First-time visitors who want the postcard islands in one day, snorkellers, anyone with only one day for the sea. Not ideal for people who get seasick in the monsoon months or for travellers with a bad back — a speedboat slams in swell.
Island trips · 8–10 h · Rassada Pier · park fee 400 THB · All sources
Phi Phi Islands day trip: $63 per adult was the median of 6 join-in listings in September 2026 (range $43–$91). 8–10 h door to door from Rassada Pier, hotel pickup and a meal included; the 400 THB park fee is paid in cash on top. Best months: January, February, March, April, November and December.
Source: Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series · All sources
This tour in the figure colour; medians per adult, join-in, cheapest first · as of September 2026 · Phuket Travel Price Index, tours series
The Phi Phi day trip is the standard first sea day for a Phuket holiday: a speedboat out of Rassada Pier in Phuket Town, 45 to 60 minutes across open water to Phi Phi Leh, then a loop through the places every photograph of Thailand seems to show. The morning is Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon, the middle of the day is lunch on Phi Phi Don, and the afternoon is a beach and snorkel stop at Bamboo Island or the Khai islands before the run home. Door to door it is eight to ten hours, with six or seven of them on or beside the water.
What the ticket usually covers is the boat, hotel pickup from the main areas, a set or buffet lunch, snorkelling masks, soft drinks and fruit, a guide and accident insurance. What it almost never covers is the national-park fee — 400 baht per foreign adult, paid in cash on the boat or at the checkpoint — and that is the single most common cause of arguments at the pier. The fee is real, it goes to the Department of National Parks, and one ticket covers Maya Bay, Pileh and Bamboo Island on the same day.
Two rules shape the trip. Maya Bay is closed from 1 August to 30 September every year for reef recovery, and tours simply skip it in those weeks; the rest of the year visitors walk in from the back of the island and are not allowed to swim in the bay itself. Second, the crossing is the exposed part: Rassada is on the sheltered east coast, so departures continue in the monsoon, but between May and October the Harbour Department can stop speedboats on rough days, and a refund or a rebooking follows. The comfortable months are November to April, when the west-coast marine data on this site shows a median of zero rough-sea days.
The price is a join-in speedboat seat per adult, the product the index measures; big-boat versions cost about half and see less, private speedboats are priced per boat. The elephant sanctuary and the Similan trip cost more, the James Bond and Coral trips cost less, and the comparison table on the tours hub lines all eight up.
Against the other tours in the September 2026 revision, Phi Phi Islands is number 6 of 8 priced tours, cheapest first: Big Buddha & temples ($26), Coral / Racha ($39), James Bond Island ($52), Old Town walk ($59) and Sunset cruise ($60) are cheaper; Similan Islands ($76) and Elephant sanctuary ($88) are dearer. The hub table lines all eight up with hours, piers and park fees.
Boat: Speedboat (join-in), 30–40 seats; big-boat and catamaran versions run slower and cheaper. Group formats: Speedboat 30–40 · big boat 60–100 · private speedboat 6–20.
Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park: 400 THB adult, 200 THB child — verified Sep 5, 2026.
Rassada is on the sheltered east side, so boats leave all year; the open crossing to Phi Phi (45–60 min each way by speedboat) is the rough part between May and October. Maya Bay is closed 1 August – 30 September every year.
| Month | Season | Sea, west coast | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | runs · best | calm · 0 rough days | 10 |
| Feb | runs · best | calm · 0 rough days | 7 |
| Mar | runs · best | calm · 0 rough days | 14 |
| Apr | runs · best | calm · 0 rough days | 25 |
| May | runs | swell · 4 rough days | 28 |
| Jun | runs | swell · 8 rough days | 22 |
| Jul | runs on calm days | rough · 13 rough days | 24 |
| Aug | runs · Maya Bay closed | rough · 9 rough days | 25 |
| Sep | runs · Maya Bay closed | rough · 12 rough days | 25 |
| Oct | runs | calm · 2 rough days | 28 |
| Nov | runs · best | calm · 0 rough days | 27 |
| Dec | runs · best | calm · 0 rough days | 16 |
Sea state and rain days are medians per calendar month from Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026 (marine from 2022-01); "best" months are the catalogue's editorial pick within the calm season. Maya Bay closed 1 August – 30 September, verified Sep 5, 2026.
Days with waves above the rough threshold, median per calendar month; best months for this tour in the figure colour · Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026, marine normals from 2022-01
No touching coral or standing on it; no feeding fish; reef-safe sunscreen is required inside the marine park; the crew will not let you take shells or sand.
$63 per adult was the median of 6 join-in speedboat listings observed in September 2026 (range $43–$91), for a full-day trip with pickup, lunch and snorkel gear. The 400 THB national-park fee is paid on top in cash.
Almost never. The fee is 400 THB per foreign adult and 200 THB per child (3–14), set by the Department of National Parks, and it is collected in cash on the boat or at the checkpoint. One ticket covers Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and Bamboo Island on the same day. Rate verified 2026-09-05.
No. Since the 2022 reopening, boats moor behind Phi Phi Leh and visitors walk in through Loh Samah; swimming and boats inside the bay are banned. The bay is also closed entirely from 1 August to 30 September every year. Tours still run in those weeks and swap the stop for extra time at Pileh or Bamboo Island.
Rassada Pier in Phuket Town, on the east coast. Hotel pickups from Patong, Kata, Karon, Rawai and Chalong take 30–45 minutes on the site's distance model; from Bang Tao and the north about an hour. Ferries and big boats also leave from Rassada, taking around two hours each way.
November to April: dry, and the marine data on this site shows a median of zero rough-sea days in those months. May to October the crossing can be rough, speedboats are occasionally stopped by the Harbour Department, and Maya Bay is closed in August and September. October is a shoulder month — the sea calms before the rain stops.
Concierge
A villa, a yacht, a helicopter and private tours arranged as one programme, with dated price references and one contact.
$63 per adult was the median of 6 join-in speedboat listings observed in September 2026 (range $43–$91), for a full-day trip with pickup, lunch and snorkel gear. The 400 THB national-park fee is paid on top in cash.
Almost never. The fee is 400 THB per foreign adult and 200 THB per child (3–14), set by the Department of National Parks, and it is collected in cash on the boat or at the checkpoint. One ticket covers Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and Bamboo Island on the same day. Rate verified 2026-09-05.
No. Since the 2022 reopening, boats moor behind Phi Phi Leh and visitors walk in through Loh Samah; swimming and boats inside the bay are banned. The bay is also closed entirely from 1 August to 30 September every year. Tours still run in those weeks and swap the stop for extra time at Pileh or Bamboo Island.
Rassada Pier in Phuket Town, on the east coast. Hotel pickups from Patong, Kata, Karon, Rawai and Chalong take 30–45 minutes on the site's distance model; from Bang Tao and the north about an hour. Ferries and big boats also leave from Rassada, taking around two hours each way.
November to April: dry, and the marine data on this site shows a median of zero rough-sea days in those months. May to October the crossing can be rough, speedboats are occasionally stopped by the Harbour Department, and Maya Bay is closed in August and September. October is a shoulder month — the sea calms before the rain stops.
All Phuket tours · Island tours: piers, parks and crossings· Tours series in the price index · Open data