Phang Nga Bay & James Bond Island
Forty limestone islands rising out of green water, with hidden lagoons (hongs), mangrove channels and the famous balanced rock.
Phang Nga Bay is the limestone-karst bay between Phuket and the mainland, famous for James Bond Island and the floating Muslim village of Koh Panyee. A full-day boat trip from Phuket costs from about 2,200 baht and includes lunch, kayaking and hotel transfers.
Open Phang Nga Bay & James Bond Island in Google Maps8.2747, 98.5010
Ao Phang Nga park fee THB 300 extra
Entry fee checked against operator or park publication, October 2026. Hours can change without notice — confirm on the day.
Forty limestone islands rising out of green water, with hidden lagoons (hongs), mangrove channels and the famous balanced rock.
The bay's 40-odd islands are the eroded remains of a limestone reef that is 260 million years old, honeycombed with caves and collapsed chambers called hongs. Khao Phing Kan became 'James Bond Island' after The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed there in 1974, and it has been overwhelmed ever since. The stilted village of Koh Panyee, founded by Malay fishing families around 200 years ago, is the more interesting stop.
The hongs are the reason to come — you paddle through a cave at low tide into a lagoon open to the sky. James Bond Island is crowded; the hongs are not.
What you’ll actually see
- Sea canoeing through a hong — a collapsed cave open to the sky, ringed by jungle
- Koh Panyee, the floating village, and its football pitch built on stilts
- The leaning rocks of Khao Phing Kan, better known as James Bond Island
- Mangrove channels near the mainland, where monitor lizards and kingfishers are common
How to visit it well
- Choose a sea-kayak trip over a speedboat tour; you see more and disturb less.
- Tides decide the route — a good operator schedules around them.
- Bring a dry bag and reef-safe sunscreen.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Taking a speedboat that piles on 40 people and rushes every stop
- Arriving at James Bond Island after 10:30am when every boat in the province is there
- Skipping the kayaking — the hongs are the actual experience
Is it worth it?
Worth doing, but pay for a small boat. The bay is genuinely spectacular and the sea canoeing through hongs is unlike anything else in Thailand. A 40-person speedboat reduces it to a conveyor belt; a private longtail or a small-group trip is a completely different day.
Common questions
From about 2,200 baht per person on a shared speedboat with lunch and transfers. A private longtail for four to six people is around 8,000–10,000 baht for the day.
As a photograph, yes; as an experience, no. It is small, crowded and takes 30 minutes. The kayaking and Koh Panyee are better.
Yes, and it is closer — about 45 minutes by speedboat from Ao Nang versus 90 from Phuket's east coast.
November to April. In the monsoon season (May–October) trips run but are often cancelled for wind.
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Last updated: October 2026 · Prices and hours checked by Nattapong Srisuwan