The Andaman coast is easier to understand from the water than from a map. Karst towers stand out of the sea in lines, hollow in places, with beaches tucked behind them that no road reaches. So this route moves by boat: Phuket, then Koh Phi Phi, then Krabi, the scenery changing each time the engine cuts.
Four of the nine days are yours to spend, which is deliberate. Snorkelling, a long-tail hired by the hour, a first climb on bolted limestone, or an afternoon that gets no further than a hammock. The two boat excursions run as shared departures, which is how these waters are worked, and the ferry crossings are public services with our staff meeting you at each pier. Costs are quoted in writing once we know your dates and party size.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival on Phuket. A driver meets you and runs you over to the west coast, three quarters of an hour or so once you are clear of the terminal. Nothing is planned. If your body clock allows, walk down for the last hour of light, when the sea turns the colour of weak tea and the long-tails come back in. Overnight on Phuket.
Day 2
North to Phang Nga Bay, joining a group boat for the day. The towers come up out of flat water one after another, some undercut at the waterline into caves. You transfer to a sea canoe with a paddler to slip through the low openings into hongs, collapsed chambers open to the sky. Lunch on board. Back on Phuket by evening.
Day 3
A free day. A dive school can take a complete beginner through a pool session and one shallow reef dive before supper. There is also kayaking in the mangroves on the eastern shore, or a morning of nothing at all followed by a night market where the food is grilled in front of you. Your guide will help you choose and book. Overnight on Phuket.
Day 4
Transfer to the pier for the ferry across to Koh Phi Phi, roughly two hours on the open deck if you want the wind. The island has no cars: bags go by trolley from the jetty and you walk the last few minutes to your room. Sound carries here after dark, so tell us how far from the pier you want to sleep.
Day 5
Yours on Phi Phi. The classic use of it is a hired long-tail with a boatman for half a day, stopping wherever the water looks right for snorkelling. The other is the viewpoint: a steep stair of several hundred steps, best climbed at first light, with the whole sandbar laid out below. Overnight on Koh Phi Phi.
Day 6
Breakfast, then the mid-morning ferry on to Krabi, about the same again over water. A car takes you from the pier to the mainland coast. It feels different at once: cliffs behind the beach rather than around it, and a working town nearby rather than an island strip. The rest of the day is free. Overnight in Krabi.
Day 7
The four islands run, by speedboat, with a group. They sit close together offshore and each is small. At low tide a pale sandbar rises and joins two of them, and you walk from one beach to the next with sea on both sides. There is a headland cave hung with carved offerings, and shallow reef off the last stop. Lunch is provided.
Day 8
A free day, and the one most people spend on rock. The limestone at Railay is bolted for climbing from absolute beginner upwards, and a half-day with an instructor puts most reasonably fit people up a route by lunchtime. If that is not for you, take a kayak into the mangrove creeks behind the headland, or a boat to the sand for the afternoon. Overnight in Krabi.
Day 9
Breakfast, then the transfer to Krabi airport, allowing for the coast road and whatever the tide has done to the traffic. If your flight is late in the day, leave your bags at reception and take a final swim; we will time the car around it. Your driver waits until you are checked in. The trip ends at the airport.
What the price covers
- Eight nights of accommodation with breakfast each morning
- Both ferry crossings, Phuket to Koh Phi Phi and Koh Phi Phi to Krabi
- The Phang Nga Bay excursion, including the sea canoe section
- The four islands speedboat excursion off Krabi
- Lunch on both excursion days
- Marine park and pier fees on the excursion days
- Snorkelling equipment on the boats
- Private transfers between airports, piers and hotels, with staff meeting each boat
Not included
- Flights to Phuket and home from Krabi
- Travel insurance, which should cover watersports if you plan to dive or climb
- Visa or entry fees where your passport requires them
- Diving, climbing instruction and privately hired long-tail boats
- Lunches and dinners other than those listed, and all drinks
- Tips for boat crews, guides and drivers
Good to know
This is a low-effort route with two early starts and a fair amount of time in the sun. You need to be steady on a wet deck and able to swim; nothing else. The dry months, roughly November to April, give flat water and reliable sailings. Outside them the sea gets up, ferries thin out, and a boat day can be called off the night before.
- Pack light and pack soft. Bags are carried by hand on Koh Phi Phi and lifted over gunwales on the small boats.
- Keep passports and phones in a dry bag. Spray on the crossings is normal, not a mishap.
- Koh Phi Phi runs late and loud near the pier. Say if you want quiet and we will place you further out.
- Long-tails are open boats with no shade. A hat and a long-sleeved top beat sunscreen alone.
- Cash matters on the islands. Machines run empty at weekends.
Plan this trip
- Days
- 9
Sending this does not charge you. We hold the space and confirm within 24 hours.
Tell us when you want to travel and who is coming, and a written plan with a price will follow.