Direct Speedboat to Krabi, Railay or Aonang
★ 4.6 · 374 reviews
- One hour, between Phuket and Aonang or Krabi
- Direct speedboat service
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
Phuket to Krabi speedboat lets you pick a fast bay crossing or a full day of island stops. We compared 18 tours, from $32, free cancellation, top tour rated 4.7 from 377 reviews. Limestone cliffs, caves and lagoons reward every stop.
Price from
Direct crossing$32
Today's lowest speedboat crossing across all 18 tours
Average rating
All 18 tours46
5,434 verified reviews across 18 tours
Your day
Shortest to longest60min–11h
Shortest: Direct Speedboat to Krabi
Longest: Island Transfer & Private
Everything you can book here
All eighteen head east out of Phuket, across Phang Nga Bay, towards Krabi, Ao Nang and Railay. A direct speedboat from Phuket to Krabi is transport: about an hour on the water, from $32. The seven- to nine-hour days cross the same bay and stop in it — James Bond Island, Koh Hong, the caves at Koh Yao.
★ 4.6 · 374 reviews
★ 4.7 · 377 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2 129 reviews
★ 4.7 · 982 reviews
★ 4.8 · 950 reviews
★ 4.8 · 286 reviews
★ 4.4 · 52 reviews
★ 4.5 · 35 reviews
★ 3.8 · 21 reviews
★ 4.1 · 14 reviews
★ 3.0 · 1 reviews
★ 4.6 · 32 reviews
★ 4.6 · 95 reviews
★ 4.8 · 24 reviews
★ 4.9 · 31 reviews
★ 4.6 · 26 reviews
★ 5.0 · 5 reviews
Two questions
Seen the eighteen above and still torn? There are really only four answers. Cross the bay in about an hour and start your holiday on the Krabi side. Spend the whole day crossing it instead, with the limestone islands in the middle. Take the day more people have booked than any other. Or keep the hull for your own group.
See it before you pay for it
The Phuket to Krabi speedboat distance is short enough to cross in about an hour — which is why most people never look at what they crossed. Phang Nga Bay sits in the middle: limestone towers standing out of shallow green water, with James Bond Island among them. Koh Hong, further east, hides a lagoon ringed by rock.
Side by side
People book these interchangeably and then find out they bought different days. The transfer is one hour, no stops, and it exists to move you and your luggage. A Phuket and Krabi tour takes the same heading and turns it into seven to nine hours of canoes, lunch on the water and swimming stops, from $46.
Swipe the table sideways →
| Direct Speedboat to Krabi, Railay or Aonang | TOP PICKJames Bond, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island Tour from Phuket | Private Luxury Speed Boat to James Bond Island | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $32 | $46 | $933 |
| What it is | A direct speedboat to Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang | A shared day with the islands in it | A private speedboat, your group and nobody else |
| Time it takes | 1 hour | 8 hours | 8 hours |
| Who is on board | A shared boat with other travellers | A shared boat with other travellers | Your own group, start to finish |
| Phang Nga Bay | You cross it, without stopping in it | A day inside it, stop by stop | A day inside it, in the order you choose |
| James Bond Island | Off the route of a straight crossing | Yes — the limestone stack in the middle of the bay | Yes — the whole day is built around it |
| Hong Island | Off the route of a straight crossing | Yes — the lagoon ringed by cliffs on the Krabi side | The Phang Nga side instead on this route |
| Sea canoeing | On the day trips instead | On the sea canoe listings instead | Arranged with the operator when you book |
| Where it leaves you | On the Krabi side, at Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang | Back at the pier the day started from | Back at the pier the day started from |
| Cancellation | Free cancellation up to 24 hours | Free cancellation up to 24 hours | Free cancellation up to 24 hours |
| Check dates | Book this one→ | Check dates |
Reserve now, pay later · Instant confirmation
Verdict
It is the day we would take for both halves of this stretch of water: eight hours out through Phang Nga Bay to James Bond Island and on to the lagoon at Hong Island, already on the Krabi side — rated 4.7 across 377 reviews, from $46. Keep the straight one-hour crossing for the day you are actually moving hotels, and the private boats for a party that fills one.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
Several things get sold as “a Phuket to Krabi speedboat”, and the fare tells you which one you are buying. A direct boat is transport: about an hour on the water, no stops, one way, and it is where the fares sit lowest. A shared day trip covers the same bay in seven to nine hours with the stops in it. A private boat is a third thing: the hull and the crew are yours, not a seat.
Two-minute check
Three things decide it: whether you are moving hotels or coming back that evening, how many hours you want afloat, and whether the boat is shared or yours. A Krabi day tour from Phuket returns you to the same pier; a transfer does not.
How many of you are going?Most boats are shared benches; a private hull is yours
How early do you want to be on the water?Some listings leave at first light, some at a civilised hour
How much of the day do you have?An hour puts you on the Krabi side; a day adds the islands
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
Six ways to cross the bay
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own.
★★★★★
Based on 5,434
verified reviews
All eighteen boats on this page, rated on GetYourGuide.
Read all 5,434→James Bond, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island Tour from Phuket
From $46 · 377 reviews
★★★★★
Eight hours that take the long way across: the limestone stacks of Phang Nga Bay, James Bond Island standing in the middle of them, and Koh Hong with its lagoon closed in by cliffs on the Krabi side. Rated 4.7 across 377 reviews, which is why it is the one we point at first.
James Bond Island Day Trip by Speed Boat with Lunch
From $57 · 2,129 reviews
★★★★★
Seven hours around Khao Phing Kan, the leaning stack everyone calls James Bond Island, with lunch in the ticket and the sea caves of Phang Nga Bay on the way to it. It carries 2,129 reviews at 4.4.
Direct Speedboat to Krabi, Railay or Aonang
From $32 · 374 reviews
★★★★★
The straight run: a speedboat between Phuket and Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang, about an hour on the water, and the operator quotes the whole door-to-door leg at under two hours. Rated 4.6 across 374 reviews.
Speedboat Transfer to Ao Nang or Railay via Ko Yao
From $46 · 14 reviews
★★★★★
The middle option between a transfer and a day trip: a speedboat to Ao Nang or Railay that routes by way of Ko Yao, the pair of islands sitting in the middle of the bay, so the crossing has something in it besides water. Rated 4.1 across 14 reviews.
James Bond Island Sea Canoeing by Speedboat + 2 Meals
From $64 · 950 reviews
★★★★★
Eight hours with two meals and a sea canoe in the middle of them: the speedboat takes you out to James Bond Island and the caves, and a paddler takes you in under the rock where the hulls cannot follow. Rated 4.8 across 950 reviews, one of the highest scores on this page.
Phuket Transfer to Krabi or Ao Nang
From $141 · 31 reviews
★★★★★
A private speedboat transfer from Patong across to Krabi or Ao Nang: nobody aboard but your own party, and a departure arranged with the operator rather than waiting for a shared bench to fill. Rated 4.9 across 31 reviews.
What it really costs
Prices are per person and cover the boat, the crew and the transfers the listing names. Three things move the number: how long you are out, whether you share the hull, and how many stops are in the route.
Swipe sideways →
| What you do | Price | What that buys | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct crossing to Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang | $32 | 1 hour on the water, no stops, rated 4.6 | Free cancellation |
| James Bond Island, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island | $46 | 8 hours, canoeing, lunch on board, rated 4.7 | Free cancellation |
| James Bond Island day trip with lunch | $57 | 7 hours, kayaks at Panak, lunch at Koh Panyee | Free cancellation |
| Private transfer to Krabi or Ao Nang | $141 | Your own boat and departure time, rated 4.9 | Free cancellation |
| Private luxury speedboat to James Bond Island | $933 | 8 hours in Phang Nga Bay, the deck yours alone | Free cancellation |
The honest answer
Thirty-two dollars buys the hour of open water and nothing else, which is a fair deal if you are changing hotels. The question is what the next fourteen dollars do: a Phuket to Krabi day tour at $46 covers the same bay but stops in it — James Bond Island, the lagoon at Koh Hong, lunch on board.
The day, hour by hour
Free cancellation runs to 24 hours on every boat here, so a booked date costs you nothing until the day before. In the dry season the early departures go first.
Check-in is at the pier in Phuket, Patong, Ao Nang or Krabi, depending on the ticket. You sign in, hand over the luggage and hear the briefing before anyone casts off.
The boat idles past the moored hulls and the throttle goes down once the harbour is behind you. Within a few minutes the limestone towers start coming up out of the water ahead.
Khao Phing Kan, the leaning stack in the middle of the bay, is the stop the day trips are built around. The direct boats pass the same water without stopping in it.
This is where the day trips separate: some listings put a sea canoe under the rock at Koh Yao, some include two meals, some carry the national park fee inside the booking.
Koh Hong keeps a lagoon inside a ring of cliffs, and the boats that come this far east are already most of the way to Krabi.
The transfers leave you on the Krabi side for the rest of your holiday. The day trips turn round and run home to the pier they started from.
Best time of day
Two things pull against each other here, and an early departure settles both. Phang Nga Bay is at its flattest in the first hours after sunrise, which is the difference between a comfortable hour on an open speedboat and a lively one, and it is also when the lagoon at Koh Hong is at its quietest. The other reason is arithmetic: the day trips run seven to nine hours from the pickup, so a late start is a late return.
On the water
Open water between the Phuket piers and the Krabi side, and the fastest way over it.
Khao Phing Kan, standing in the bay between the two provinces.
Koh Hong on the Krabi side, with a lagoon closed in by a ring of rock.
Chicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang, the day at the far end of the run.
What it's like
Almost everyone types the same words into the search box — Phuket to Krabi speedboat — with the same picture in their head: a fast hull, an hour of open water, and Railay or Ao Nang at the other end. What nobody tells you before you book is that two quite different days are sold under that one heading, they cost very different amounts, and they are not interchangeable.
The first is the crossing itself. A direct speedboat leaves Phuket and runs across the bay to Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang in about an hour on the water, with the rest of the listed time going on the transfer at either end. It is transport, it does not stop anywhere, and it starts at $32. If your hotel for the next few nights is on the Krabi side, this is the boat you want.
The second is the day out along the same line. The same water, the same direction, but with the bay opened up on the way: Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island, the closed lagoon at Hong Island, the four islands off Krabi, and the sea caves you paddle into by canoe at Koh Yao. These run seven to nine hours from pickup to drop-off and sit between $46 and $140.
That is the thing most people find out too late. For roughly the price of the crossing plus a few more hours, you see the bay instead of only getting over it. James Bond Island — Khao Phing Kan on the chart — sits in Phang Nga Bay between the two provinces, so it is genuinely on the way rather than a detour, and Hong Island is already on the Krabi side.
Our top pick is one of those days: James Bond, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island, eight hours, rated 4.7 across 377 reviews, at $46. The most booked boat on the page is the seven-hour James Bond day with lunch at $57, which 2,129 travellers have rated. Between the eighteen tours here there are 5,434 reviews to read.
The fares stretch a long way at the top end, and it is worth knowing why. A shared bench on a day boat is $46 to $65; a private transfer with nobody else aboard is $141; and a private luxury speedboat out to James Bond Island, hull and crew for your own party alone, reaches $933. Private prices cover the boat, not a seat.
Where the boat starts changes your day more than the route does. Eleven of the eighteen leave from the Phuket side — Phuket town, Patong and the piers around them — and four start on the Krabi side, at Krabi town or Ao Nang. A Krabi-side departure means the crossing is not part of your day; a Phuket departure means it is.
Boats run all year on this route, so the plan that works is the plain one. Decide first whether you are moving hotels or coming back the same evening, because that alone rules out half the page. Check whether the national park fee is inside the fare or paid at the gate. Then hold your date as soon as it is firm: every tour here has free cancellation.
If you are staying in Phuket
Some of the boats on this page simply put you down in Krabi. These three leave from Phuket, take in Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island, the canoe caves and a lunch stop, then bring you back the same evening.
7 hours · ★ 4.7 (982)
$59See dates
8 hours · ★ 4.8 (950)
$64See dates
9 hours · ★ 4.8 (286)
$56See datesPractical
Five things decide how it goes: which of the eighteen you take, which pier you leave from, what hour the boat clears the dock, what you bring, and which month you come. Phuket to Krabi speedboat booking is done by date, so each listing’s calendar is the real answer to what is running when.
A direct speedboat to Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang: about an hour on the water, no stops, from $32.
James Bond, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island in eight hours at $46, with canoeing through the caves and lunch aboard.
The seven-hour James Bond Island day with lunch at Koh Panyee and kayaks into the caves of Koh Panak — 2,129 ratings.
Eight or nine hours built around the sea canoes rather than the beaches, with two meals on the longer version.
Chicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang in one day, from $104, with an early-bird departure at $122.
A private transfer to Krabi or Ao Nang at $141, or a private luxury speedboat to James Bond Island.
A rash vest beats reapplying cream all day, because these hulls are open and the snorkel stops put you face down.
Speedboats throw spray across the bay, and the landings at Hong Island put your feet and your bag in the water.
Landings on these days are wet ones onto sand or a shallow shelf, and shoes spend the day in a bag.
Lunch comes after a swim stop on most of these tours, and the run back to Phuket is an hour of moving air.
The national park fee sits inside some fares and outside others, and small notes are easier at the piers.
The day trips run seven to ten hours, counted from hotel pickup to drop-off rather than from the pier.
The direct boat leaves you in Krabi; the day trips bring you back to Phuket the same evening.
Holding a date early costs you nothing on any of the eighteen, so book as soon as your dates are firm.
Entry to the national park is charged separately, and some listings state that it is already inside the fare.
On the private listings the fare covers the hull and the crew rather than a seat, so it divides across your party.
Operator desk, hotel lobby or this page — the fare is the same. Booking ahead buys the slot.
Some listings include hotel pickup from selected parts of Phuket and others name a pier meeting point.
Eleven of the eighteen start on the Phuket side, from Phuket town, Patong and the piers around them.
Four leave from Krabi town or Ao Nang, which is what to look for if you are already across the bay.
The direct speedboat lands at Krabi, Ao Nang or Railay, and the listing lets you pick which.
The Ko Yao route is the quiet way over: three hours to Ao Nang or Railay at $46.
Arriving by air and crossing the same day is possible, but the boat timetable and the drive to the pier decide it.
Khao Phing Kan sits in Phang Nga Bay between the two provinces, which is why these days can take it in.
Best time
The Andaman coast runs on two seasons, and here the calendar matters more than the forecast, because an hour of open water feels very different on a flat sea and a rough one. What changes month to month is the swell and how many of the eighteen are sailing.
Nov – Apr
Dry weather, calm water on the crossing and the longest list of boats on sale, from the one-hour transfer to the private hulls. It is also the busy half of the year, so the eight-hour days book out early.
May & Oct
The two turning months keep most of the sunshine and lose a good part of the crowd: quieter lagoons and lower fares on the same boats. The trade is a swell that comes and goes.
Jun – Sep
The southwest monsoon brings rain and a bigger sea, and some departures are called off in the morning when conditions do not suit. Between the squalls these are good days: green limestone, warm water, low fares.
Any month
Some boats here sail year-round and some do not, and the listing says which. Each tour on this page shows its own calendar, so the dates you can pick are the ones the operator published.
Worth knowing
There are two products here, not one. A direct crossing of about an hour that leaves you in Krabi, and a seven to nine-hour day that takes in the bay on the way and brings you back to Phuket.
The stops are on the way, not out of the way. James Bond Island sits in Phang Nga Bay between Phuket and Krabi, and Hong Island is already on the Krabi side.
Where the boat starts changes the length of your day. Eleven of the eighteen leave from the Phuket side and four from Krabi town or Ao Nang, so a Krabi-side departure takes the crossing out of your hours on the water.
The national park fee is a separate line. Entry is charged at the gate, and some listings state that it is already inside the fare. Read the line before you compare two prices.
Private is the whole boat, not a seat. The private transfer at $141 and the private luxury speedboat at $933 both cover the hull and the crew, so the fare splits across your party.
Book the date, not the discount. The fare is the same wherever you buy it, and every tour on this page carries free cancellation, so holding a slot costs you nothing.
Round out the trip
Go deeper
Common questions
The direct boat is about an hour on the water. The listing puts the whole door-to-door time at under an hour and forty-five minutes, because the rest of it is the transfer at either end. The day trips along the same line are seven to nine hours from hotel pickup to drop-off, because they stop in Phang Nga Bay and at the islands.
A seat on the direct speedboat to Krabi, Railay or Ao Nang starts at $32. The route through the middle of the bay via Ko Yao is $46 for three hours, a private transfer with nobody else aboard is $141, and the full days with island stops run from $46 to $140.
Both are sold here, and it is the first thing to settle. The transfer is one-way: it lands you at Krabi, Ao Nang or Railay and your luggage goes with you. The day trips leave Phuket and return to Phuket the same evening, so they suit you if you are staying put and want the bay rather than a change of hotel.
Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island — Khao Phing Kan — which lies between the two provinces; the lagoon at Hong Island, closed in by a ring of rock on the Krabi side; the sea caves at Koh Panak and Koh Yao that you enter by canoe; and on the Krabi-side days the four islands: Chicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang.
It depends on the listing, which is why it is worth reading that line before you compare two fares. Entry to the national park is charged separately, and one of the James Bond Island days states in its own title that the park fee is already inside the booking. Where a listing says nothing about it, expect to settle it at the gate.
Eleven of the eighteen start on the Phuket side — Phuket town, Patong and the piers around them — with either a meeting point or shared hotel pickup from selected areas. Four leave from the Krabi side, at Krabi town or Ao Nang. On the crossings you choose your landing point when you book: Krabi, Ao Nang or Railay.
Koh Hong sits on the Krabi side of the bay, and the thing people come for is the lagoon: a pool of water closed in by a ring of limestone. Four of the boats on this page reach it, including our top pick, which pairs it with James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay in eight hours at $46.
They buy different days on the same water. A shared bench is the reason the fares start at $32, and it follows a set timetable with everyone else aboard. A private booking covers the hull and the crew rather than a seat, so it carries your own party and the departure time is yours — $141 for the transfer across.
One PDF · no account needed
Which of the eighteen boats matches the hours you actually have: the straight hour across the bay, or the day that stops at Phang Nga Bay, Hong Island and the four islands off Krabi. Built from the operators’ own listings.
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
Durations, inclusions and operator names come from the live listings for each boat. Prices and ratings are read off the same listings and updated with the page.
The speedboat crossings and day trips bookable between Phuket and Krabi, Ao Nang and Railay are on this page. Nobody pays to be featured.
Eleven of the eighteen leave from the Phuket side and four from Krabi or Ao Nang. That decides which end of the day you spend travelling, so we mark it on the card.
A crossing is transport: about an hour on the water, no stops, and you are at your hotel. A day trip covers the same bay in seven to nine hours with the engine off for most of it.
The answer
The boats on this page work the same stretch of water between Phuket and Krabi. What you are choosing is how much of it you look at: an hour straight across, a day of seven to nine hours that stops at Phang Nga Bay, Hong Island or the four islands, or a boat with nobody else aboard. Trips start at $32. Pick a morning departure and book ahead.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay laterBefore you go
All eighteen boats with times and what each fare covers, which of them are a straight crossing to Krabi, Ao Nang or Railay and which are a full day through Phang Nga Bay, Hong Island or the four islands, and which days carry lunch and the park fee — in the order we would book them.
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