Phi Phi Islands tour from Krabi: six boats, and what the shorter crossing changes

Krabi and the Phi Phi Islands sit on the same stretch of the Andaman coast. The crossing is short enough that the boats can afford to spend the saved hours somewhere useful, and the operators spend them in two ways: more time in the water at each stop, and a second group of islands on the return leg.

That second group is the 4 Islands, and it belongs to this coast alone. Koh Poda with its clear shallows, Chicken Island with the rock that gives it the name, and the Separated Sea, where a white sandbar links islands together at low water. Two listings here build it into the same day as Maya Bay. No boat leaving from Phuket can offer that, because the geography does not allow it.

The rest of the day is the standard island round, and the operators describe it in almost identical words. Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley, reached through the Loh Samah route. Pileh Lagoon, the pool of green water inside the cliffs. A snorkelling stop among coral and colourful fish at Loh Sama. The cliffs of Viking Cave and the turquoise water of Monkey Bay from the deck. Lunch on Phi Phi Don, laid out as a buffet.

One more thing separates this coast: the choice of hull. A Phi Phi Islands tour from Krabi can be booked on a plain speedboat, which is fastest, or on a premium speed catamaran, which is steadier in a swell and has more shade. Two of the six listings here are catamarans, and both of them run nine-hour days rather than seven.

Seven hours on the shorter listings, nine on the catamarans. The order below is the one the operators describe, and it holds whether you board at Krabi or at Ao Nang.

The pier. Pick-up, briefing, gear. The Ao Nang departure leaves from the beach itself, which is the shortest walk to a boat anywhere on this coast. The Krabi boats leave from the pier and take the channel out past the mangroves.

The crossing. Open water at speed, with the limestone stacks of the bay behind you and the Phi Phi group ahead. This is the leg a speedboat is for. On the catamaran days it is longer and steadier, and there is shade on deck for it.

Maya Bay. The beach from the film, entered through Loh Samah. Every one of the six listings names it. You get sand, shallow water and a ring of cliff on three sides, and the operators are honest that you share it.

Pileh Lagoon. Described in these listings as a swim among colourful fish and coral, and elsewhere as a natural swimming pool. The water is green rather than blue because of the light coming off the walls, and you swim straight from the boat.

Snorkelling and the cliffs. A reef stop with gear included, then the slow part: gliding past the cliffs of Viking Cave and the turquoise water of Monkey Bay, with the macaques on the rocks above the tide line.

Lunch on Phi Phi Don. An international or Thai buffet on the main island, the only inhabited one in the group, with an hour or so around it.

The 4 Islands, or the sunset. This is where the Krabi days divide. Two listings turn for Koh Poda, Chicken Island and the sandbar at the Separated Sea. The premium catamaran holds on until the light drops and finishes at Tup or Poda with the sun going down behind the stacks.

If you want the strongest record, book $79. Nine hours, 4.9 across 3,492 reviews, the best-rated listing on this site. It puts you at Maya Bay before the main fleet, adds Pileh Lagoon, lays on a Thai buffet lunch on the beach and finishes with the 4 Islands and the sandbar that links them. It is the fullest Phi Phi Islands tour from Krabi we sell.

If the fare decides it, book $37. Seven hours, 3,881 reviews, the most reviewed listing on the whole site, and the barefoot version of the day: snorkelling among coral at Loh Sama, the turquoise water at Maya Bay, Koh Pai and the cliffs at Viking Cave and Monkey Bay.

If you are staying at the beach, book $46. This is the Phi Phi Islands tour from Ao Nang on this page, 1,848 reviews at 4.7, seven hours, and the only listing that lets you pick your hull: speedboat or catamaran, same itinerary, lunch buffet included.

If you want the best light, book $55. Nine hours on a premium speed catamaran, 282 reviews at 4.7, Bamboo Island and a Thai buffet on Phi Phi Don, ending with the sun going down at Tup Island or Poda Island. No other mainland departure here stays out that late.

If you want the buffet day, book $40. Seven and a half hours, 977 reviews at 4.6, Maya Bay and the Viking Cave from the water, a snorkel stop, the powdery sand of Bamboo Island and an international spread on Phi Phi Don.

One thing to plan for. Every Phi Phi Islands tour from Krabi on this page is a full day on the water, seven to nine hours, most of it in sun and salt. Bring more water than you think, and keep the evening after it quiet.