Three Days in Phuket: Which Tours to Book and in What Order
By the PhuketGO tour desk on Phuket — we book and run these trips every week · Updated 13 October 2026
With three days on Phuket, book two tours and keep the third day flexible: a short trip on day one (Coral Island back by 14:00, or the half-day sightseeing loop), Phi Phi or James Bond island on day two, and day three as the spare in case the sea was closed, or a land day if it wasn't. Prices for every trip below are in the table on this page, in baht.
Tours and prices in Thai baht
| Tour | Duration | Adult | Child 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coral island from Rawai pier | Half a day, 08:30–14:00 | 1,400 ฿ | 1,300 ฿ |
| Phuket sightseeing: the island in half a day | About six hours | 1,050 ฿ | 950 ฿ |
| Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai island by speedboat | One day | 2,000 ฿ | 1,800 ฿ |
| Phi Phi at sunrise: Maya Bay before the crowds | One day, 04:00–15:30 | 2,300 ฿ | 2,000 ฿ |
| James Bond island and Phang Nga Bay | Eight to nine hours | 2,000 ฿ | 1,800 ฿ |
| Racha and Coral islands by speedboat | Eight to nine hours | 1,400 ฿ | 1,300 ฿ |
| Rafting and the elephant spa | One day, nine hours or more | 1,550 ฿ | 1,350 ฿ |
Prices come straight from our booking system. Children under four join free on most trips — each tour page says so.
Day one: something short
You've just arrived, so don't start with a 4 am pickup. Two of our trips finish by mid-afternoon. Coral island from Rawai meets at the pier at 08:30 and is back at 14:00, with a morning on the beach, lunch and a snorkel in Hin Dam bay. The Phuket sightseeing tour picks you up at 08:45 and drops you at 15:00, after Karon Viewpoint, Promthep Cape, the Big Buddha, Wat Chalong and the Old Town.
Which one? Coral if you're itching to get in the sea; sightseeing if you'd like to understand the island's layout first. Either leaves you the evening, which on day one is worth having. Torn between Coral and a beach on the Phi Phi route? Coral island or Bamboo island compares the two beach days. If day one starts at the airport, VIP fast track at Phuket airport meets you at the aircraft door.
Day two: the big island day
This is the big one. For the famous bays, take the Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai speedboat: pickup at 07:30, Khai island, Monkey Beach, lunch on Phi Phi Don, the Viking Cave and Pileh Lagoon, Maya Bay at 15:15, back at the pier around 16:15. Every tour in our catalogue runs with an English-speaking guide.
If you can face the alarm, Phi Phi at sunrise puts you in Maya Bay from 07:00 to 08:00, before the day boats, with a 04:00 pickup and the pier at 15:30. If open sea worries you, James Bond island is the calmer choice: a longtail between the cliffs of Phang Nga Bay, kayaks through sea caves with a boatman paddling, lunch on stilts in Koh Panyi. Phi Phi or James Bond island helps you choose. The kayak lagoons on that day are the Hong of Phang Nga Bay, not the Krabi Hong; which Hong island is on a James Bond tour. If someone in the group would rather have a beach than cliffs, James Bond island or Coral island sets those two days side by side.
Day three: your spare, then a bonus
Keep day three loose until day two has happened. If the authorities closed the sea on your big day, the trip moves to another date or the payment comes back, and day three is where it moves to. That's the main reason not to put the island day last.
If day two went ahead, use day three for something different. The Racha and Coral speedboat is a gentler sea day with about forty minutes across and back at the hotel by around half past five. Or go inland: the rafting and elephant spa day doesn't depend on the sea at all and has a minimum age of six for the river.
- Day one, sea straight away — Coral island from Rawai pier
- Day one, get your bearings — Phuket sightseeing in half a day
- Day two, the famous bays — Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai island
- Day two, calm water — James Bond island and Phang Nga Bay
- Day three, spare or a gentle sea day — Racha and Coral islands by speedboat
- Day three, no boat — Rafting and the elephant spa
What not to do in three days
Don't stack two pre-dawn starts. The Phi Phi sunrise trip picks up at four, the early Similan boat wakes you around half past three; one of those in three days is plenty. And think twice about the Similans on a short stay at all. The park is only open from mid-October to mid-May, the classic day runs about twelve hours, and long open-sea routes like it are the first to be called off when the swell comes up.
Two-day trips with a night on Phi Phi Don also fit badly into three days. The crossing home is on day two, and if the sea closes then, the return waits until it reopens.
What it costs, and how to book
The table on this page lists the adult and child price of each trip above, in baht, from our booking system. Add the two or three you pick. Children under four travel free, without a separate seat or meals; from 4 to 9 they pay the child price, from ten the adult one.
Send your three dates, your hotel and everyone's ages in the chat, and say which trips you're considering. We confirm each day's pickup time, and payment by card online is agreed in the chat once the bookings are confirmed. Pickup areas and any transfer surcharge are covered on Phuket tours by where you stay. If you want to know who you are booking with before you pay, read is PhuketGO legit.
The tours on this page
Questions people ask
What tours should I do with three days in Phuket?
Two is enough: a short trip on day one (Coral Island or the sightseeing half day) and Phi Phi or James Bond island on day two, with day three kept free as a spare.
Can I do Phi Phi and James Bond island in three days?
Yes, on days two and three, but then you have no spare day if the sea is closed. With three days, one big island day plus a short one is the safer plan.
How much do three days of tours cost?
It depends on the trips you pick; the table on this page shows each one's adult and child price in baht. Children under four travel free.
Is the Similan trip worth it on a three-day stay?
Only if the reef is the point of your trip. It's open from mid-October to mid-May, takes about twelve hours, and leaves little room to move it if the sea is closed.
What is the shortest tour for my first day?
Coral island from Rawai: meet at the pier at 08:30, back at 14:00. The sightseeing half day runs from 08:45 to 15:00.
Which day should be the boat day?
Day two. If the authorities close the sea, the trip moves to another date, and day three gives it somewhere to go.
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.