Phuket to Krabi: Ferry, Road, or a Day Trip and Back

Ferry or road: which is better?

The ferry is the nicer ride — the bay, the cliffs, the view from the water. It also depends on the weather and runs to a seasonal timetable: more sailings in the dry months, fewer in the monsoon. Buses and minivans go around the bay through the mainland. Longer in kilometres, but they run in any weather and leave at more times of day.

With big luggage, the road is easier. Bags on a ferry are loaded by hand, which is no fun on a rolling deck. And if you have a flight out of Krabi, do not gamble on the sea — the weather decides, not the timetable.

Can I go straight from Phuket airport to Krabi?

Yes. Direct transfers run from Phuket airport to Krabi, which suits people who land and move on without staying on Phuket at all.

From a hotel on the island, the trip starts either at an east-coast pier or at the bus station. Either way, leave room for the morning traffic around Phuket Town.

I just want to see Krabi. What is the simplest way?

A day trip. We collect you, show you Krabi and bring you back the same evening — no packing. Krabi tropical paradise goes by boat: pier call at 09:00 (no dark start), four islands, two hours on Hong island with its viewpoint, and a sunset from a sandbar at 17:50. Who it suits is on Krabi four islands tour from Phuket. This is the Krabi Hong; the Phang Nga Hong is a kayak stop on the James Bond day, as which Hong island is on a James Bond tour explains.

Secrets of Krabi goes by road, leaving between five and six: old forest, a swim in the warm Emerald lake, a hot waterfall, the Tiger Cave temple (1,260 steps, optional), back around 17:40. The two are compared on our Krabi tours page. Whether that inland day is worth a pickup before six is answered on is the Secrets of Krabi day trip worth it. For the islands rather than the mainland, the Krabi islands by speedboat from Phuket explains how the boat day works.

When should I not take the ferry?

In the green season with a strong swell — some sailings are cancelled, and the ones left run rough. If you get seasick: the crossing is not ten minutes, and the tablet belongs before boarding, not after you feel bad.

With small children and big bags the road is calmer. And with a same-day flight from Krabi, the sea is simply not worth the risk.

What fits into one Krabi day from Phuket?

Three or four stops, not more. On the land side the core is water — a lake with warm, clear water and hot baths close to it, which is why they almost always come as a pair — then a temple on a rock, then something short like a viewpoint or a market. A fifth stop turns the day into a race against the timetable.

That is exactly the shape of Secrets of Krabi: Bang Khram forest at nine, the Emerald lake at 09:30, the Blue lake, the hot waterfall and thermal springs, lunch, the Tiger Cave temple at 13:20, an elephant at 16:00 and the singing cave at 17:00. Roughly a third of the daylight goes on the road, and the programme is built around what is left. The Cheow Lan lake day, with its sunrise at Samet Nangshe and lunch on a floating restaurant, is weighed up on Cheow Lan lake day trip: is it worth it. Its first island, Naka Yai, is on Naka Island from Phuket.

Who is a Krabi day trip for?

People tired of the sea who want a different picture — jungle, mountains and water in the forest look nothing like a beach. Families with older children: the swimming is warm, there is no swell, the road is predictable. And anyone who dreads waves; on the land day seasickness is simply not a factor.

What does not fit into a Krabi day: the Railay cliffs, the Ao Nang beaches, the four islands by boat, the emerald bays with kayaks. Each needs its own morning — or a two-day trip. To see some of Krabi's islands from the sea instead, the eleven-islands day passes them on the way to Phi Phi; eleven islands or Phi Phi says when that is worth it. For Railay or Hong island with a night on Phi Phi Don, see Five Pearls or Four Pearls. For a straight comparison of the Phi Phi speedboat days with the Krabi four islands trip, see Phi Phi or Krabi islands: which day trip to book. Five pearls reaches Lao Lading and Hong island on its first afternoon; is the Five Pearls two-day tour worth it says who it suits. If it's the island day you want, how to book the Krabi four islands tour covers what to send us.

Is Railay part of a Krabi day trip?

Not on our one-day programmes. Railay sits on the sea side of the province and needs its own boat and its own morning. On Four pearls of the Andaman Sea — a two-day trip — you reach Phra Nang beach at Railay and the Princess Cave on day one, then Chicken island, and sleep on Phi Phi Don.

So: moving to Krabi for a week, pick ferry or road by your flight and luggage. Visiting for a day, book a tour and keep your hotel on Phuket. Torn between Hong and Railay? Krabi four islands or Hong island puts the two routes side by side.

Questions people ask