JC
Fantastic Hong Islands trip on the speedboat—fast, smooth, and well-organized Rating: 5 / 5 Stars (or your preferred rating) Pros: Speedboat Advantage: Taking the speedboat got us out to the Hong Islands quickly and comfortably, leaving plenty of time on the beach and in the water instead of wasting time in transit. Incredible Scenery: Hong Island, the emerald lagoon, and the surrounding limestone karst islands are stunning. The 360° viewpoint climb is a workout, but the panoramic views at the top are worth every step. Great Tour Crew: The Krabi Sunset Tours team was well-organized, friendly, and kept everything moving smoothly from hotel pickup to drop-off. Beating the Morning Crowds: The schedule worked out great for enjoying the beaches without the heavy peak-morning crowds. Cons: Steep Steps to Viewpoint: The climb to the 360° viewpoint is hot and steep, so proper shoes/sandals (not flimsy flip-flops) are recommended. Summary: A top-notch island tour in Krabi. The speedboat makes the journey effortless, the sights are world-class, and Krabi Sunset Tours delivered a seamless, memorable day. Highly recommended!
Henri Baumgärtner
Outstanding experience. Went on a traditional boat tour to hong island and we ended up with a fantastic guide and only 2 others on our boat. Only thing you could „complain“ about is that there will be other boats from other company’s too and it might get crowded.
Jimmy De groof
We hadden een fantastische 4 eilanden tour gehad. Met een goede gids. Onze kinderen hebben van de speedboat genoten en het eiland hoppen. Alles liep zeer vlot en was prachtig verlopen
Wilfred Bouw
Het was een zeer goed verzorgde excursie, vanaf het oppikken bij het hotel, tot aan de boot tot aan het eten, alles was netjes geregeld.. Absolute topdag gehad en een echte aanrader!
Gérard Michaud
Très bonne organisation, guide efficace. Découverte des îles mais tour limité qui laisse de la place pour le snorkeling. Bon repas.
The first choice every Hong Islands visitor makes. Crossing times, island counts, prices and who each boat actually suits, from the operator that runs both.
Almost everyone booking a Hong Islands day trip has to answer this first: longtail or speedboat. We run both from Nopparat Thara pier, so here is the straight comparison, including the numbers our own booking system charges.
Take the longtail if you want the slower, quieter, more characterful day and you do not mind seeing one island fewer. Take the speedboat if you want the most islands, the most time in the water, and the option to kayak into the lagoon. Most couples and older travellers prefer the longtail. Most first-time visitors who only have one day in Krabi are better served by the speedboat.
| Longtail | Speedboat | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult price | 1,245 THB | 1,395 THB |
| Child price (4 to 11) | 1,045 THB | 1,195 THB |
| Crossing from the pier | About 40 minutes | About 20 minutes |
| Day length | 8 hours 30 minutes | 9 hours |
| Islands visited | 4, plus Koh Rai when conditions allow | 5 |
| Kayaking in the lagoon | Not offered | Optional, paid on the day |
| National park fee | 300 THB adult, paid in cash on arrival | 300 THB adult, paid in cash on arrival |
| Guest rating | 4.7 from 60 reviews | 4.6 from 55 reviews |
The price gap is 150 THB per adult, which is not the deciding factor for most people. The 20 minutes each way is.
A speedboat saves roughly 40 minutes of travel across the day, and that time goes straight back into island time. It is why the speedboat tour fits five islands into its day (Hong Island, Hong Lagoon, Pakbia, Lao Lading and Lao Ka) while the longtail does four, and why you get longer at each snorkelling stop rather than shorter ones.
The counter-argument is that the crossing on a longtail is not dead time. You sit low to the water in an open wooden boat with the limestone cliffs coming up ahead of you, and a lot of guests tell us afterwards that the ride was their favourite part. On a speedboat you are moving too fast to look at much.
Neither boat is a luxury vessel. A longtail is an open boat with a canvas roof and a loud engine, and you will get sun, wind and some spray. A speedboat is faster, drier and firmer, which is better on a breezy day and worse if the sea is choppy, because you feel every wave as a bump rather than a roll.
If anyone in your group is prone to seasickness, the honest advice is that the longtail's slower roll suits most people better than a speedboat's impact, but the speedboat gets the crossing over with faster. Either way, take a tablet an hour before pickup and sit toward the middle of the boat.
Longtail groups are smaller. That is a function of the boat: fewer seats means fewer people at the beach with you when you arrive, and less waiting when the group moves. Speedboats carry more people and run to a tighter schedule because they have more stops to fit in.
If what you want is the Hong Islands with as few other people as possible, neither joined tour is the real answer. A private longtail starts at 5,290 THB for the whole boat for up to five people, which works out cheaper per head than the joined tour once you are a group of five, and the day runs entirely on your schedule.
Both tours go to the lagoon, and both are governed by the same thing: the tide. The entrance is a narrow gap in the cliff, and the workable window is mid-tide, roughly two to three hours either side of high water. At the top of the tide the gap is too low to pass safely, and at the bottom there is exposed rock in the way. Captains build the day around that window, which is why the running order changes from day to day. The tides guide has a live chart if you want to check your date.
The one real difference is kayaking. Only the speedboat tour offers kayaks, added on the day, two people to a boat. Paddling in through the gap is the quietest way to arrive and the best angle on the cliffs. If that matters to you, it settles the choice.
Book the longtail if: you want a slower day, you are travelling as a couple or a small family, the boat ride itself appeals to you, or you would rather have fewer people around than more stops.
Book the speedboat if: you have one day in Krabi and want the most out of it, snorkelling is the priority, you want to kayak into the lagoon, or the forecast is breezy.
Book neither if: you want to combine the Hong Islands with the 4 Islands in a single day. That is the 9 Islands tour at 2,990 THB, and it is the only tour on our site with the national park fees already included in the price.
Prices, ages and timings checked September 2026 against our live booking system. Tour prices can change, and the live listing is always the authority.
If snorkelling time or the number of islands matters to you, yes. You get an extra island, longer at each stop and the kayak option for 150 THB more per adult. If you want the calmer day and the ride itself, the longtail is the better tour, not the cheaper compromise.
The longtail, in most cases. It is slower, the day is a little shorter, and the smaller group means less waiting around. Both tours take children from age 4 at the child rate and carry infants aged 2 to 3 free, and both provide child-size life vests.
Yes. Every Hong Islands tour we run includes the lagoon. How you enter depends on the tide on the day rather than which boat you are on, and only the speedboat tour offers kayaks for the crossing into it.
No. On both tours the Than Bok Khorani National Park fee is paid in cash at the islands: 300 THB per adult and 150 THB per child aged 4 to 11. The one tour where it is already included is the 9 Islands combo.
The longtail day is shorter overall at 8 hours 30 minutes against 9 hours, despite the slower boat, because it has one stop fewer. Most longtail guests are back at their hotel between 16:30 and 17:00.
