Phuket sits in the middle of a crowded bit of sea. Within an hour by speedboat there are limestone islands with no roads, sandbars that disappear at high tide, and reefs where the water stays clear even in July. Most of them can be done as a day trip from one of three piers: Rassada near Phuket Town, Chalong in the south, and Bang Rong on the north-east coast. Below are the seven islands I would pick first, with the practical part for each: how you get there, what it costs, and if there is anywhere to sleep on the island at all.
One general note. Tours from Phuket almost always include hotel pickup, and the pickup adds an hour or more each way if your hotel is in Patong or Kamala. If you plan two or three island trips in a week, staying on the east coast or near Chalong saves a lot of early mornings.
1. Phi Phi Islands
Phi Phi is the classic, and it earns the crowds. Ferries leave Rassada Pier at around 8:30 and 13:30 and take two hours; a speedboat cuts that to under an hour but costs more and gets bumpy from May to October. Phi Phi Don is the only inhabited island of the group. Its village between Tonsai and Loh Dalum bays is wall-to-wall guesthouses, dive shops and bars. Laem Tong beach at the northern tip is the quiet end, reached by longtail only, and that is where the resorts like Zeavola sit.
Phi Phi Leh, the smaller uninhabited island, is where the boats go for Maya Bay. Since the 2022 reopening you land at a back pier on Loh Samah Bay and walk across; swimming in Maya Bay itself is not allowed, and the bay closes entirely in August and September. National park entry is 400 baht, about $11, paid in cash on arrival and usually not included in the tour price. A Phi Phi day trip from Phuket normally covers Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and Viking Cave, with a snorkel stop off Bamboo Island. If you only care about the bay itself, a shorter Maya Bay early-morning boat gets you there before the main wave of speedboats arrives around 10.
Where to sleep the night before: anywhere near Rassada Pier. The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa is on Koh Siray, ten minutes from the pier, with its own strip of quiet beach facing the bay. Barcelo Coconut Island is on Koh Maphrao, a small island of its own off the east coast; the hotel shuttle boat from Laem Hin pier takes five minutes and runs until late.
2. Similan Islands
Technically the Similans belong to Phang Nga province, not Phuket, and the boats leave from Thap Lamu pier near Khao Lak. From a Phuket hotel that means a pickup at 5:30 or 6:00, a 90-minute minivan ride north, then another 70 minutes by speedboat. Long day, but the reef is in a different league from anything closer to Phuket. Visibility of 25 to 30 metres is normal in February. Nine granite islands, huge rounded boulders above and below the water, and a good chance of turtles at Koh Miang.
Two rules to know. The park is open only from mid-October to mid-May and is fully closed for the rest of the year. And since 2018 nobody is allowed to sleep on the islands; the old tent camp and bungalows on Koh Miang are gone. If you want more than one day on these reefs, a live-aboard dive boat out of Khao Lak is the only option. Park entry is 500 baht (roughly $14) and is paid separately. Day-trip prices from Phuket sit around $100 to $130 including transfer, lunch and snorkel gear; a Similan Islands snorkelling trip with a smaller boat is worth the extra $20, because the big boats hit the same three bays at the same time.
3. Racha Islands
Racha Yai lies 12 km south of Phuket, 30 to 40 minutes by speedboat from Chalong pier. On maps it also appears as Raya. Patok Bay on the west side is the main beach, a horseshoe of white sand with water clear enough to watch fish from the boat. Divers come here for the easy sites at 15 to 20 metres and use it as a training ground; if you are doing an Open Water course on Phuket, this is probably where your first sea dives will be. Racha Noi, the second island, is uninhabited and deeper, so it is a stop for divers rather than a beach day.
There are a handful of resorts on Racha Yai, with The Racha at the top end and a few simple bungalows behind Patok and Siam bays. The island gets quiet after 15:00 when the day boats leave. Most people still visit on a Racha and Coral Island combined trip from Chalong, which is a sensible pairing because both are in the same direction. Sleeping on Phuket for this one is easy: Chalong and Rawai are 15 minutes from the pier, and any hotel in the south of the island works.
4. Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi
These two sit in the middle of Phang Nga Bay, roughly halfway between Phuket and Krabi. Boats go from Bang Rong pier on Phuket’s north-east coast: a longtail takes about 45 minutes, a speedboat 25, and the fare is a few hundred baht. Both islands are Muslim fishing communities with rubber plantations, and life runs at a very different speed from Patong. Koh Yao Noi, the smaller one, has most of the hotels, from $20 bungalows to Six Senses. Koh Yao Yai is larger, emptier, and has the better beaches on its west side, including Laem Had with its long sandbar.
This is the one island pair on this list that rewards staying at least two nights. Rent a scooter for 250 baht a day, ride the coastal road, and take a longtail out to the karst islands nearby, which are the same ones the crowded James Bond Island tours visit, minus the crowds. Ferries also continue from here to Krabi and Ao Nang, so it works as a stop on the way east rather than a round trip.
5. Coral Island (Koh Hae)
Koh Hae is the easy one: 15 minutes by speedboat from Chalong or Rawai, which makes it the standard half-day trip and a good choice with children. Two beaches. Long Beach faces Phuket and takes the day-tour traffic, with sunbeds, parasailing and banana boats. Banana Beach on the other side is smaller and calmer, and the snorkelling over the shallow reef right off the sand is better than at Long Beach. Fish here are used to being fed, so expect them to swim up to you.
There is a single resort on the island and nothing else in the way of accommodation, so almost everyone comes and goes the same day. Tours from Phuket cost from $25 for a half day, more with lunch and a Racha add-on. If you want to see the island without a group, longtail captains at Rawai beach will take you over for about 1,500 baht per boat return and wait for you.
6. Koh Khai Islands
Three specks of sand east of Phuket: Koh Khai Nok, Koh Khai Nai and Koh Khai Nui. Khai Nok is the largest, and you can walk around it in ten minutes. Boats leave from Laem Hin or Ao Po piers and take about 20 minutes. The draw is the water, which is shallow, calm and full of fish even a few metres from the beach, so it suits people who have never snorkelled before. Between 10:00 and 14:00 the islet fills up with speedboats doing the Phi Phi return leg, so a dedicated Koh Khai islands half-day tour that gets you there by 9 is a much better experience than the same stop at midday.
There are no hotels on any of the three islands, only a couple of beach restaurants and sunbed rentals on Khai Nok. Bring cash for the sunbeds (around 100 to 200 baht) and for the national park fee collectors who appear on some days.
7. Koh Bon
Koh Bon is the island you can see from Rawai beach, 10 to 15 minutes away by longtail. No tour buses, no pier, no hotels. One side belongs to a private resort’s beach club; the other has a small public beach and a restaurant serving grilled fish and som tam at normal Phuket prices. The reef in front is modest but fine for an hour with a mask, and the whole trip takes half a day at most.
Longtails at Rawai charge around 1,000 to 1,200 baht per boat for the return trip with a wait; agree the pick-up time before you leave. For this one, stay in Rawai or Nai Harn and walk to the boats. Rawai itself is a good base for the whole southern half of this list, since Chalong pier is ten minutes up the road and the seafood market on the beach makes up for the lack of a swimming beach.
