Krabi day trips
A Krabi tour from Phuket goes east across Phang Nga Bay to the islands that belong to the far province — Hong Island and its lagoon, Lao Lading, the Laem Haad sandbank and the four islands off Ao Nang — and comes home the same evening. Six listings on this site do that, from $46 to $140. This page compares them by what they reach and what they include.
Quick answer
The short answer. Our pick for a Krabi tour from Phuket is $46 — eight hours reaching the Hong Island caves and lagoons by canoe, with James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay on the way, hotel transfers and lunch on board, rated 4.7 across 377 reviews and the cheapest of the six. If you want the four islands off Ao Nang instead, $122 is the early departure to Poda, Chicken, Tup and Mo. For the Laem Haad sandbank, $99. Every listing here carries free cancellation.
The basics
The province line runs down the middle of the water, and the islands on the far side of it are what a Krabi tour from Phuket is for. They are a different kind of scenery from Phang Nga Bay: more sand, more open beach, and lagoons you swim in rather than caves you paddle through.
Hong Island. Koh Hong is the headline. A lagoon sits inside the island, closed in by a ring of cliffs, with a long white beach outside it. $104 pairs it with Lao Lading; $99 pairs it with the sandbank; $46 reaches its caves and lagoons by canoe on the way home from James Bond Island.
Lao Lading. A small island with a beach and dense greenery, named on $104 and $140. The reefs around it are where the snorkelling happens on those days.
The four islands. Chicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang lie off Ao Nang, and at low water sandbanks join three of them so you can walk between. $122 is the listing built around that, with a 360-degree viewpoint added.
Laem Haad. A long natural sand spit that runs out into clear water. $99 names it, along with a Thai lunch and an optional visit to a village with rice farming and rubber tapping.
Koh Yao Noi. Not Krabi and not Phuket, but on the way to both. $140 spends part of a nine-hour day there with batik making and lunch beside the rice fields, then snorkels at Koh Nok before the Koh Hong lagoon.
What they all share. Every Krabi tour from Phuket here is a round trip. The boat comes home. If the point of your day is to change coasts, the crossings are the listings you want instead.
Every trip, current fare
The listings that spend their day on the Krabi side of the bay, cheapest first. Cost per hour divides the fare by the booked length, which is the fairest comparison between an eight-hour day and a nine-hour one.
| Trip | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Bond, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island Tour from PhuketOur top pick — rated 4.7 | 8 hours | $46 | James Bond Island, Phang Nga Bay, canoeing at Panak and Hong, lunch, hotel transfers | $5.75 | 4.7 · 377 |
| Krabi Hong Island, Koh Yao Yai & Lunch by SpeedboatLaem Haad sandbank | 8 hours | $99 | Laem Haad sandbank, Hong Island, snorkelling in the lagoons, Thai lunch | $12.38 | 3.0 · 1 |
| 4 Islands Krabi Adventure & Snorkeling Day TourKrabi-side islands day | 8 hours | $104 | Hong Island, Lao Lading, the Bird’s Nest Cave, snorkelling and a viewpoint trek | $13.00 | 4.4 · 52 |
| Hong Island Lagoon and Lao Lading Island Speed BoatKoh Hong and Lao Lading | 8 hours | $104 | Lao Lading Island and Koh Hong lagoon, swimming, beach time, tea before departure | $13.00 | 3.8 · 21 |
| Early Bird Krabi 4 Islands from Phuket/KhaolakEarly start from Phuket | 8 hours | $122 | Early departure to Poda, Chicken, Tup and Mo, the Hong Islands and the viewpoint | $15.25 | 4.5 · 35 |
| Koh Hong, Koh Yao & Lao Lading TourKoh Yao Noi and batik | 9 hours | $140 | Koh Yao Noi, batik making, lunch by the rice fields, Koh Nok, Koh Hong lagoon | $15.56 | New |
The islands
Read this table before the price one. On a Krabi tour from Phuket the islands are the product, and two fares that look alike can be very different days.
| Island | What it is | Which listings name it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koh Hongthe lagoon | A lagoon inside a ring of cliffs, with a long beach outside it | $46, $104, $99, $140 | It is the single most named place on this side of the bay, and the reason most boats cross |
| Lao Ladinga small island | A cosy beach, dense greenery and reefs around the edges | $104 and $140 | The snorkelling stop on the days that name it |
| Poda, Chicken, Tup, Mooff Ao Nang | Beaches, and sandbanks that join three of them at low water | $122 | This is the classic Krabi postcard, and only the early boat here is built around it |
| Laem Haadthe sandbank | A long natural spit running out into clear shallow water | $99 | One listing names it, and it is the reason to choose that one |
| Koh Yao Noimid-bay | A quiet island of rice fields, rubber and small villages | $140 | The only day here that puts real time ashore into the itinerary |
| Ao Kar and Koh Noksnorkel stops | Sheltered water where the boats put people in with masks | $104 and $140 | If snorkelling is the point of the day, these are the names to look for |
The verdict
Book $46 for the best day of the six. It is the cheapest and the best rated: eight hours through Phang Nga Bay to James Bond Island, then canoeing through the caves and lagoons at Panak and Hong Island, with limestone scenery the whole way, hotel transfers, lunch on board with halal and vegetarian options on request, a choice between a speedboat and a larger cruise boat, and a swim at Naka or Kaya depending on the package. 4.7 across 377 reviews.
Book $122 for the four islands. An early departure from Phuket or Khao Lak, Poda with its beach, the three islands joined by sandbanks at Chicken, Tup and Mo, the Hong Islands, and a 360-degree viewpoint. 4.5 across 35 reviews. The early start is the argument: the sandbanks are better before the day fills up.
Book $104 for snorkelling and a viewpoint. Eight hours around the Hong Islands and Lao Lading, with the Bird’s Nest Cave at Lao Kar, a snorkel stop at Ao Kar, a jungle trek up to a 360-degree viewpoint and the sand spit at Laem Hard Koh Yaw. 4.4 across 52 reviews.
Book $99 for the sandbank and a village. Laem Haad, Hong Island, snorkelling in the emerald lagoons, an optional panoramic viewpoint walk, a Thai lunch, and an optional visit to a local village with rice farming and rubber tapping. It is a new listing with a single rating, so read the itinerary rather than the number.
Book $104 for the simplest version. Lao Lading and Koh Hong, swimming in clear water, beach time, the rock formations and lagoons between them, and a tea or coffee break before the boat leaves the pier. 3.8 across 21 reviews, which is the lowest rating among the rated listings here and worth knowing before you book.
Book $140 for the longest and quietest day. Nine hours: Koh Yao Noi with batik making and a lunch among the rice fields, snorkelling at Koh Nok, the soft sand at Laem Haad, the Koh Hong lagoon and the reefs at Lao Lading. It has no ratings yet, and it is the highest fare of the six.
Book direct
Our top pick, the early start to the four islands, the snorkelling day with the viewpoint, and the sandbank at Laem Haad.
★ 4.7 · 377 reviews
★ 4.5 · 35 reviews
★ 4.4 · 52 reviews
★ 3.0 · 1 review
Choosing
Lagoons
The enclosed water inside the island is what four of the six listings are built around, and $46 reaches it by canoe.
Sandbanks
$122 is the day for Poda and the spits that join Chicken, Tup and Mo.
Snorkelling
$104 names the Bird’s Nest Cave and a snorkel stop; $140 snorkels at Koh Nok.
Time ashore
$99 offers a village visit with rubber tapping, and $140 adds batik making on Koh Yao Noi.
Mistakes
Each one is written on the booking page, and each one gets skipped.
All six of these are round trips back to Phuket. The crossings are the listings that change your coast.
Koh Hong is a lagoon inside cliffs. Poda and the sandbanks are open sand. $122 is the second of those.
$140 has no ratings yet and $99 has one. Both name their stops clearly; read the itinerary.
Entry is charged separately on this coast. Only $65 states that it is inside the fare, and that is a Phang Nga Bay day rather than a Krabi one.
These days are eight and nine hours because the far side of the bay is genuinely far. A Krabi tour from Phuket uses the whole day.
The early departures fill first, because leaving early is what they sell. Free cancellation makes booking ahead harmless.
Checklist
One minute with the listing, and the day matches the picture in your head.
Koh Hong, Lao Lading, Poda, Laem Haad, Koh Yao Noi. The names are the day.
Paddling into a lagoon and looking at it from a speedboat are different hours. $46 names canoeing at Panak and Hong.
On board, on a beach, or beside the rice fields on Koh Yao Noi.
$122 is sold on leaving early. On the sandbanks and the lagoon, that is worth more than anything else in the fare.
Shown on all eighteen listings on this site, which is what makes holding a place harmless while the rest of the trip is still moving.
Our pick is $46 — the Hong Island caves and lagoons by canoe with James Bond Island on the way, eight hours, rated 4.7 across 377 reviews.
Compare the days across the bay→Common questions
From $46 for the eight-hour day reaching Hong Island by canoe with James Bond Island on the way. The island days run up to $140 for nine hours taking in Koh Yao Noi, Koh Hong and Lao Lading.
Eight to nine hours pier to pier. The far side of the bay is a real distance, and a shared hotel pickup adds time at the front of the morning.
Depending on the listing: Koh Hong and its lagoon, Lao Lading, the Laem Haad sandbank, Poda with Chicken, Tup and Mo, and Koh Yao Noi in the middle of the bay.
No. All six of these are round trips that return to Phuket. The direct crossings are the listings that end on the far coast, starting at $32.
On the listings that name a stop for it — $104 at Ao Kar, $140 at Koh Nok, and $99 in the lagoons around Hong Island.
$46 is the gentlest of the six: it includes hotel transfers and lunch, offers a bigger cruise boat instead of a speedboat, and holds the best rating here at 4.7 across 377 reviews.
Go deeper
The direct run across the bay — who sails it, from which pier, and what it costs.
How long it takesTime on the water, pickup windows and why the day is longer than the crossing.
PricesShared bench, private boat and the extras that are not in the headline price.
Phuket & Krabi toursThe days that take in both provinces, and what each one actually reaches.
Krabi 4 IslandsChicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang in one day, starting in Phuket.
Hong IslandThe lagoon at Koh Hong, the park fee, and which boats get there first.
James Bond, Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island Tour from Phuket
★ 4.7 · 377 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h