Can You Stay on Phi Phi Island? Ferries, Nights, Early Boats

Yes: you can stay on Phi Phi Don, the larger island, where Ton Sai Bay is the hub for hotels, restaurants and shops. Phi Phi Leh, with Maya Bay, is uninhabited and you visit it by boat. Getting there is a ferry or a speedboat transfer from Krabi, Ao Nang or Phuket, and a night on the island is what makes the early boats to Maya Bay possible. From Ao Nang, Railay Eco Tour’s speedboat transfer is from US$30 a person (checked November 2026).

Illustration: travellers with backpacks and wheeled bags walking along a long concrete pier towards a small village of low buildings and palm trees, a ferry moored alongside, steep green limestone hills behind — Illustration. Arriving at Ton Sai: the ferries and speedboats come in to the pier by the village.

Where you stay

Everything is on Phi Phi Don. The village sits on the low land between the twin bays of Ton Sai and Loh Dalum: Ton Sai is the port, with most of the hotels, restaurants and shops, and a path crosses to Loh Dalum, a cove with calm water for swimming. Quieter beaches such as Loh Ba Kao, Rantee Bay, Wang Long Bay and Laem Tong lie elsewhere on the island. Phi Phi Leh, with Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon, has no hotels.

Hotels on Phi Phi Don Hotels in Ao Nang

Getting there

Map of the Andaman Sea between Phuket and Krabi: Khlong Jilad Pier in Krabi town and Nopparat Thara Pier at Ao Nang with dashed boat routes south to Phi Phi Don and Bamboo and Mosquito islands, Phi Phi Leh (Phi Phi Le) with Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and Viking Cave just south of Phi Phi Don, and a longer dashed route from Rassada Pier on Phuket — Boats to Phi Phi Don leave from Khlong Jilad in Krabi town, from the Ao Nang coast and from Rassada on Phuket, and come in at Ton Sai. The routes are schematic.

From	Boat	Time	Price
Krabi town	Boats from Khlong Jilad Pier and Krabi Marina	About 1 hour by speedboat; ferries take longer	450 to 500 baht a seat, as TAT lists it
Ao Nang and Railay	Railay Eco Tour speedboat to Ton Sai	40 to 45 min from Railay	US$30
Phuket	Andaman Wave Master speedboat from Rassada	40 to 100 min	US$22

Transfer prices a person, from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026. The Krabi town fare is the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s figure, read in October 2026.

The Ao Nang speedboat leaves from Ao Nam Mao Pier near Ao Nang at 10:30 and 15:00, calls at Railay half an hour later and reaches Phi Phi about 40 minutes after that; the return boats leave Phi Phi at 12:00 and 17:00. A car transfer within Ao Nang is included, and you wait in your hotel lobby 45 minutes before the departure. The Phuket speedboat runs from Rassada Pier to Ton Sai or to Laem Tong beach, with shared pickup from Patong, Kata, Karon, Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong and Phuket Town on the option that includes it, and one carry-on bag of up to 15 kg each.

Check the Ao Nang speedboat's departures →

What a night adds to the tour

From Krabi or Phuket, a Phi Phi tour is a day trip that reaches Maya Bay with the other day boats. With a night on Phi Phi Don, the boats leave from Ton Sai, minutes from the bay:

The first boats. Sawasdee Phi Phi’s first group sails at 06:15 to 06:30 and gives you an hour on Maya Bay before most boats, from US$29 a person in current promotion (usually US$32); on Discover Thailand’s private longtail you reach Maya Bay at 07:00, when it opens.
Half-days. A longtail from 08:30 to 13:00 for from US$18 a person in current promotion (usually US$22) leaves the afternoon free.
Sunset and plankton. Master Phi Phi Tour’s afternoon speedboat ends with the sunset and a night swim among glowing plankton, park fee included, from US$40 a person (checked November 2026).

Several of these listings say an overnight stay on the island is required, because the transfers are limited. Maya Bay from Phi Phi compares all of them.

Pick by how you get there:

From Ao Nang or Railay

Speedboat to Ton Sai

From US$30 · 4.6 ★ (208 reviews) · 50 to 70 minutes

Two boats a day each way, with a car transfer in Ao Nang.

Check departures →

From Phuket

Speedboat From Rassada

From US$22 · 4.6 ★ (1,068 reviews) · 40 to 100 minutes

To Ton Sai or Laem Tong, with shared pickup in Phuket on the option that includes it.

See the Phuket boat →

Once you are there

First Group at Maya Bay

From US$29 in current promotion (usually US$32) · 4.8 ★ (321 reviews) · from Ton Sai

The morning after you arrive: sail at 06:15 to 06:30 for an hour on Maya Bay before most boats.

See the first group →

Prices and ratings from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026; operators change prices, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.

How many nights?

One night is enough for the early Maya Bay boat and an afternoon on Loh Dalum or the viewpoint; two give you a day for a half-day trip in the morning and a sunset trip in the evening. If you only want to see the bays, a day tour from Krabi or Phuket does it without the bags: the Krabi guide and Phuket or Krabi? compare those.

Whichever way you arrive, the national park fee applies on Phi Phi Don as on Phi Phi Leh, 400 baht an adult and 200 baht a child, and officers may ask to see your ticket on either island.

Phi Phi Don’s bays, beaches, the path to Loh Dalum, the boats from Khlong Jilad and Krabi Marina with their journey time and fare, and the ticket checks are from the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Phi Phi Don page; the park fee from the Department of National Parks’ fee schedule. The transfer and tour times, piers, pickup areas and the overnight notes are from the GetYourGuide listings, read in US dollars on 29 October 2026. All read in October 2026.