation terms when booking. If one day on the Krabi islands is enough, how to book the Krabi four islands tour covers that shorter trip. Hong is on Five pearls and not on Four pearls; Krabi four islands or Hong island shows the one-day way to get there.
The tours on this page
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Five Pearls and Four Pearls?
The Krabi afternoon. Four Pearls goes to Railay beach; Five Pearls goes to Lao Lading and Hong island, adds an optional plankton swim and stops at Rang Yai on the way home.
Which tour goes to Railay?
Four Pearls. Phra Nang beach at Railay is at 13:50 on day one, with the Fertility cave and time on the beach.
Which tour goes to Hong island?
Five Pearls. Hong island is at 14:20 on day one, with a beach and the climb to the viewpoint.
Do both land on James Bond island?
Yes, on day one: at 10:10 on Four Pearls and 10:00 on Five Pearls, both followed by canoeing at Talu.
Do both visit Maya Bay?
Yes, on day two: 09:00 on Four Pearls and 09:45 on Five Pearls. The Five Pearls card adds that on closure days the bay is seen from the boat.
Is the hotel included on both?
Yes, on Phi Phi Don, with dinner and breakfast. Four Pearls uses Andaman Beach Resort as a rule, or a hotel of the same class if it's full; Five Pearls stays on the same terms.
Is Five Pearls worth the extra 400 baht?
If you'd rather have Hong island and Lao Lading than Railay, yes. Five Pearls adds the Ice Cream Cave, the Hong island viewpoint, dinner with wine, the optional plankton swim and Comfort+ extras such as towels, Wi-Fi and ice cream on the way back. If Railay is the point, take Four Pearls.
Which Phuket pier does the Four Pearls two-day tour depart from?
The pier comes in your booking confirmation, because the same tour can leave from different piers. On Four Pearls the pickup is at 06:50 and you're at the pier at 08:10; Five Pearls meets at Royal Phuket Marina.
Tell us your dates
Send the trip you like, your dates and your hotel. We confirm the pickup time and how the sea looks for that day. Payment is agreed in the chat after the booking is confirmed: by card, bank transfer or USDT.