James Bond Island Longtail Tour

A James Bond Island longtail boat tour drives you to a pier on the Phang Nga side of the bay and crosses to the islands in a longtail: a narrow wooden boat with a car engine on a pole. It is loud and rides close to the water, but the crossings are short. From Phuket, the most-reviewed longtail listing we track is Thrilling Thai Tours’ James Bond Island Longtail Boat, Sea Canoe & Monkey Cave Tour, from $46 per person and rated 4.8 from 2,530+ reviews. It pairs the longtail with a cave temple, lunch on Ko Panyi and about 90 minutes on James Bond Island (Khao Phing Kan), facing Ko Ta Pu, the nail-shaped limestone pillar.

Longtail tours compared

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Prices and dates were checked November 2026.

What a longtail ride is like

You sit low in an open wooden hull, close to the water, with the engine loud at the stern. The Khao Lak listings warn you to expect some spray, so keep your phone in a bag and wear clothes that can get wet. The upside is the view: you pass through mangroves and between limestone towers at water level, and the legs between stops are short. On the Thrilling Thai itinerary the run to Ko Panyi is about 20 minutes and the hop to the canoe site about 15.

Life jackets are listed on the Thrilling Thai tour and the Krabi longtail. The Khao Lak listings do not mention them, so ask when you book. Bigcountry Andaman’s tour is not suitable for pregnant women, people with back problems or wheelchair users, and the Krabi longtail also rules out back problems and wheelchairs.

Why longtails leave from the Phang Nga side

These tours drive to a pier on the Phang Nga mainland and start close to the islands, which keeps the time in an open boat short. Koh Tour’s Krabi longtail names Surakul Pier, and longtail and speedboat tours also use Tha Dan pier, about 4 to 6 km (2.5 to 3.7 miles) south of Phang Nga town. Most of the listings here do not name their pier at all.

The catch for Phuket guests is the road. Phuket’s own piers are on the north-east coast, so a longtail tour from Patong or Karon drives north and round to the Phang Nga side first. The Thrilling Thai listing allows up to 2.5 hours each way; one reviewer from Patong said it took about an hour and a half, and another called it a two-hour bus transfer. From Khao Lak the drive is about an hour, and from Ao Nang about 80 minutes. If you want less time in a van from Phuket, the Phuket page covers the big boats and speedboats from Ao Po and Boat Lagoon.

The cave temple stop

Three of the four longtail days stop at Wat Suwan Khuha, the Monkey Cave temple about 10 km (6 miles) from Phang Nga town, with a golden reclining Buddha in the cave and monkeys around the entrance. Bigcountry Andaman includes the entry fee; elsewhere it is a small charge, about 20 THB, if one is asked. Cover shoulders and knees; one Khao Lak listing bans short skirts and sleeveless shirts. Khao Lak Land Discovery lists “a local temple” with a chance to see wild monkeys, and one reviewer said the group saw the caves next to the temple, not the temple itself.

Longtails from Khao Lak

Bigcountry Andaman’s Khao Lak longtail tour is the most-reviewed Khao Lak longtail, rated 4.7 from 2,420+ reviews and from $73 per person. You land on Khao Phing Kan’s beach, sit back for a short canoe trip among the rocks, eat lunch on Ko Panyi (Koh Panyee), the stilt village, and visit the cave temple. The listing does not say whether the park fee is included, so check before you go, and drinks are not listed. Read our Khao Lak longtail review.

Khao Lak Land Discovery’s Longtail Boat Sightseeing Tour is the only shared longtail with a stated cap: 12 participants. Your guide paddles the canoe and lunch is on Ko Panyi. Its listing only says you “arrive near” James Bond Island and see Ko Ta Pu, so do not count on a landing. It costs more, from $86 per person, and its first bookable date when we checked was 15 November 2026. For a canoe-led longtail day with the park fee included, LOVE KHAOLAK HOLIDAY’s canoe trip uses a longtail from the pier its listing calls Ngop-Ko Tapu. The Khao Lak page compares all of them.

A longtail from Krabi

Koh Tour’s Krabi longtail tour picks up in Ao Nang, Ao Nam Mao, Krabi Town, Khlong Muang and Tub Kaek, stops at Wat Suwan Khuha, then takes a longtail from Surakul Pier to James Bond Island for about 45 minutes and to Ko Panyi for lunch, and finishes with a swim at a jungle waterfall. The park fee is included, from $66 per person. Kayaking at Lod Cave is a separate option, it has fewer reviews (4.4 from 60+), and one reviewer called the island touristy. See the Krabi page.

Small group and private longtails

Only one shared longtail here caps its group. TripGuru’s “small group” longtail sold only private options at about $181 per person on the dates we checked, so it is not the budget choice its title suggests. Private longtail charters exist but are outside this comparison.

Longtail, speed boat or sea canoe

Choose a longtail if you want short crossings and a day on the water at eye level, and do not mind noise. Choose a speed boat for more islands, or a sea canoe tour for longer paddles in the hongs. Our guide to the island stop covers what you can do there and how busy it gets, and you can compare every James Bond Island day trip on the homepage.

Ready for the Phang Nga side? Check dates for the longtail and Monkey Cave tour.