Hong Island (Koh Hong), Krabi

Two islands go by Koh Hong, and tour listings mix them up. This page is the one off Krabi, in Than Bok Khorani National Park, with a beach you can land on, a lagoon boats and kayaks enter, and the 360-degree viewpoint. It's reached from Ao Nang, Railay and Nopparat Thara, or in about 20 minutes by longtail from Koh Yao Noi.

The other Koh Hong is in Phang Nga Bay, inside Ao Phang Nga National Park, on the James Bond Island tours that leave Phuket's east coast. There's no beach stop and no viewpoint. A guide paddles you in an inflatable canoe through low sea caves into the hongs, with Koh Panak as the other canoe island, and my Phang Nga Bay guide covers that day. If a Phuket tour says Hong Island and includes James Bond Island or Koh Panyee, it means Phang Nga's. If it lists Lao Lading, Pak Bia and the viewpoint, it means Krabi's.

Almost everyone goes from Ao Nang. The shared speedboats leave from Nopparat Thara pier at the north end of Ao Nang Beach, and the longtails leave from the beach itself, where the booths sell seats on group boats and whole boats by the day. Tours that collect you from Krabi Town, Klong Muang or Tubkaek drive you to the same departure points first. From Railay, longtails and some speedboat tours pick up at the floating pier.

The crossing takes 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the boat and the sea. A shared speedboat day such as Sea Eagle's runs from 09:15 to 15:30, and with hotel pickup most Hong days take six to nine hours door to door. Half-day longtail trips of four to five hours are sold too.

From Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai, the islands sit about 7 km away and a longtail from Koh Yao Noi takes about 20 minutes, which is why both of my Koh Yao guides suggest going early, before the Krabi boats arrive. From Phuket it's about 30 km from the nearest port, so it's a long speedboat day or a charter, and several Phuket tours sold as Hong Island are really the Phang Nga Bay trip.

For two people I'd book a shared tour with a kayak included, about ฿1,395 by speedboat. Some boats reach the lagoon entrance and then wait outside it when the water is low, and the kayak is the version that gets you in either way. It's also the quietest way to see it, because the engines stay outside.

For three to six people, I'd walk to the boat board on Ao Nang beach and hire a whole longtail for about ฿3,000. Split four ways it's cheaper than a shared tour, and you choose the time. I'd leave early enough to be climbing the viewpoint soon after it opens at 08:30, ahead of the group boats that arrive from about 08:30 to 09:00. Bring your own lunch and water, since a beach-board boat doesn't include them. If you'd rather not haggle, a private longtail booked ahead with transfers is about ฿5,290 for the boat.

The viewpoint is a steel and wooden staircase of 419 steps up Koh Hong's cliff, finished in 2020, which climbs 109 m over 239 m of steps to a platform with a full 360-degree view. There are six rest areas on the way up, and it also serves as the island's tsunami evacuation route. Fit visitors report 15 to 20 minutes up and others closer to 45, and the steep sections are in full sun, so I'd carry water and wear shoes with grip, since the steps get slippery after rain.

It's open from 08:30 to 16:30. The view is the shape of the island that you can't see from the boat, the lagoon cut into the rock below and the karst islands of Krabi and Phang Nga spread out around it. On a group tour the stop at Koh Hong is often about two hours, enough for the climb and a swim, but ask before you book, because the cheapest tours sometimes give it less.

Koh Hong belongs to Than Bok Khorani National Park, and foreign visitors pay ฿300 for adults and ฿150 for children, with Thai visitors paying ฿60 and ฿30. Most shared tours collect it in cash on the day or have you pay at the island, and the boat, kayaks, lunch and snorkel gear aren't part of it. Keep the ticket on you for the whole day.

The park's service areas, including the viewpoint, are open from 08:30 to 16:30. As in most Thai national parks, alcohol and drones aren't allowed. There's no accommodation on Koh Hong, and the park asks anyone who wants to stay overnight in the park to contact it in advance, so I'd treat Hong as a day trip and sleep in Ao Nang, Railay or Klong Muang.

The 4 Islands tour is the shorter, cheaper first boat day, 15 to 20 minutes out of Ao Nang, ฿750–1,200 plus a ฿200 park fee, with the Thale Waek sandbar walk at low tide and Phra Nang Cave Beach at the end. Hong Island is a little farther and costs ฿1,200–1,400 plus ฿300, and what you get for it is scenery, the enclosed lagoon and the climb to the viewpoint. If I had one day I'd do Hong. With two clear days I'd do both, or book a private speedboat that combines them.

Against Phi Phi, Hong wins on ease. A Phi Phi day is 45 minutes to an hour each way by speedboat, ฿1,300–1,600 plus a ฿400 park fee, and you share Maya Bay with a lot of boats, while Maya itself closes every year from 1 August to 30 September. Phi Phi has the bigger names. Hong is the closer, calmer day.

I'd skip any Hong tour that doesn't say how long it stops at Koh Hong, since the viewpoint and the swim need about two hours between them. I'd skip a boat day in September and October unless the forecast is clear, because those are the months most tours cancel. And I wouldn't book a Phuket tour sold as Hong Island if the lagoon and the viewpoint are what you want, unless it lists Lao Lading or Pak Bia, since most of those are the Phang Nga Bay canoe trip.

Yes, if you're in Krabi between December and April and you only have time for one island day. The lagoon and the viewpoint are things the 4 Islands tour doesn't have, the crossing is short, and for a small group a whole longtail from the beach costs little more than seats on a shared boat. Time the lagoon to the tide, go early or late for the viewpoint, and carry ฿300 in cash per adult.