James Bond Island From Phuket

Most James Bond Island (Khao Phing Kan) tours from Phuket leave from three piers on the island’s north-east coast: Ao Po, Royal Phuket Marina and Boat Lagoon. A shared van brings you from your hotel, about an hour from Patong, Kata or Karon and less from Phuket Town. Prices start from $45 per person for Oh-Hoo’s big boat with canoeing, and every tour shows you Ko Ta Pu, the nail-shaped limestone pillar, from the beach, since no boat may land on it.

Which pier your tour uses

The pier decides your boat, so check it first. GetYourGuide files tours by where they are sold, not where they start, so read the meeting point and itinerary.

• Ao Po (Ao Por) Pier is the big-boat base. Oh-Hoo’s big boat and canoe tour, the Thai Tourism Company’s big boat with Ko Hong and Amazing Canoeing’s canoe day board here, as do the afternoon twilight canoe trips.
• Royal Phuket Marina is where Oh-Hoo’s speedboat tour leaves after a safety briefing.
• Boat Lagoon serves Go Adventures’ six-island speedboat, Delight Tours’ speedboat with two meals and Discova’s afternoon plankton and sea canoe tour.
• Longtail tours skip these piers. Thrilling Thai Tours’ longtail and Monkey Cave day drives north to the Phang Nga side of the bay and stops at the Wat Suwan Khuha cave temple before you board.

How long the van ride takes from each beach

From Phuket Town, Ao Po is about 32 km (20 miles) by road, roughly 30 to 45 minutes. From Patong, Kata or Karon it is about 49 km (30 miles), roughly an hour to an hour and a quarter, because those beaches are on the west coast. Shared vans stop at several hotels, so whoever is collected first rides longest.

Listings give their own figures. Oh-Hoo allows 45 minutes to an hour to Ao Po, the Boat Lagoon speedboats about 45 minutes, and the Thai Tourism Company about 1.5 hours. The longtail route is the longest: Thrilling Thai Tours lists up to 2.5 hours each way, though one reviewer from Patong said it took about an hour and a half.

Pickup windows differ too. Go Adventures collects between 07:00 and 08:00, Thrilling Thai Tours between 07:00 and 09:00, and Oh-Hoo’s speedboat later, roughly 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. Check your zone: Oh-Hoo’s big boat does not collect from Nai Thon, Nai Yang, Mai Khao, Cape Panwa or Layan, and Thrilling Thai Tours charges 200 THB in cash outside Patong, Kata and Karon. Our where to stay page covers which bases suit an early van.

Boat choices from Phuket

A two-deck big boat is slow and steady, with shade and room to move, and the canoes are launched from it with a crew paddler. A speedboat fits in more islands, usually with lunch on Ko Panyi (Koh Panyee), the stilt village, but it is bumpy when the sea is choppy. A longtail is a narrow wooden boat with a car engine on a pole: loud, low to the water and used for short crossings from the Phang Nga side. For a late start, the afternoon canoe tours return after dark, and our plankton tour page compares them. The speed boat and longtail pages go deeper on each boat.

Phuket tours compared

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Dates and prices checked November 2026.

The price ladder, from $45 to $154

The cheapest James Bond Island excursion from Phuket in our list is Oh-Hoo’s big boat, from $45 per person from Patong, Kata and Karon and about $55 from Kamala, Rawai and Nai Harn. Thrilling Thai Tours’ longtail day starts from $46 and the Thai Tourism Company from $48. All three leave the national park fee to you: 300 THB per adult (about $9) and 150 THB per child, usually in cash.

The next step up buys speed. Oh-Hoo’s speedboat starts from $59, fee still extra, while Delight Tours (from $76) and Go Adventures (from $80) include the fee, so the real gap is smaller than it looks. Amazing Canoeing’s canoe-focused big boat is from $96, fee extra. At the top, Discova’s plankton tour costs from $123, or $127 with hotel transfer, and the glow is not guaranteed. SEANERY’s luxury sunset cruise starts from $154, first bookable on 1 December 2026, and returns late after sunset. Our entrance fee guide explains how the fee is collected.

What the $45 day looks like, and its drawbacks

Oh-Hoo’s big boat is our featured Phuket pick because it is the cheapest tour we review and the most-reviewed GetYourGuide listing in our data, at 4.7 from 4,190+ reviews. After the van to Ao Po and a safety briefing, crew paddlers take you by canoe through the caves and lagoon of Ko Panak, then Ko Hong in Phang Nga Bay, about an hour at each. Lunch is a buffet on board, then the beach at Khao Phing Kan.

The drawbacks are real. The day runs about 10 hours, and one reviewer found the van cramped. You reach James Bond Island after lunch, while plenty of other boats are still there, since most arrive around the middle of the day. The park fee is cash on top, and the tour is not suitable for pregnant travelers or people with heart problems, high blood pressure or mobility impairments. Read our review for the full picture.

Not staying in Phuket?

Khao Lak and Krabi have their own departures, with longer drives and shorter boat legs: see tours from Khao Lak and tours from Krabi. To go it alone, read how to get to James Bond Island, or compare every James Bond Island day trip on one page.

Ready to pick a date? Check availability for the big boat from Ao Po.