Phi Phi Day Trip From Phuket

Every tour from Phuket visits roughly the same water, so the choice comes down to three things, when you reach Maya Bay, how rough a ride you'll accept, and how many people share the boat. Here's how the six types compare.

Most of the circuit is on Phi Phi Leh, the uninhabited island where nobody stays, and the rules there are stricter than the photos suggest.

Most listings say "from Phuket" and leave the pier to the small print, and it matters, because the pier sets your pickup time. Rassada Pier, 3.5 km from Phuket Town and about 18 km from Patong, is where the big boats and the public ferries leave. Most speedboat and catamaran tours sail from the east-coast marinas instead, Royal Phuket Marina, Ao Po and Boat Lagoon, and a few from Chalong Pier in the south. From Patong the van takes 25 to 45 minutes to Rassada and about 45 minutes to Ao Po, which is why pickups start an hour or more before the boat leaves.

If you're staying in Rawai, Kamala, Bang Tao or Laguna, expect a pickup surcharge of about ฿200–400 a person on the cheaper tours, and check it before you compare prices.

From November to April the wind blows off the land and the Andaman Sea lies flat, and from December to March Phuket gets rain on only 2 to 8 days a month. That's when the crossing is smooth and every tour runs. From May to October the southwest monsoon brings swell, September and October are the wettest months, at about 350 mm and 336 mm of rain on about 19 days each, and operators cancel on the rough days, usually with a call the night before and a refund or a new date. In those months I'd book a tour with free cancellation and keep a spare day.

If you get seasick, take a tablet before you board. They cost about ฿30 at any 7-Eleven. From Chalong, the first 20 minutes past Cape Panwa are usually the roughest. On a speedboat, sit at the back, where the ride is smoothest, rather than at the front for the photos. If you know boats are a problem, book the big boat.

The speedboat operators set firm limits. Most take children from 3 or 4 and adults up to 70 or 75, they don't accept pregnant passengers, and they advise against the trip for anyone with back or heart problems. Children's tickets cost about ฿1,800–2,900 depending on the tour, plus the ฿200 park fee where it isn't included. The age bands differ by operator, from 3–11 to 4–12. With young children I'd pick the big boat or the catamaran for the steadier ride.

Reef-safe sunscreen, because sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-MBC or butylparaben are banned in the marine parks, with fines of up to ฿100,000, and some crews check. Cash for the park fee if it isn't included, for fins (about ฿100 to rent) and for drinks on Phi Phi Don. A towel, because many tours don't supply one. A dry bag for your phone, a hat, a dry change of clothes for the ride back, and seasickness tablets if you need them. Don't book the tour for the day you fly, since a weather delay or a cancellation can't be made up.

You can, but it doesn't save money and it lands you at Maya Bay at the worst time. A return speedboat from Rassada costs about ฿1,500–1,700 (the ferry is about ฿1,000–1,400 but takes two hours each way), then the half-day longtail circuit from Tonsai is about ฿1,200–1,500 a person, plus the ฿400 park fee and ฿20 to land at Tonsai. That's about ฿2,600–3,600 before the taxi to the pier, which is about ฿700 each way from Patong. The first boats reach Tonsai at about 09:30, so your circuit reaches Maya Bay in the late morning with the tour fleet, and the last ferry back leaves at 15:30, with speedboats until about 17:00.

Where the ferry wins is when you stay. A night on Phi Phi Don puts you on the 07:00 longtail to Maya Bay, before any boat from Phuket arrives. The Phuket to Phi Phi guide has every departure, and the Koh Phi Phi guide covers where to stay.