Phuket day trips: which ones are worth your day?

The 8 best Phuket day trips at a glance

The advertised price is only half the story: look at the real door-to-door time and the season.

Phang Nga Bay: the best day out from Phuket?

Hundreds of limestone karsts rising out of jade water, an hour's drive from the north of the island.

This is the trip we recommend first because it works even on a grey day: the bay is sheltered and stays flat for most of the year. A typical itinerary combines sea-canoeing into the hongs (hidden lagoons inside the islands), a stop at Khao Phing Kan, the Man with the Golden Gun rock, and lunch at the Muslim fishing village of Koh Panyee.

Pick the format that suits your patience. Big boats are cheapest and steadiest; speedboats squeeze in more stops but bounce. The best version, often sold as an early-bird or private longtail tour, leaves at dawn and reaches James Bond Island before the 11 am crowd. Everything else, including how to dodge the tourist traps, is in our James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay guide.

Phi Phi island tour from Phuket: is a day trip enough?

Phuket's best-selling excursion, and the most disappointing one if you do it badly.

A standard speedboat tour leaves around 8 am from Rassada or Ao Po pier, then takes in Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, a snorkelling stop, lunch in Tonsai and a final beach on Bamboo or Khai Island. You will spend about three hours on the water and see each spot alongside dozens of other boats.

If you can, stay a night instead: the ferry from Rassada costs less than a tour and you get Maya Bay early or late in the day. Every crossing option is compared in Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, and the bay's rules (400 THB fee, no swimming) are in our Maya Bay guide.

Similan or Racha: which island for snorkelling and diving?

Two very different days: one is an expedition, the other a beach day.

The Similan Islands sit about 70 km off Khao Lak. From Phuket, the day starts with a 1.5-hour minibus ride north and a 1 h 15 speedboat crossing: pick-up around 6 am, back around 7 pm. The park opens only from 15 October to 15 May, and the entry fee is 500 THB. If the Similans are the reason for your trip, spend a night or two in Khao Lak instead.

Racha Yai, 20 km south of Chalong, is the easier alternative: 30 to 40 minutes by boat, a white-sand bay at Patok and reef you can reach from the beach. Coral Island, even closer, is often bundled in but crowded with jet skis and parasailing: never book it on its own.

Day trips without a boat

For rough-sea days, or a breather between boat trips.

Khao Sok works as a day trip from Phuket, but it is a long one: about three hours' drive each way for three to four hours on Cheow Lan Lake among karsts and old-growth rainforest. It is the ideal rainy-season outing, when the jungle is at its greenest and the sea is closed; better still, sleep a night on a floating raft house (see Khao Sok).

For elephants, choose a place where you watch without riding or bathing them. Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in the northeast of the island runs a morning observation programme for 3,000 THB including a vegetarian lunch. Our criteria are in elephant sanctuaries in Thailand.

Koh Yao Noi is the easiest escape of all: a public longtail leaves Bang Rong pier in the northeast of Phuket and crosses in 30 to 45 minutes for around a hundred baht. Rent a scooter or bicycle on arrival and loop the island past rice fields, empty beaches and the karsts of Phang Nga Bay on the horizon. Ask about the last boat back as soon as you land, and if you fall for it, see Koh Yao Noi for staying over.

Finally, a day with a driver (about 1,200 to 1,500 THB) links Phuket Old Town, the Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill and sunset at Promthep Cape. To add a swim, the southern beaches are covered in Phuket beaches.

What to skip

Tours pushed hard in Patong that we do not recommend.

• Cheap 'Phi Phi + Khai + Maya' tours on overloaded big boats: too long at sea, too little time ashore.
• Tiger, monkey or elephant shows and any elephant ride: cruel for the animals, and we never recommend them.
• Coral Island on its own: noisy and poor value.
• Sunset 'seven islands' cruises in open water from June to September: often cancelled, often uncomfortable.
• 'Similan' tours sold between mid-May and mid-October: the park is closed, you will be taken elsewhere.

How to choose for your trip

Three questions settle it: how many days, which season, and how much boat time you can take.

1. 1Under four days: one big sea trip (Phang Nga or Racha), the rest on the beach.
2. 2One week: Phang Nga, then a night on Phi Phi rather than a return trip, then a day on land.
3. 3May to October: favour sheltered Phang Nga Bay and Khao Sok; save the speedboat for a calm day.
4. 4With young children: avoid days over nine hours and speedboats; big boats and short outings work better.

To cut transfer times, see where to stay in Phuket: Chalong, Rawai and the northeast are closest to the piers.

Booking: online, at an agency or at the pier?

The same boat can cost twice as much depending on where you buy it.

Patong agencies often quote negotiable prices, but you do not always know who runs the boat. Online you see reviews, group size and inclusions, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before is precious in the rainy season. Check three things before paying: is hotel transfer included for your beach, are park fees included, and what is the maximum number of passengers.

Responsible day trips in practice

Three simple rules behind every recommendation on this page.

• No elephant riding or elephant bathing: observation only.
• No animal shows and no photos with monkeys or tigers.
• No Maya Bay during its annual closure, and never stand on coral when snorkelling.
• Mineral sunscreen or a rash guard, and take your rubbish home.