Five nights on Thailand's Andaman coast — Phi Phi and Maya Bay by speedboat, James Bond Island by sea canoe, then Krabi for Railay, the Four Islands and the Emerald Pool.
The Andaman coast has the best of Thailand's islands and this trip takes in both sides of it. You start in Phuket, on the west-coast beaches, and use it as the base for the two long boat days — Phi Phi and Maya Bay one day, Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island the next, with the temples and the old town worked in around them. Then you drive across to Krabi, roughly two to three hours away, for the limestone cliffs, Railay and a four-island run out of Ao Nang.
Airport transfers, all road travel in a private air-conditioned vehicle, both speedboat days and the Krabi island tour are arranged, along with daily breakfast and the lunches on the boats. The sea days are weather-dependent by nature, so we keep the itinerary flexible enough to swap them around if the harbour closes.
The essentials
Trip information
Package code
EH06PK001
Pickup
Phuket International Airport
Drop
Phuket International Airport
Night count
05 Nights, 06 Days
Travellers
4 pax
Vehicle
Air-conditioned Minivan (AC)
At a glance
Itinerary highlights
Day 1Arrive in Phuket and settle on the west coast
Day 2Phi Phi Islands and Maya Bay by speedboat
Day 3Phang Nga Bay, then Big Buddha and the old town
Day 4Drive to Krabi by way of the Emerald Pool and Tiger Cave
Day 5The Four Islands tour and an afternoon at Railay
Day 6Back across to Phuket and fly home
Your route, day by day
Day-by-day itinerary
Phuket
Thailand's largest island, joined to the mainland by a bridge, with the beaches strung down its western shore.
Day 1
Arrive in Phuket and settle on the west coast
You are met at Phuket International and driven down the west coast, past Patong and Karon, to the resort near Kata. The rest of the day is free. Most people walk down to the sand for the afternoon and eat locally — the two boat days that follow both start early, so it is worth an easy first evening.
Starts from Phuket International Airport, ends at Kata Sands Beach Resort, covering around 48 km in an estimated 1h 15m.
Sightseeing
Kata & Karon BeachesOpen all dayAllow 150 min
Two long west-facing bays separated by a low headland, calmer and less built up than Patong further north. Karon is the wider of the two and its sand squeaks underfoot; Kata is smaller and sheltered at the southern end. Both face the sunset.
Swim inside the flagged area
Walk the headland between the two bays
Watch the sunset from the sand
Phi Phi Islands
A group of limestone islands about 45 km south-east of Phuket, with sheer cliffs dropping straight into clear water.
Day 2
Phi Phi Islands and Maya Bay by speedboat
An early pick-up for the pier and a briefing before boarding. The speedboat runs out to the Phi Phi group, stopping for snorkelling on the way, then into Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh. Lunch is on Phi Phi Don, the only inhabited island of the group, with time to swim before the run home in the afternoon.
Based at Kata Sands Beach Resort, covering around 110 km in an estimated 9h 00m.
Sightseeing
Maya BayOpen 9 AM – 4 PM, subject to seasonal closureAllow 60 min
A small crescent of sand on Phi Phi Leh, closed off on three sides by cliffs two hundred metres high. It was shut for several years to let the reef recover and now runs under visitor limits, a rear-beach mooring and a walkway in. Swimming inside the bay is not allowed, which keeps the water clear enough to see the bottom.
Walk in from the rear jetty
Photograph the cliffs from the beach
Look for reef fish from the boardwalk
Pileh Lagoon & Viking CaveDaylight hoursAllow 45 min
A narrow flooded gorge on the eastern side of Phi Phi Leh where the water turns a flat emerald green, and, further along the same shore, the cave where collectors still climb bamboo scaffolding for swiftlet nests. Boats slow down rather than land.
Swim in the lagoon
See the nest-collectors' scaffolding
Snorkel at Loh Samah
Phi Phi Don & Monkey BeachDaylight hoursAllow 2 hrs
The larger, inhabited island of the pair, shaped like a dumbbell with a village on the narrow strip between two bays. Lunch is here. The boat usually pauses at Monkey Beach on the way, where macaques come down to the water — keep bags closed and do not feed them.
Lunch at the bay
Swim at Loh Dalum
See the macaques from the boat
Phang Nga Bay & Phuket
A bay north-east of Phuket where several hundred limestone towers rise straight out of shallow green water.
Day 3
Phang Nga Bay, then Big Buddha and the old town
Out to the bay in the morning for the boat, with sea-canoeing through the hongs — the collapsed cave chambers inside the limestone stacks, which you paddle into at low tide. James Bond Island is the best known stop. Back on the island in the afternoon you climb to Big Buddha, walk the shophouse streets of the old town, and finish at Promthep Cape for the sunset.
Based at Kata Sands Beach Resort, covering around 150 km in an estimated 10h 00m.
Sightseeing
James Bond Island & sea-canoeingOpen 8:30 AM – 3 PMAllow 5 hrs
Ko Tapu, the thin leaning stack made famous by a 1974 film, stands just off Ko Khao Phing Kan in Phang Nga Bay. Landings are on the neighbouring island rather than the stack itself. The better part of the day is the canoeing — a guide paddles you under low limestone arches into hidden lagoons that are only open when the tide is right.
Paddle into the hongs
Photograph Ko Tapu from the beach
Pass the stilt village at Koh Panyee
Big BuddhaOpen 6 AM – 7 PMAllow 60 min
A 45-metre seated Buddha on the Nakkerd hills, faced in white Burmese marble and visible from much of southern Phuket. The road up is steep and narrow. From the platform you can see Chalong Bay on one side and Kata on the other. Shoulders and knees must be covered; sarongs are lent at the top.
Walk the viewing platform
See the smaller brass Buddha below
Look down over Chalong Bay
Old Phuket TownOpen all dayAllow 75 min
The tin-mining quarter, laid out in the nineteenth century and built in Sino-Portuguese style — arcaded shophouses in pastel colours along Thalang and Dibuk roads, with Chinese shrines tucked between them. Sunday evenings the main street closes to traffic for a walking market.
Walk Thalang Road
See the shophouse facades and street art
Stop for coffee in a restored shophouse
Promthep CapeOpen until 7 PMAllow 45 min
The headland at the southern tip of the island, a spine of rock and grass running out into the Andaman Sea. It is the standard sunset spot in Phuket and gets busy from about half an hour before, so it is worth arriving early for a place at the wall.
Watch the sunset
Walk out along the headland path
See the lighthouse and the elephant shrine
Krabi
A mainland province east of Phuket, all limestone ridges, mangrove and beaches at the foot of cliffs.
Day 4
Drive to Krabi by way of the Emerald Pool and Tiger Cave
Check out after breakfast and drive across to the mainland. The route runs inland first for the Emerald Pool and the hot springs in the Khlong Thom forest, then turns back towards the coast for Tiger Cave Temple. You reach Ao Nang in the evening and check in there for two nights.
Starts from Kata Sands Beach Resort, ends at Ao Nang Cliffside Resort, covering around 210 km in an estimated 6h 00m.
Sightseeing
Emerald Pool & Hot SpringsOpen 8:30 AM – 4:30 PMAllow 3 hrs
A spring-fed pool in the Khao Phra Bang Khram forest, reached by a boardwalk through lowland rainforest. Mineral content and the limestone floor give the water its green colour, and it stays warm. The hot springs a short drive away are a set of natural rock basins where the water runs down through worn stone steps into a cool stream.
Swim in the pool
Walk the forest boardwalk
Sit in the hot spring basins
Tiger Cave TempleOpen 8 AM – 5 PMAllow 2 hrs
A working forest monastery built around a cave where a tiger is said to have sheltered. Behind the main hall a staircase of more than 1,200 uneven steps climbs a limestone outcrop to a gilded Buddha at the summit, with a view over the whole plain. The climb takes most people well over an hour and is hard going in the heat — the grounds and the cave shrines below are worth the visit on their own.
Climb the summit stairway if you are up to it
Visit the cave shrines at the base
Walk the forest circuit behind the temple
Ao Nang & Railay
The beach town that boats leave from, and the cliff-backed peninsula next door that no road reaches.
Day 5
The Four Islands tour and an afternoon at Railay
Down to the pier in the morning for the four-island run — Chicken Island, Tup, Mor and Phra Nang, all within a short hop of each other. At low tide a sandbar surfaces between three of them and you can walk from one to the next. Lunch is on the boat or on a beach, and in the afternoon you are dropped at Railay, coming back to Ao Nang by longtail in the evening.
Based at Ao Nang Cliffside Resort, covering around 40 km in an estimated 8h 00m.
Sightseeing
Four Islands TourOpen 9 AM – 3 PMAllow 5 hrs
A standard Krabi boat circuit taking in Koh Poda, Chicken Island, and the linked pair of Tup and Mor. The sandbar between them appears as the tide drops and is the point of going. Snorkelling stops are made where the water is clear, and the boat returns past Phra Nang beach.
Walk the sandbar at low tide
Snorkel off Koh Poda
Photograph the Chicken Island rock
Railay BeachOpen all dayAllow 3 hrs
A peninsula cut off from the mainland by limestone walls, so the only way in is by longtail boat. Railay West has the wide sand and the sunset; Railay East is mangrove and the walking path between them takes ten minutes. The cliffs are one of the best-known sport-climbing areas in Asia and there is usually someone on the routes above Tonsai.
Longtail boat across from Ao Nang
Walk over to Phra Nang cave beach
Watch the climbers on the cliff routes
Krabi
A last morning under the cliffs before the drive back across to the island.
Day 6
Back across to Phuket and fly home
Breakfast and check out. The drive back to Phuket International takes about three hours, so the pick-up time is set against your flight and is usually early. If you are flying out late we can hold the room past the standard check-out or stop somewhere on the road — let us know the flight number in advance and we will plan the morning around it.
Starts from Ao Nang Cliffside Resort, ends at Phuket International Airport, covering around 165 km in an estimated 3h 00m.
Airport pick-up and drop
× 2
Phuket–Krabi road transfer
Krabi–Phuket airport transfer
Pier transfers for the island days
× 3
The fine print, clearly
What’s included
Inclusions
Five nights of accommodation — three in Phuket and two in Krabi.
Daily breakfast at the hotel.
All airport, pier, intercity and sightseeing transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle.
Phi Phi Islands and Maya Bay speedboat day with lunch and snorkelling gear.
Phang Nga Bay day with James Bond Island and sea-canoeing among the limestone stacks.
Krabi Four Islands tour by boat with lunch, and the Emerald Pool and Hot Springs excursion.
24×7 destination support for the whole trip.
Exclusions
International airfare to and from Phuket.
Thailand visa fees and any visa-on-arrival or e-visa processing charges.
Travel insurance, which we strongly recommend you buy.
National park and island entry fees at Phi Phi, Maya Bay, Phang Nga Bay and the Four Islands, collected at the pier or on landing.
Entry tickets at Tiger Cave Temple, the Emerald Pool and the Hot Springs unless stated in the day plan.
Lunch and dinner except where the itinerary names them, and all drinks.
Personal expenses such as laundry, tips, spa treatments, diving and optional tours.
Good to know
Policies
Payment policy
50% of the package cost is needed at the time of booking to confirm it.
The remaining 50% must be cleared at least 21 days before departure.
Peak season (November to February, when the Andaman sea is at its calmest) needs full payment at booking.
The booking is confirmed only once the advance payment reaches us and your passport details are shared.
Payment by bank transfer or UPI.
Cancellation policy
0–15 days before departure: 100% of the booking amount is charged.
16–25 days before departure: 70% of the booking amount is charged.
26–40 days before departure: 30% of the booking amount is charged.
A minimum cancellation charge of 10% applies in all cases.
No refund for unused nights, missed boat tours or an early check-out.
Peak season (20 December – 5 January): no refund on cancellation.
Important information
Indian passport holders currently get short visa-free tourist entry to Thailand, but the rule is reviewed periodically — check the position for your travel dates before booking, and carry a passport valid for at least six months with two blank pages.
Temples here apply the same dress code as the Grand Palace in Bangkok: shoulders and knees covered, for men and women alike. Carry a light shirt and long trousers or a sarong for Big Buddha and Tiger Cave Temple.
Every island speedboat trip depends on the weather. The marine department closes the piers in rough seas and the boats do not sail — we reschedule the day or swap in a land itinerary, but the sea decides.
The monsoon on the south-west coast runs roughly May to October, with the heaviest rain and swell around September. Boat days are far more reliable between November and April.
Red flags on the Phuket beaches mean strong rip currents and no swimming. They are enforced during the monsoon months and should be taken seriously even by strong swimmers.
Maya Bay is a protected area with visitor limits and seasonal closures. Boats moor at the rear beach and you walk in, and swimming inside the bay itself is not permitted.
Easy Holiday
