Krabi to Koh Phi Phi Ferry

Klong Jilad pier sits 3–4 km south of central Krabi Town — a ฿50–100 songthaew or a short Grab. The standard pattern puts big ferries out at around 09:00 and 13:30, crossing in about two hours; the afternoon boat usually continues another half hour to Laem Tong at Phi Phi's quiet northern tip, which matters if your resort is up there — it beats backtracking by longtail from Tonsai. Walk-up tickets run ฿450–500 for standard class, with premium cabins on some boats at ฿1,000+.

Shared speedboats from the same pier (typically 09:00, 12:00, and 13:30 in season) do the trip in about an hour for ฿850–1,250. The honest trade: you save an hour and lose the deck. The ferry's upper deck through the karst scenery is half the fun of the journey; the speedboat is a means to an end, and a bumpy one in any swell.

If you're staying in Ao Nang, boats from Nopparat Thara pier (a ฿50 songthaew from the beach strip) save you the backtrack to Krabi Town and cross in about an hour — a morning ferry around 09:30 plus afternoon speedboats in high season. The asterisk is the monsoon: from May to October the direct Ao Nang service thins out or pauses when the swell picks up, and rough-sea days can cancel boats across the board at short notice. In those months, book a boat that's confirmed running rather than assuming the timetable, and keep a buffer day before any flight.

One recurring confusion to clear up: Railay is not on the way to Phi Phi and doesn't need a ferry. The Railay boat is a ฿100 longtail shuttle from Ao Nang beach itself (leaves when about eight people gather, 10–15 minutes to Railay West, running roughly 08:00–18:00). If a schedule shows 'Ao Nang → Railay from ฿260', that's an agency transfer product, not the beach longtail everyone actually uses.

Every boat lands at Tonsai pier, where you'll pay a ฿20 cash island-entry fee on the gangway — have the coin ready, it keeps the queue moving. (The separate ฿400 national-park fee only applies at park sites like Maya Bay on tour boats, not at Tonsai.) Tonsai village is walkable and wheelbarrow-porters handle luggage for the hillier hotels.

Staying outside the village, longtails are the island's taxis: about ฿150 per person for the 10-minute hop to Long Beach — captains gather near the Chao Koh restaurant end of the front — with solo travelers paying a premium until a boat fills. Laem Tong guests should have taken the ferry that calls there directly; chartering a longtail the length of the island costs multiples of the ferry fare difference.

Booking rhythm: December–February and Songkran, book boats one to three days ahead — the afternoon sailings sell out first, and Full-Moon-adjacent dates compound it. Low season, walk-up is generally fine; the thing to verify then isn't seats but whether the boat is sailing at all.