Further out
Phi Phi islands from Krabi: an hour out, and a whole day gone
The most famous name on this coast is also the furthest thing on this page from a casual afternoon. Phi Phi is about an hour out by speedboat, the day runs eight hours, and there is a park fee on top.
Quick answer
A private speedboat charter from Krabi to the Phi Phi islands costs $500 for about eight hours, and the national park fee of roughly 400 baht a person is usually separate. It is about an hour each way by speedboat — too far for a longtail — and it is the longest of the classic day trips here apart from the Similans.
Phi Phi from Krabi, at a glance
- Private speedboat charter
- $5008 hours, rated 4.8
- National park fee
- ≈400 bahtper person, usually in cash
- Time each way
- About an hourby speedboat
- Boat type
- Speedboat onlya longtail cannot make the crossing
- Rating
- 4.8across 41 reviews
- Sea state
- Matters herethe crossing is open water
- Monsoon
- Cancelled more oftenroughly May to October
- Crowds
- Heavy at the famous baysearly starts help
- Compared with the four islands
- Far furtherand a full day rather than half
- Free cancellation
- Yesup to 24 hours before
What the day is really like
Two hours of it are the crossing
Two hours of crossing, genuinely spectacular islands, and a sea that cancels in monsoon season.
An hour out, an hour back. That is a fifth of your day in a speedboat over open water, and it is the part people forget when they compare the price with a four-island trip. A speedboat in chop is hard work; if anyone in the party has a bad back, this matters.
The islands themselves justify it. The Phi Phi group is the limestone scenery this coast is known for — cliffs going straight into clear water, bays cut into the rock, and snorkelling in sheltered corners.
The bays get busy. Phi Phi takes day boats from Phuket, Krabi and Ao Nang at once, and the famous stops are crowded in the middle of the day. A private charter is how you arrive before or after that.
And the sea decides. During the southwest monsoon, roughly May to October, this crossing is cancelled far more often than the near-island trips. Book it early in your stay so there is room to try again.
Phi Phi or the four islands?
The honest comparison
Four islands first; Phi Phi as a second day, and a group makes the charter sensible.
If you have one boat day, take the four islands. Closer, cheaper, and a private longtail at $105 gives you a better day than a rushed long-distance trip.
If you have two or three, add Phi Phi. It is a different landscape, further out, and worth a day of its own rather than as a substitute.
If you are a group of four or more, the charter arithmetic changes. $500 is for the boat, not the seat.
If you are travelling in September or October, plan around the weather. The near islands usually still run; this crossing often does not.
Common questions
Phi Phi from Krabi, answered
How long does it take to get to Phi Phi from Krabi?
About an hour each way by speedboat. The full day runs about eight hours.
How much is a Phi Phi trip from Krabi?
$500 for a private speedboat charter for the day, plus a national park fee of roughly 400 baht a person.
Can you go to Phi Phi by longtail boat?
Not from Krabi. It is open-water crossing of about an hour and needs a speedboat.
Is a park fee charged at Phi Phi?
Yes, around 400 baht a person, usually collected on the day in cash.
Is Phi Phi better than the four islands?
It is more dramatic and much further. With one boat day, the four islands give a better day; with two, do both.
Does the trip run in the monsoon?
Less reliably. Between roughly May and October the crossing is cancelled far more often than the near-island trips, so book it early in your stay.
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.
The crossingAo Nang to Railay
Ten to fifteen minutes, and the only way in.
