Phi Phi and Maya Bay from Phuket: Routes, Inclusions, Closed Season
6 min read
The Phi Phi day trip carries more reviews than anything else on GetYourGuide for Phuket, and the listings are close to indistinguishable from the outside. The prices cluster in the low thirties, every title contains Maya Bay, and the photographs are interchangeable. What separates them is the route – how many stops, in what order, and whether the boat stops at Khai island on the way back or not.
Check the current page before you pay; operators change routes between seasons.
First: is Maya Bay open on your dates?
Maya Bay closes for its annual conservation break every year from 1 August to 30 September and reopens on 1 October. Day trips to Phi Phi keep running through those two months – the boat views the bay from the water rather than landing on the beach. If Maya Bay is the reason you are going, that is the whole trip; if you wanted Phi Phi generally, it changes one stop out of six.
Even outside the closure, landing there is not what most people expect. Since the 2022 reopening the arrangement has been: boats do not enter the bay itself but moor at Loh Samah Bay on the back of the island, a floating walkway leads across to the beach, swimming in the cove is not permitted – wading ankle-deep is – and visits are capped by time and by the number of people ashore at once. Operators describe these rules consistently, but they are set by the park and have changed before. Ask your operator what is current for your date rather than assuming the photograph on the listing still applies.
The routes, side by side
| Listing | From | Stated duration | Stars / reviews | What the route adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya, Phi Phi and Bamboo Island with buffet lunch | €37.87 | 8 hours | 4.6 / 21,439 | Bamboo Island, Viking Cave viewed from the boat |
| Phi Phi Islands and Maya Bay day trip | €33.99 | 8 hours | 4.3 / 4,169 | Monkey Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Khai Island, three meals, SUP board |
| Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai Island | €34.89 | 8 hours | 4.3 / 2,170 | Pileh Lagoon, beach time, Khai on the return |
| Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai with pier or hotel meeting | €37.21 | listed 1–2 days | 4.4 / 2,135 | Choice between meeting at the pier and shared hotel pickup |
| Phi Phi and Bamboo premium with seaview lunch | €93.41 | 9 hours | 4.8 / 1,979 | Beach time at Bamboo and Maya, lunch by the sea |
| Phi Phi sunrise trip to Bamboo and Khai | €98.46 | 9 hours | 4.9 / 1,709 | Early departure, Monkey Beach, buffet lunch |
Read that table by the right-hand column rather than the left. The €31.31 listing visits more places than the €37.87 one; the €37.87 one has five times as many reviews. Neither fact makes it the better day for you.
What the price pattern on GetYourGuide actually shows
Across these six listings, the two most expensive ones carry the highest ratings – 4.8 and 4.9 stars against 4.3 for the two cheapest. That pattern holds up across the wider set of Phi Phi listings we track, and the likeliest explanation is not boat quality but timing and group size. The premium and sunrise departures leave earlier and reach Maya Bay before the main wave of boats; the budget departures arrive when everyone else does.
This is an observation from listing data, not a promise. A 4.3-star average across 4,420 reviews is a perfectly good day out, and the difference in price is roughly €70 per person – for a family of four, the cost of a second excursion. If crowds are what would spoil your day, the early departure is where your money goes furthest. If they are not, the pattern is not worth paying for.
The costs that are not in the headline price
The national park fee is the big one. Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park covers Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh and Bamboo Island. For the islands the rate is 400 THB for foreign adults and 200 THB for foreign children, and divers pay a 200 THB supplement on the first diving day. The 200 and 100 THB some listings and operators quote is the rate for the mainland part of the same park near Krabi, and it does not apply out here. It is normally collected in cash before boarding. Ask whether it is included – read the inclusions and exclusions on the booking page; it can add more than a quarter to a €31 ticket.
Then read the meal line carefully. “Buffet lunch” on Phi Phi Don and “seaview lunch” are not the same arrangement. Drinks beyond what is stated, and tips, are generally extra.
When this is the wrong trip
If anyone in your group is prone to seasickness, understand the shape of the day before booking. This is an open crossing, roughly two hours by ferry from Rassada Pier and considerably less by speedboat, done twice, with several transfers between boat and shore in between. On a day with swell it is an uncomfortable eight hours with no way to leave early. The closer islands exist precisely for this case: our Khai islands guide covers a 15-minute crossing, and the Coral and Racha comparison sets a shorter day against this one.
Note also that some Phi Phi listings depart from Phi Phi, not from Phuket – a private longtail tour of Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon starting at €91.56 is aimed at people already staying on the islands. If you are based in Phuket, check the departure point in the listing before the price.
If you are choosing between boat types rather than routes, our speedboat or catamaran comparison is the next article to read. For the wider picture of how a Phi Phi day fits into a week on the island, see what to see in Phuket, and compare the full set on the island tours page or the snorkelling listings.
