Phi Phi Island Tour From Phuket or Krabi?
Phi Phi island tour from Phuket or Krabi: Krabi's crossing is about 45 minutes, Phuket's about an hour; prices and what each day adds (Oct 2026).
For a Phi Phi day, Krabi is the closer base: the speedboats from Ao Nang reach the islands in about 45 to 50 minutes, against about an hour each way from Phuket, and the days cost about the same. Phuket has more boats to choose from, including big catamarans; Krabi’s days can add Krabi’s own islands on the way back. If you are already in one of them, book from there: the islands are the same, and changing base for one day costs more time than it saves. From Krabi, Srisawat’s speedboat day is from US$47 a person (checked November 2026).
Where Phi Phi actually is
The Phi Phi islands belong to Krabi province: they are part of Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, whose headquarters are at Ao Nang. But they lie well out to sea, between the two coasts, so day boats come from both.
The two days side by side
| From Krabi or Ao Nang | From Phuket | |
|---|---|---|
| Crossing by speedboat | About 45 to 50 minutes | About an hour |
| Classic day | Srisawat, US$47, about 7.5 h | One Asia, US$42 in current promotion (usually US$56), about 8 h |
| Early start | Krabi Ezy Trails early bird, US$79 in current promotion (usually US$87): pickup 05:50 to 06:30 | V. Marine sunrise day, US$110 in current promotion (usually US$116): breakfast on Khai Nai at sunrise |
| On the way back | Krabi’s islands on some days: Chicken Island, Ko Poda | The Khai islands on many days |
| Pickup | Ao Nang, Krabi town, Klong Muang, Ao Nam Mao; Railay East pier | Hotel areas across Phuket, or check-in at the pier |
| Park fee | Usually extra, 400 baht in cash | Included on some options, extra on others |
Prices a person, from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026.
The prices are close; the real differences are the time in the boat and what the day adds. Krabi has the shorter crossing, and its early-bird days reach Maya Bay before most boats and then stop at Chicken Island and Ko Poda, which you would otherwise see on Krabi’s 4 Islands tour. Phuket has the widest choice: speedboats, speed catamarans and big sunset catamarans, early and late departures, and days that add the Khai islands, which lie in Phang Nga province outside the national park, with a 20-baht-a-person service charge.
If you are choosing where to stay
Base yourself on the coast that suits the rest of your trip, not on this one day. Krabi’s Ao Nang and Railay sit among the limestone towers and the islands of the 4 Islands tour; Phuket has many more Phi Phi tours listed, and a wider choice of boats. A third option, a night on Phi Phi Don itself, turns the trip into early boats from Ton Sai that reach Maya Bay before anyone else: can you stay on Phi Phi? covers the ferries.
Pick by where you are staying:
Speedboat Day From Krabi
The shorter crossing, Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, lunch on Phi Phi Don and Bamboo Island.
Check dates →Speedboat Day From Phuket
One Asia's day: about an hour each way, Maya Bay, lunch on Phi Phi Don and 1.5 hours on Bamboo Island.
See the Phuket day →Day From Ko Lanta
From Saladan Pier, about 30 minutes by speedboat to Maya Bay, with lunch and Bamboo Island.
See the Lanta day →Prices and ratings from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026; operators change prices, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.
For every option from Phuket, the speedboats, catamarans, early and late boats and ferries, phiphiislandtourfromphuket.com goes through them one by one. For the Krabi side, the Krabi and Ao Nang guide compares the classic, early, sunset and small-group days.
Crossing times, prices, pickup areas and stops are from the GetYourGuide listings, read in US dollars on 29 October 2026. The park and its headquarters from the Department of National Parks’ park page; the park fee and the islands it covers from the department’s fee schedule, and the Khai islands’ province from TAT’s Ko Khai page and the 20-baht service charge from the operators’ notices of November 2021. All read in October 2026.
The Shorter Crossing
Srisawat's day from Krabi: hotel pickup, about 45 minutes to the islands, Maya Bay on foot, Pileh Lagoon, lunch on Phi Phi Don and Bamboo Island, in about 7.5 hours. Park fee in cash at check-in, as listed in October 2026.
Check Dates