Compared
Longtail or speedboat in Krabi? Two different days
Every island trip here is one or the other, and the listings rarely make the difference sound like a decision. It is. A longtail and a speedboat go to different places, at different speeds, and feel completely different for six hours.
Quick answer
Take a longtail for the near islands and a speedboat for anything further than an hour out. A private longtail around the four islands is $105; a private speedboat to Phi Phi is $500. The longtail is slower, quieter at the bow, lands directly on sand and costs far less. The speedboat covers three times the distance and is the only way to reach Phi Phi or the Similans.
Side by side
- Longtail speed
- Slowabout a third of a speedboat
- Speedboat speed
- Fastand hard work in chop
- Longtail range
- The near islandsfour islands, Hong at a push
- Speedboat range
- Phi Phi, the Similansanything over an hour out
- Landing
- Longtail lands on sandspeedboats often need a tender or jetty
- Shade
- Partial on bothusually better on a speedboat
- Noise
- Loud at a longtail sternconstant on a speedboat
- Private longtail
- $1054–6 hours
- Private speedboat, 4 islands
- $2985 hours
- Private speedboat, Phi Phi
- $5008 hours
When a longtail is the right boat
Three cases
Near islands, a slow day, and anyone who does not want to be slammed about.
The four islands. They sit close together off Ao Nang, so speed buys you nothing. A longtail at $105 is cheaper, quieter and lands straight on the beaches.
When you want to potter. A longtail is the boat for stopping where you like and staying as long as you want. It is a slow day by design.
When comfort in chop matters. A speedboat slamming across waves at speed is hard on backs and knees. A longtail in the same water is slower and gentler.
When you need a speedboat
Three more
Phi Phi, the Similans, and any day where distance is the point.
Phi Phi. About an hour of open water each way. A longtail cannot do it from Krabi.
The Similans. Twelve hours and a different sea altogether, at $153. Speedboat only.
Nine islands in a day. The nine-island trip at $128 covers ground no longtail could in the same nine hours. If the point is quantity, a speedboat is the only way to get it.
One more thing worth knowing: speedboats have engines at the back and a hull that planes, so the ride is loud throughout rather than only at the stern.
Common questions
Longtail or speedboat, answered
Which is better in Krabi, a longtail or a speedboat?
A longtail for the near islands: slower, cheaper, quieter and it lands on sand. A speedboat for anything more than about an hour out, including Phi Phi and the Similans.
Can a longtail reach Phi Phi?
Not from Krabi. The crossing is open water and takes about an hour by speedboat.
Is a speedboat more comfortable?
Generally it has more shade and better seats, but it is much harder on the body in chop. A longtail is slower and gentler in the same water.
Which is cheaper?
A longtail. A private longtail around the four islands is $105; a private speedboat to the same islands is $298.
Which is quieter?
The bow of a longtail. A speedboat is loud throughout; a longtail is loud only near the engine at the stern.
Can a speedboat land on a beach?
Often not directly. Longtails put their bow on the sand; speedboats more often anchor off or use a jetty.
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.
The lagoonThe Hong Islands
A separate group, and an almost enclosed lagoon.
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.
