Review: Phi Phi Islands Boat Tour

Taking a boat tour is a great way to see more of the beautiful beaches and nature in southern Thailand, and the Phi Phi Islands is one of the classics. There are several tour companies that arrange speedboat group tours to the Koh Phi Phi area and you can easily arrange this with transfer from most hotels. Below, I’ll share a detailed review of the tour I took from Phuket with OceanMania.

Transfer to Royal Phuket Marina

Usually, you will be given a time-slot in the morning (such as 7:45-8) in which you will be picked up from where you’re staying. The vans usually make a few stops in the area to pick people up, and then it continues to the marina. Traffic in Phuket is quite hectic, and there are motorbikes and cars everywhere, so the drive tends to be slightly uncomfortable.

Our driver was also a bit late (very common) and stopped at a gas station the fill up the van, which could have been done when his van wasn’t loaded with people. Traffic in Thailand, and especially Phuket is full of surprises.

Arriving at the Marina

Once we arrived, the tour guides welcomed us. We were taken into a waiting area which offered a small breakfast buffet. After a while, they handed out coloured bracelets. Each bracelet represents one boat, which will be yours for the day. Each boat can take around 25 people, and these people will be the ones you will be sharing the boat with.

Afterwards, there will be a presentation where they go through the agenda, rules and recommendations. Please take a pill for motion sickness, for everyone’s sake. These are provided for free, and I cannot recommend it enough. Expect the presentation to be very commercial. They will try to get you to rent fins, as these are not included in the price (glasses and snorkel, is however provided).

I do recommend renting fins, since the water is quite shallow in some places and you never know if there are any sea urchins or any sharp stones at the bottom. You will also have to take a group photo (for insurance and commercial purposes) before boarding the boat. Food, snacks and drinks are provided for free during the tour.

The Boat Tour

The first stop of the day is Maya Bay. The trip between Phuket and Maya Bay is around an hour and you’re in for a bumpy ride. It was way worse than I expected, and I was seasick upon arrival. The views are, however stunning, and definitely worth the trip.

Unfortunately, there was a very local storm at Maya Bay, so we could not stop there. Instead, we went directly to the next destination, which was Viking Cave followed by Monkey Beach. It is currently not permitted to get off the boat at Monkey Beach, but you can see some monkeys from the boat.

After Monkey Beach, it was time for some swimming at Pileh Lagoon, a beautiful place for a quick swim. There will be many other tours and boats going on at the same time as yours, so don’t expect these places to be empty.

Before ( and after) the lunch buffet at Phi Phi Don Island, we stopped at two different coral reefs for snorkelling. We snorkelled there for around 30 minutes at a time, which was more than enough. Snorkelling gets quite tiring unless you’re a pro.

The lunch buffet was a classic but basic thai buffet, which was quite uninspiring, the location was however really beautiful. Below, I’m sharing a few shots from the beach.

Heading back to Phuket

After a second snorkelling session, it was time to start heading back towards Phuket. Ahead of us, we had a 40-minute boat trip to Khai Island, known as a stunning, small Island which can only be reached by boat. After a horribly bumpy trip, we arrived.

Khai Island was unfortunately not as expected. It was crowded, they constantly overcharged for everything, and it was not as beautiful as imagined. I was also not feeling to well at that point. There had been way too many bumpy boat rides and too much sun in one day. I didn’t take any pictures and I honestly didn’t think Khai Island was worth sharing here on the site.

After Khai Island, we headed back to Phuket, which was another 20 minutes on speedboat, but the sea was much more calm this time. The ride back to the hotel went smoothly, but expect to be tired after doing this trip.

MY OVERALL OPINION

First of all, I have to state that I am not a person who enjoys group tours. I prefer being in a smaller group, which allows me to decide what to do and how much time to spend at each place. However, in this case, doing your own tour would be quite complicated. I believe that most tours are arranged similarly to this one. You may find a typical tour itinerary here. Tours are priced at around 3,500 THB for each adult, but they usually offer discounts and the pricing is in reality, flexible. We got our tour through our hotel for 1,900 THB each.

For being a group tour, this was quite well-arranged and the tour guides were quite funny but also good at their jobs. The provided food and snacks is okay, but not too exciting.

The whole concept is quite commercial, but the places you will see are stunning, and definitely worth the trip. As it is quite exhausting, I wouldn’t recommend it if you are older, or have any disabilities or medical issues.

My favourite part of the trip was the Koh Phi Phi Don Area, as we could get off, relax and it wasn’t too crowded. All of the places are, however really beautiful. I definitely recommend taking a tour of this area when visiting Phuket, Krabi or the nearby areas.