Coral Island (Koh Hae) by longtail from Rawai
Rawai · Islands and boat trips · 6 h
$39 index median, September 2026
Hours: Longtails from Rawai from about 08:00; last boats back by 17:00
Best time: November–April; the crossing is short and the island's Long Beach faces away from the worst swell
Season: The nearest island to Phuket and the shortest crossing — about 20 minutes
Kids: Yes · Rain: No
The island 9 km off Rawai with a long beach, a shallow reef for snorkelling from the sand, a couple of resorts and a banana-boat-and-parasail strip that gets busy with speedboat tours by 11:00. The independent way is a longtail chartered at Rawai pier — about 1,800–2,500 THB for the boat there and back, split between however many you are — which lets you leave at eight and have the beach before the tours arrive. The packaged speedboat version, with lunch and snorkel gear, is tracked in the tours index as the 'coral island' segment and shown as a median. The best half-day island for children.
Source: Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series
Koh Yao Noi day trip by ferry
Bang Tao · Islands and boat trips · 8 h
— No dated price on file
Hours: Speedboat ferries from Bang Rong pier roughly hourly 07:30–17:00
Best time: Year-round; the island sits in the sheltered bay
Season: Bang Rong pier is on the north-east coast, 20 minutes from Bang Tao — the trip is easiest from the north of the island
Kids: Yes · Rain: Yes
The quiet Muslim fishing island in the middle of Phang Nga Bay, half an hour by public speedboat from Bang Rong pier on Phuket's east coast: rubber plantations, rice paddies, a ring road you can cycle in a morning, a few beaches facing the limestone islands and a handful of resorts from homestays to Six Senses. Public ferry fares are low and change; no fare is shown here rather than an out-of-date one. It is the opposite of a packaged island trip — you go on your own, rent a scooter or bicycle at the pier, and come back on the last boat. The bay is sheltered, so it works in the green season.
Phang Nga Bay and James Bond island
Bang Tao · Islands and boat trips · 8 h
$52 index median, September 2026
Hours: Departures from Ao Po or Bang Rong pier about 08:00–09:00; back by 16:00–17:00
Best time: Runs year-round — the bay is sheltered; mornings are clearest
Season: The one boat trip that reliably runs in the green season
Kids: Yes · Rain: Yes
The limestone bay north-east of the island: Khao Phing Kan (James Bond island since 1974), the stilt village of Koh Panyee, sea-caves and hongs paddled by canoe, and lunch on the boat. Trips go by longtail, speedboat or the slower and more comfortable 'big boat', and because the bay faces away from the south-west monsoon it is the day trip that still runs when the Phi Phi and Similan boats are cancelled. The price here is the index median for the segment, measured monthly across operators; the canoe-only version by John Gray's is listed separately. Half the day is the bay itself, which is the point.
Source: Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series
Phi Phi islands day trip
Chalong · Islands and boat trips · 9 h
$63 index median, September 2026
Hours: Speedboats leave Chalong or Rassada pier about 08:00–09:00, back by 17:00
Best time: November–April; Maya Bay closes to visitors every August–September
Season: Green-season crossings are rough and trips are cancelled on red-flag days; Maya Bay has a seasonal closure
Kids: Yes · Rain: No
The classic day out: 45 km east across the strait by speedboat to Phi Phi Leh's Maya Bay and Pileh lagoon, then Phi Phi Don for lunch, snorkelling at Bamboo or Khai island on the way back. It is crowded — the national park caps Maya Bay's visitors and closes it for two months each year — and in the green season the crossing is the roughest of the island trips. The tours index on this site tracks what operators charge per person for this trip each month, so the price shown here is the index median rather than a single listing. The ferry from Rassada pier is the slower, cheaper, calmer way over.
Source: Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series
Similan Islands day trip
Mai Khao · Islands and boat trips · 12 h
$76 index median, September 2026
Hours: Park open 15 October – 15 May, 08:00–16:00; boats leave from Khao Lak with pickups from Phuket before 06:00
Best time: November–March; the park closes for the monsoon from 16 May to 14 October
Season: Closed mid-May to mid-October every year — no exceptions
Kids: Yes · Rain: No
The nine granite islands 70 km north-west of Phuket in the Andaman, a national park with the clearest water in Thailand and the snorkelling and diving the country is known for. Day trips are long — a pickup from Phuket before dawn, a speedboat from Khao Lak, two or three stops and back after dark — and the park is open only from 15 October to 15 May. The 500 THB per-adult park fee is paid on top of the tour; the tour price itself is tracked in the tours index and shown as a median. Liveaboards of two to six nights are the serious diver's way to do it.
Source: Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series