Phuket to Phi Phi Islands by Speedboat

Overview

The Phi Phi islands sit about two hours from Phuket by slower boat and well under that by speedboat, which is what makes a day trip possible at all. They are limestone: cliffs going straight into the sea, water that shades from green to dark blue against them, and beaches at the foot of walls hundreds of feet high.

Maya Bay

Maya Bay, on the uninhabited island of Phi Phi Leh, is the one people come for. How you see it has changed. The bay was closed entirely in 2018 after years of damage and reopened in 2022 under rules that still apply: boats no longer enter the bay at all. They moor at Loh Samah on the other side of the island, and you walk in through a gap in the cliffs on a boardwalk — a few minutes, mostly flat, slippery when wet.

Swimming in Maya Bay is not allowed. You can wade in ankle- to knee-deep and no further. The shallows are a nursery for blacktip reef sharks and the replanted coral is still recovering, and the rule is enforced by rangers on the beach. Visitor numbers are capped and operators are given arrival windows, so your time there is set by the park rather than by the boat.

Maya Bay also closes each year for recovery — in 2026 that period runs from 1 August to 30 September. If your date falls in the closure the operator will run the rest of the itinerary without it.

The rest of the day

Pileh Lagoon, round the coast on the same island, is a narrow inlet almost enclosed by cliffs, with water so still and so green it looks poured rather than tidal. The boat goes in and you can get into the water there.

There are snorkelling stops off the islands, with mask and fins provided, and the boat passes the Viking Cave with its bamboo scaffolding where swiftlet nests are collected from the cliff. Phi Phi Don, the larger and inhabited island, is where the day usually pauses for a while on land.

Worth knowing

This is a full day on and around a fast boat — roughly eight hours door to door. The Andaman can be choppy, particularly in the May-to-October monsoon months; if you are prone to seasickness, take something before you board rather than after.

A national park entry fee is charged on arrival and is not included unless your booking says so. Bring reef-safe sun cream, a hat and a dry bag: there is no shade on an open deck and very little on the beaches. Wear something you can swim in under your clothes.

Itineraries move with the weather and with the park’s arrival windows, so the order of stops is decided on the day. In rough conditions the park or the operator may drop a stop or cancel the sailing outright.