Review: Phi Phi Islands Tour from Phuket

Visiting Phi Phi Islands on a tour from Phuket is the best way to explore this stunning area in Thailand if you’re short on time. In one day, you’ll see all the main highlights of Phi Phi, including the famous Maya Bay.

On our first visit to Phi Phi Islands, we went on a day trip from Phuket.

In this article, we’ll review our trip and share all the information you need to know before visiting.

About Phi Phi Islands tour

Phi Phi Islands are a group of six islands in Krabi Province, about 45 minutes’ speedboat ride away from Phuket, and are some of Thailand’s most beautiful islands.

The best and easiest way to explore Phi Phi Islands in a short time is a day trip from Phuket, which covers the main spots of the islands, like Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Monkey Beach, and more.

Fun fact: Phi Phi is pronounced as Pee Pee, not Fee Fee.

What does the day tour include?

Phi Phi Islands Day Trip Itinerary

Day tours to Phi Phi Islands from Phuket mostly have similar itineraries with differences in when they visit which spot.

1. Visit to Maya Bay

A visit to Maya Bay is a highlight of the Phi Phi Islands tour from Phuket. Maya Bay is one of the most popular beaches in Thailand, and rightfully so, as it’s one of the most beautiful sceneries we’ve ever seen due to its fascinating beach in a closed bay.

On our Phi Phi Islands day trip from Phuket, we arrived at Maya Bay around 9:40 am and had approximately 30 minutes to explore, which was just enough to experience it, but we’d love to stay there a bit longer.

As Maya Bay is a part of the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, there is an entrance fee of 400 baht (12 USD) for adults and 200 baht (6 USD) for children. 

Good to know: Some Phi Phi Islands tours include the Maya Bay fee in the price, but just in case, check this with your tour operator!

You should also know that swimming in Maya Bay is no longer allowed. Don’t let photos of people in swimming suits fool you. You can only walk in water up to the knee depth. If you go in the water any further than that, rangers will whistle and warn you. If you continue doing it, you can be fined.

The ban on swimming in Maya Bay is in place to protect the blacktip shark population that’s breeding there.

2. Pi Leh Lagoon

The beautiful Pi Leh Lagoon was the next stop of our Phi Phi Islands day trip from Phuket.

Pileh Lagoon is located close to Maya Bay, and it’s a beautiful inlet with crystal clear turquoise water, surrounded by stunning karst hills. It’s another highlight of Phi Phi Islands tours.

We enjoyed a 15-minute swimming stop at Pileh Lagoon. We jumped in from our boat and had a fantastic time.

Note: While Pileh Lagoon and the color of the water is beautiful, it was pretty crowded with boats, so we had to stay close to our boat and swim in a bit smaller area than we’d love to. Still, it was very much enjoyable.

3. Viking Cave

A short stop in front of the Viking Cave, a privately owned cave used for collecting swiftlet bird nests, is a part of almost every Phi Phi Island tour from Phuket.

When you leave Pileh Lagoon, the Viking Cave is on the way to the next stop. However, you’re not entering the cave. You only look at the entrance and hear a bit more about it.

The swiftlet bird nests cost a lot of money and are used in bird’s nest soup in many SEA countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and China. Moreover, bird’s nests have been consumed by royalty for centuries as the most luxurious, priceless, and nutritious food.

4. Monkey Beach or Monkey Bay

Monkey Beach in Phi Phi Islands is a famous beach where, as the name implies, you can see monkeys. The monkeys often come to the beach, and you can see them swimming in the water if you’re lucky.

There is also Monkey Bay, a place similar to Monkey Beach, where our tour of Phi Phi Islands from Phuket stopped.

We only had a short stop here and didn’t go out to the beach; we just observed a few monkeys from the boat. And we didn’t mind a brief visit here.

Note: We were encouraged not to feed the monkeys, so please remember this for any monkey encounters. 🙂

We had around 40 minutes for snorkeling at one of the Phi Phi Islands bays on the way to lunch.

Visibility wasn’t the best, and we didn’t see much wildlife, but we still enjoyed it mainly because the water was gorgeous and refreshing.

Note: The visibility depends on the weather, as it will be much lower with strong waves and cloudy skies.

6. Lunch

After seeing the main highlights of Phi Phi islands, we had a Thai buffet lunch at the restaurant of Phi Phi Holiday Resort on Phi Phi Don Island.

The lunch included vegetarian and vegan options as well. So advise the tour operator of your food preferences in advance. 

We quickly ate lunch so we could enjoy swimming at Laemtong Beach. While it’s not the most beautiful beach in Phi Phi, especially as it can get crowded with boats, the water was nice and clear, and we enjoyed swimming there.

7. Khai Island or Bamboo Island

The last stop of our Phi Phi Islands day trip from Phuket was Khai Island (Koh Khai Nok), a tiny island close to Phuket with a well-equipped white sandy beach and a reef.

As we exited the boat at Khai Island, many locals tried selling us things like loungers, souvenirs, or jet ski rides. But they weren’t too pushy, which was great.

Note: Sometimes the Itinerary isn’t the same, and you might visit Bamboo Island, which is closer to Phi Phi. That’s what we hoped too, but since bad weather was approaching, they probably decided it was safer to finish off with an island closer to Phuket.

We had about an hour of free time there, but unfortunately, it started pouring rain so that we couldn’t enjoy the spot properly. 

There is a great snorkeling spot on Khai Island, but due to the rain, we didn’t even try to check it out as visibility was zero. 

Khai Island and Bamboo Island have beautiful sandy beaches, so whichever you end up on during the Phi Phi tour, there will be a great swimming/snorkeling stop!

You can otherwise also visit Khai Islands on a day trip from Phuket:

• Khai Islands Shared Boat $
• Khai Islands Private Boat $$

What to expect from the Phi Phi Islands tour?

The tour to Phi Phi Islands from Phuket can be a bit hectic as it is the most popular trip in Thailand, there are always crowds, and you’re on a tight schedule.

But it allows you to see the main highlights of Phi Phi Islands and enjoy snorkeling and swimming at beautiful places like the small islands with beautiful sandy beaches.

If you don’t have much time in Thailand, going on a Phi Phi Islands day trip from Phuket makes the most sense.

But we highly recommend taking an early bird tour from Phuket (like this one) to avoid crowds at Maya Bay. Maya Bay is the busiest spot on the tour, crowded with people from Phuket, Krabi, and Phi Phi Don.

The most chaotic part of the Phi Phi Islands tour is the boat docking at Maya Bay, as they’re not permitted to dock inside the bay but rather on the other side, where there is a floating dock. And then you walk for about 5 minutes to get to the Maya Bay beach.

As boats are not permitted to stay docked at the floating pier, after you’re done with the beach, you must stay with your group and board the boat simultaneously. When you’re done, the boat must move away to make space for the other arriving or departing boats.

We were lucky to avoid the biggest crowd at Maya Bay, as when we left, we saw a much more enormous influx of visitors coming there.

Video of Phi Phi Islands Day Trip

Watch the video of our Phi Phi Islands day trip from Phuket on YouTube. And support us by hitting that subscribe button! ❤️

Is the Phi Phi day tour from Phuket worth it?

During our first visit to Thailand, we didn’t have enough time to spend more days on the Phi Phi Islands, so we decided to go on a day trip from Phuket. And in our opinion, it was absolutely worth it since we really wanted to see Maya Bay and Pi Leh Lagoon.

So, if this is the case for you, don’t think about it, but book that trip! 😁

For many people this is one of the must-do things while in Phuket.

What to pack for the Phi Phi Islands day tour?

These are the main things you need to pack for the Phi Phi Islands day tour: 

• Reef safe sunscreen
• Quick-dry Towel
• Bathing suit
• Dry clothes (use code SHIPPEDAWAY for 10% at Unbound Merino)
• Sunglasses
• Waterproof bag 
• Waterproof phone pouch
• Action camera (GoPro with a waterproof case or Osmo Action)

We have a waterproof backpack that was very useful for our island hopping trips in Thailand and kayaking or beach days. We can fit our camera and drone inside and feel safe.

Boats, especially speedboats, get wet, if not from water splashing inside, then from constantly going in and out of the water, especially on snorkeling trips.

Most people were using waterproof phone pouches with their phones instead of action cameras, which works perfectly fine.

Conservation and sustainability

While the coral reefs around the Krabi islands aren’t the healthiest in Thailand, they are slowly improving.

We love that lots of effort and measures are taken to protect and expand the corals, like replanting and limiting access to some areas.

So, on this tour, it’s encouraged to only apply reef-safe sunscreen at least 20 minutes before getting into the water so it doesn’t wash off your body.

The key ingredients you want to avoid in sunscreen are Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, known to be the most destructive to reefs.

Important to know: If you put sunscreen right before entering the water, it can wash off completely, so you won’t be protected, and you can further damage ocean life.

You also shouldn’t throw any food into the sea. They encourage NOT to feed the fish, which is very important for corals.

Final thoughts

We didn’t have high expectations for the Phi Phi Islands day tour from Phuket, but we thoroughly enjoyed our day around the fascinating scenery.

We returned to Phi Phi Islands on our second visit to Thailand, and this time, we stayed overnight. However, we still think that our one-day tour from Phuket gave us a pretty good overview of the beauty of Phi Phi Islands.

Continue planning your Thailand trip