Phuket to Krabi by boat and road, with two nights on Railay, a day in the Phang Nga hongs and a private longtail to Phi Phi before the fleet arrives.
Andaman Islands & Longtail Bays is an 8-day private trip through Phuket and Krabi built around boats rather than temples, from $1,290 per person. It suits couples and friends who would rather spend the money on a private longtail than on entrance fees.
Phuket to Krabi by boat and road, with two nights on Railay, a day in the Phang Nga hongs and a private longtail to Phi Phi before the fleet arrives.
Best for: Couples and friends who want boats more than temples. The route runs Phuket · Krabi. Everything below is a starting point: hotels can be upgraded or simplified, days can be added, and any element can be removed.
The trip uses Phuket as an arrival point and then moves to Krabi, which has better access to the best water in the country. Three of the eight days are on boats — Phang Nga's hongs, the Phi Phi group at sunrise, and the four islands near Railay — and each is chartered privately rather than shared, which is the difference between 40 people on a speedboat and six on a longtail that leaves at 6:30am.
The rest of the time is deliberately slow. There is a day on Railay with no schedule, a morning at Phuket Old Town, and an evening at a night market. The point of the trip is the water and the light on the limestone, and that requires being out early rather than seeing one more temple.
Transfer to the west coast, sunset on Kata beach and dinner by the water.
Sea kayak through the lagoons with a local guide, timed to the tide.
Leave at 5:30am by private longtail; Maya Bay before the speedboats, back for lunch.
Drive east with a stop at Khao Khanab Nam, afternoon free in Ao Nang.
Longtail to Railay West, walk to Phra Nang, overnight on the peninsula.
Private longtail circuit with the sandbar at low tide, snorkelling off Chicken Island.
Emerald Pool early, then Tiger Cave Temple if the legs allow.
Transfer to Krabi airport.
Two hotel changes, both short. The boat days start at 6:30am and finish by 2pm, leaving the afternoon free. There is one full day with nothing scheduled on Railay, which most people use for climbing or doing nothing.
$1,290 per person is based on private · 2–6 travellers sharing a room for 8 days, with mid-range four-star hotels as standard. Nothing is added locally: the entrance fees, boats and guiding are already in the number.
Deposit is 20% to confirm, balance 30 days before arrival. Free changes up to 45 days out.
From $1,290 per person, based on private · 2–6 travellers, 8 days and 7 nights. The quote includes the hotels, guiding and transport listed under “What’s included”; international flights and travel insurance are not included.
Yes. Every itinerary on this site is a starting point. Days can be added or removed, hotels upgraded or simplified, and the route reordered around your dates — we re-cost it as many times as you need before you commit.
Not included: international flights, diving courses. Everything else listed under “What’s included” is in the quote, and we do not add local payments on arrival.
Three to six months ahead for the best hotels, and by September for travel over Christmas and New Year. Green-season trips can usually be arranged with six weeks’ notice.
No. Life jackets are provided and all the boat stops are in shallow, calm water. The one exception is the Phi Phi crossing, which can be choppy in the shoulder season.
Longtails are slower but you can enter shallow lagoons and hongs that speedboats cannot, and they carry six people instead of thirty. They are also cheaper to charter for a full day.
Bay & islands
Forty limestone islands rising out of green water, with hidden lagoons (hongs), mangrove channels and the famous…
Islands
Six islands of limestone and turquoise water, two hours by boat from Phuket, with Maya Bay at the centre.…
Beach
A peninsula cut off by limestone cliffs, reached only by longtail, with three beaches and world-class rock climb…
Island hopping
The classic Krabi boat circuit: Chicken Island, Tup Island, Poda and Phra Nang, linked by sandbars at low tide.…
Nature
A spring-fed emerald pool in the jungle, with the 1,260-step Tiger Cave Temple nearby for the view.…
Temple
1,260 steps to a golden Buddha on a limestone outcrop, with a 360° view over Krabi's karst landscape.…
“Six of us on a longtail at 6:30am while forty people queued for the speedboat is the whole review. We were at Maya Bay with maybe twenty people and left as the first speedboat arrived. Worth every extra euro.”
“Excellent water days. Railay was the surprise — we climbed for the first time and the guide found us a beginner wall that was actually beginner. Docking a star only because the Krabi hotel was a ten-minute walk from anywhere and it rained both afternoons.”
