The plain speedboat day
Maya Bay, the Viking Cave, a snorkelling stop and a buffet lunch, with no evening programme. The shortest of the four. The operator does not take children under 3 or travellers over 71.
Planning · 21 October 2026 · 7 min read
Phi Phi from Krabi: a day trip or a night on the island
A day tour and a night on Phi Phi Don are two different trips. One spends the day on a speedboat around Phi Phi Leh; the other takes the ferry and stays on after the day boats have gone.
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Take a day tour if what you want is Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and the Viking Cave, and a bed in Krabi the same night. Take the ferry and stay at least one night on Phi Phi Don if you want the island itself: the village, the viewpoint above it, and the evening once the day boats have left.
The two are not a cheap and a dear version of the same thing. A day tour spends most of its hours on the water and at Phi Phi Leh, the uninhabited island with Maya Bay; the ferry takes you to Phi Phi Don, the inhabited one, and leaves the rest to you. What follows covers what each one gets you, Maya Bay's rules, and the ferries from Krabi Town and Ao Nang, with the fares a travel guide reported in October 2026.
Two different trips
Phi Phi is two islands. Koh Phi Phi Don has the ferry pier at Ton Sai, the village and the hotels. Koh Phi Phi Leh, to the south, has Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and the Viking Cave, and nowhere to sleep.
A day tour. A speedboat, or on one tour a speed catamaran, picks you up on the mainland, takes you round Phi Phi Leh and its neighbours, and brings you back the same day. The Phi Phi tours we list run from 7.5 to 10 hours. Most of that time goes to the water, to Phi Phi Leh and to snorkelling stops, not to Phi Phi Don.
A night on Phi Phi Don. The ferry lands you at Ton Sai pier, in the island's main village. From there a stepped trail climbs to three numbered viewpoints over Ton Sai and Loh Dalum, which none of the day tours we list mentions. You see the island in the evening and the early morning, when the day trips are elsewhere.
Staying on Phi Phi Don does not, on its own, take you to Maya Bay: it is on the other island, and you need another boat. We have not found reliable details on the boats from Ton Sai to Phi Phi Leh, so ask on the island rather than counting on one.
What the day tours cover
The four Phi Phi days we list differ less in the islands than in how long they last and how they end. Read the stop list of the one you book: itineraries change with the sea and the operator.
An early start, and four islands
Sold on its early start, with Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon, and four more islands the same day. An early start is no promise of fewer boats. Children aged 2 and under cannot join.
Sunset, with plankton
The longest list of stops: Monkey Bay, Pileh Lagoon, the Viking Cave, Maya Bay and Bamboo Island, then sunset and a barbecue dinner at Koh Poda, and plankton after dark if the night allows.
Phi Phi and four islands by catamaran
Both classic island days in one, on a twin-hulled boat, sold as a sunset tour. The listing does not name its stops, so check whether Maya Bay is one of them.
Maya Bay: the rules and the closure
Maya Bay is what most Phi Phi day tours are sold on, and it is not the visit it used to be. Boats no longer enter the bay. They land at a pontoon at Loh Samah, on the other side of Phi Phi Leh, and you walk through to the beach on a boardwalk.
Swimming is not allowed. You may step into the shallows and no further; sources disagree on whether that means ankle or knee deep, so do what the rangers say. Visits are capped at about 375 people per slot of roughly an hour, so think of it as a timed walk onto the beach, not an afternoon on it.
The bay closes every year from 1 August to 30 September, together with Loh Samah and Loh Ko, and reopens on 1 October. The park gives two reasons: to let the bay recover, and safety at the Loh Samah pontoon in the monsoon wind and swell. Phi Phi tours keep running during the closure but do not land; some stop offshore for a look from the boat. If Maya Bay is the reason you are going, do not go in August or September.
We have not found official opening hours for the bay, so we do not print any. What time you reach it is set by your tour's route, not by you.
Every island closure around Krabi
The ferry: Klong Jilad or Nopparat Thara
If you are going to stay on Phi Phi Don, you take the ferry, not a tour. Two piers serve the island from Krabi, and which one you use depends on where you sleep the night before.
From Klong Jilad, near Krabi Town. Krabi Town's ferry pier, south of the centre. Ferries take about two hours to Phi Phi, and faster boats about one. It is not Chao Fah pier in the town centre, where the longtails for Railay leave.
From Nopparat Thara, at Ao Nang. Ao Nang's ferry pier, west of the town beach: the Phi Phi boats leave from here, not from Ao Nang Beach. The ferry takes about two hours, speedboats about 50 minutes to an hour, and some boats also call at Railay East.
The Ao Nang route runs all year, with fewer departures in the low season: one operator keeps a single morning departure. We have not found the same confirmation for Klong Jilad, so check it if you travel out of season. Boats are cancelled when the sea is rough. Timetables change with the operator and the season, so check yours with the operator rather than with an old listing online.
On arrival at Ton Sai pier, a 20 baht cleaning fee is collected, separate from the national park fee. The park fee for Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh and Bamboo Island is 400 baht per foreign adult and 200 baht per foreign child, as of October 2026. Whether every ferry passenger landing at Ton Sai is asked for the park ticket, we have not been able to confirm. Carry cash for both.
The fares below are the ones a travel guide updated in October 2026 reported; we have found no official price board, so check at the counter before you pay.
| Klong Jilad to Phi Phi, ferry | About 450–500 baht, about 2 hours |
|---|---|
| Nopparat Thara to Phi Phi, ferry | About 520–650 baht, about 2 hours |
| Nopparat Thara to Phi Phi, speedboat | About 820–900 baht, about 50 minutes to 1 hour |
| Ton Sai pier cleaning fee | 20 baht, as of October 2026 |
| National park fee, Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh, Bamboo Island | 400 baht per foreign adult, 200 baht per foreign child, as of October 2026 |
Railay East by boat, and the other crossings to Railay
In the low season
The southwest monsoon brings rougher sea to this coast from May; in 2026 the rainy season officially began on 15 May. The ferries from Ao Nang and the day tours keep running through it, but any departure can be cancelled when the sea is high, and a speedboat crossing in open water with a swell is rough.
If you stay a night, check on the day that your boat back is running, and do not plan the ferry back for the morning of a flight. Keep a spare day before it.
Where to sleep before the boat
Match your base to your pier. If you are taking the ferry from Klong Jilad, a night in Krabi Town puts you close to it; for Nopparat Thara, a night in Ao Nang. For a day tour it matters less: the tours we list offer hotel pickup in some areas, so check that yours is one of them at booking.
If you are sleeping on Phi Phi Don itself, you will be on the island with the pier and the village, and the night before the crossing is the only one you need on the mainland.
These places on the map
- Phi Phi Don Islands
- Maya Bay Islands
- Phi Phi Viewpoint Viewpoints and hikes
- Bamboo Island (Koh Mai Phai) Islands
- Klong Jilad Pier Practical
- Nopparat Thara Pier Practical
Days out that go with this
9 tours
Island hopping from Krabi
The four islands and the Hong Islands, by shared or private boat, from Ao Nang and Railay.
5 tours
Phi Phi day trips from Krabi
Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and the Viking Cave by speedboat or catamaran, by day or at sunset, from Krabi.
Common questions
Can I do Phi Phi as a day trip from Krabi?
Yes. Day tours by speedboat or speed catamaran leave from Krabi and come back the same day; the ones we list last 7.5 to 10 hours and spend most of their time around Phi Phi Leh, not on Phi Phi Don.
Where does the Phi Phi ferry leave from?
From Klong Jilad pier, near Krabi Town, or from Nopparat Thara pier, west of Ao Nang Beach. The ferries from both take about two hours, and the faster boats about an hour.
Does a night on Phi Phi Don get me to Maya Bay?
Not by itself. Maya Bay is on Phi Phi Leh, the other island, and you need another boat to reach it. Ask on the island how to get there.
Do the Phi Phi ferries run in the rainy season?
From Ao Nang, yes, all year, with fewer departures in the low season and cancellations when the sea is rough. We have not confirmed the same for Klong Jilad. Check on the day that your boat is running.
Is there a fee to land on Phi Phi Don?
A 20 baht cleaning fee is collected at Ton Sai pier, separate from the national park fee of 400 baht per foreign adult, as of October 2026. Carry cash.