Hong Islands Tour by Longtail Boat

No. The Than Bok Khorani National Park entry fee is paid at the islands and is not part of the tour price. It is 300 baht per adult and 150 baht per child aged 4 to 11, in cash. Bring it with you: there is no card machine at the park and no ATM on the islands.

No. You book online and pay on the day of the tour, so nothing is charged when you reserve your seats. Bring cash for the tour price and for the national park fee if it is not already included.

Pickup is from your hotel and it is included from Ao Nang, Railay, Klong Muang, Tub Kaek, Krabi Town and Nopparat Thara, from 07:30 depending on your area. Give us your hotel name and room number when you book and we send the exact time the day before. If you are staying outside those areas, message us before booking and we will tell you whether we can reach you.

Nearly always, because we plan the day around the tide rather than the clock. The entrance is a narrow gap in the cliff, and it works best at mid-tide, roughly two to three hours either side of high water. At the top of the tide the gap gets too low to pass safely, and at the bottom there is exposed rock in the way. Your captain knows the tide times for your date and builds the running order around them, which is why the order of the stops changes from day to day. There is a live tide chart on our tides guide if you want to check your date before booking.

Yes. Children aged 4 to 11 pay 1,045 baht and infants aged 2 to 3 travel free. Life vests come in child sizes, the beaches are shallow and calm, and an adult must travel with every child. Bring a hat, a rash vest and reef-safe sunscreen: the boat has shade but the beaches have very little.

No. Life vests are provided and worn in the water at every stop, and the guide stays with the group. The beaches at Pakbia and Hong Island shelve gently, so non-swimmers and small children can stand in the shallows.

Yes. The Thai-style lunch has halal and vegetarian options, and we can work around most allergies. Tell us when you book, or message us afterwards, so the kitchen has it in writing before the day.

No, it is optional and plenty of people skip it. It is a steep staircase of a little over 400 steps to the top of Hong Island, with handrails most of the way, and it takes about 30 minutes up. If you sit it out you stay on the beach with the rest of the group and lose nothing else from the day.

The longtail is the slower, quieter day. It takes about 40 minutes to reach the islands instead of 20, carries fewer people, and stops at four islands rather than five. You spend more of the day watching the cliffs go past and less of it moving between stops. The speedboat suits people who want to cover the most ground; the longtail suits people who want the ride to be part of the day.

The tour runs in light rain, which is common and passes quickly. The decision that matters is the sea state, not the sky: if the port authority closes the pier or the captain judges the crossing unsafe, we contact you to move the tour to another date or refund you in full. We never send a boat out in conditions we would not take our own families out in.

Swimwear worn under your clothes, a towel, a hat, sunglasses, reef-safe sunscreen, and cash for the park fee and anything you buy on the day. Mask, snorkel and life vest are provided. A dry bag is worth having: longtail boats take spray, and phones and cameras are the things people lose.

Yes. Cancelling or moving your booking to another date is free up to 24 hours before the tour starts, and anything you have paid is refunded in full. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time are non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded. If we have to cancel, for example for weather or safety, you can move to another date or take a full refund.

To keep the ride safe, this tour is not suitable for pregnant women. If that could apply to anyone in your group, contact us before booking and we will help you find a better fit.