The lagoon
Hong Island tour from Ao Nang: a lagoon inside the rock
The single most searched island trip in Krabi is not the four islands — it is this one. And the most useful thing to know before booking is that Hong is a separate group, so no amount of paying more on a four-island trip will get you there.
Quick answer
A Hong Island tour from Ao Nang costs $393 for a private speedboat charter of about seven and a half hours, and the national park fee of roughly 300 baht is usually collected separately. The draw is the lagoon: a body of shallow green water almost completely enclosed by limestone walls, entered through a gap you go through by boat.
Hong, at a glance
- Private speedboat charter
- $3937.5 hours, rated 4.9
- National park fee
- ≈300 bahtper person, usually paid in cash
- The lagoon
- Almost enclosedentered through a gap in the rock
- Distance from Ao Nang
- Roughly similarto the four islands, by sea
- Part of the 4 islands?
- Noa separate group and a separate trip
- Beach
- Yes, on Koh Hongwith facilities and shade
- Best at
- Low tide or slackthe lagoon is shallow
- Crowds
- Heavy middayearly and late are quieter
- Snorkelling
- Goodsheltered water inside the group
- Free cancellation
- Yesup to 24 hours before
What Hong actually is
A group of islands, and the lagoon inside one of them
A lagoon inside the rock, a beach, a park fee — and a separate trip from the four islands.
Hong means «room» in Thai, and the name comes from the lagoon: a shallow basin of green water enclosed on nearly every side by limestone walls, open to the sea only through a narrow entrance. Boats go in through the gap, and inside it is still and sheltered.
There is a beach as well. Koh Hong itself has a beach with facilities, which makes it a more comfortable day than some of the four-island stops.
It is inside a marine national park. That is why there is a fee, usually about 300 baht a person, collected on the day. Bring cash.
And it is not part of the four islands. This is the point people get wrong most often: a four-island trip does not swing past Hong, and adding money to a four-island booking does not add it. They are different boats going to different places.
Getting the timing right
Tide, crowds and the middle of the day
Go early or late; a private charter is what lets you.
The lagoon is shallow. At very low water the entrance and the basin can be awkward for boats, and at high water the beach shrinks. Operators plan around it; you mostly need to accept that the running order is theirs.
Midday is the crowd. The Hong Islands take a large share of the day-trip fleet out of both Ao Nang and Phuket, and between roughly eleven and two the lagoon has a lot of boats in it.
A private charter is how you avoid that. At $393 for the boat, a group can start early and be in the lagoon before the fleet, or arrive late and have it thinning out. That is most of what the money buys.
Common questions
Hong Island, answered
Is Hong Island part of the 4 islands tour?
No. The Hong Islands are a separate group reached on their own trip. A four-island tour does not include them.
How much is a Hong Island tour from Ao Nang?
$393 for a private speedboat charter of about seven and a half hours, plus a national park fee of roughly 300 baht a person.
What is the Hong lagoon?
A shallow basin of green water almost completely enclosed by limestone walls, entered by boat through a narrow gap. Hong means «room» in Thai.
Is there a national park fee?
Yes, around 300 baht a person, usually collected on the day in cash and not included in the online price.
When is the lagoon least crowded?
Early morning and late afternoon. Between about eleven and two it takes a large share of the day-trip fleet from Ao Nang and Phuket.
Is Hong better than the four islands?
It is different. Hong has the lagoon and a good beach; the four islands have the sandbar at Tup and are cheaper to reach. With two boat days, do both.
Go deeper
More on island hopping in Krabi
What it costs
From $53 to $611, plus the park fees nobody mentions.
The verdictWhich trip is best
All fourteen ranked, by islands rather than by number.
The classicThe four islands
Poda, Chicken, Tup and Mor, and the sandbar between them.
SunsetThe sunset run
Seven islands, a barbecue, and a swim after dark.
Further outPhi Phi
An hour out by speedboat, and what the day costs.
The crossingAo Nang to Railay
Ten to fifteen minutes, and the only way in.
