Island Hopping Phuket

Island hopping in Phuket means a speedboat or big boat that stops at several islands in one day, and the two trips I tag for it start at $73. For all of the 12 trips I compared, including the Phang Nga Bay and Khai Islands days that also hop between islands, see my guide to boat tours in Phuket. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page.

My pick for island hopping in Phuket is the Discover Thailand James Bond and Panyi trip at $73: 9 to 10.5 hours, five island stops, canoeing and lunch, rated 4.6 from 18 reviews. I haven’t been on either boat, so I rely on the listings and review snippets, and with only 18 reviews I would read that rating as early evidence.

Island Hopping Phuket Thailand

Here are the two island hopping trips side by side, with the operator, price, length and what the listing says about the boat.

Trip	Operator	Price	Duration	Boat	Rating	Cancellation
James Bond and Panyi Island hopping	Discover Thailand	$73	9 to 10.5 hours	Speedboat or speed catamaran	4.6 (18)	Free up to 24 hours
Racha Island deep sea fishing cruise	Manta Marina	$104	7 hours	Not described	4.1 (24)	Free up to 24 hours

Discover Thailand

James Bond & Panyi Island Hopping Tour with Canoeing

• ★ 4.6 (18 reviews)
• 9 - 10.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: My pick for island hopping: five stops, canoeing and a Panyi lunch for $73. Early reviews only.

from

$73

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Manta Marina Co.,Ldt.

Deep Sea Fishing at Racha Island Boat Cruise

• ★ 4.1 (24 reviews)
• 7 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: One island, not five: Racha Island with fishing, lunch and swimming for $104. 4.1 from 24 reviews.

from

$104

Check availabilityRead my review

Island hopping in Phuket can mean either of these, and the two trips are very different. The Discover Thailand trip is a classic island hopping run in Phang Nga Bay, and the Manta Marina trip is a fishing cruise that turns around at Racha Island. If your goal is a different island every hour, only the first fits, and the second is the one to choose when you want a single island with a fishing line in the water.

Phuket Island Tours

On the Discover Thailand trip you meet at Laem Nga Pier at 8:15 am (free parking is available) or select hotel pickup in Phuket. The listing says the team greets you with coffee, tea and a light breakfast before a safety briefing. The stops follow in order: Panak Island for limestone caves and lagoons, James Bond Island for the filming location, Koh Panyi for a lunch buffet with vegetarian and halal options, Hong Island for canoeing with a local guide, and the Khai Islands.

You choose a speedboat or a bigger speed catamaran, and the listing says both follow the exact same itinerary. Included are the 300 baht national park fee, snacks all day, soft drinks, insurance and a snorkel mask. Drinks or activities sold by local vendors at the Khai Islands are paid in cash, and a photographer is optional at extra cost. That is a lot of island hopping in Phuket for 9 to 10.5 hours, and the itinerary gives 45 minutes each at Panak and James Bond Island, so expect short visits rather than long swims.

The Racha Island cruise from Manta Marina starts with hotel pickup and a transfer of about an hour, then 4 hours of marine life viewing and fishing, lunch on board at Racha Island, and free time for swimming. A reviewer said it was a great day out even though there was not much fishing or spinning time. Pickup in some areas costs 250 baht per person, and the north of the island and the airport cost 2,000 baht per van.

Phuket Island Trip

For a Phuket island hopping trip that is easy on the body, ask how much of the day is road. The Discover Thailand listing gives a van of about an hour, then a boat run of 40 minutes to Panak Island, so most of the day is on the water. The Thrilling Thai Tours longtail day, which I list among the Phang Nga Bay trips, has a van of 2.5 hours each way according to its itinerary, so a trip with the same number of islands feels very different.

Two other trips on my list hop between islands without carrying the island hopping tag. The Oh-Hoo big boat day at $47 (4.7 from 4,143 reviews) visits Panak Island, Ko Hong and James Bond Island from Ao Po Pier. The Khai Islands day at $23 visits three small islands, and I compare it on my snorkeling tour page. If you want to see how those compare with a private boat, my yacht charter page covers the yachts that sail the same bay.

Phuket Island Tour Packages

The phrase tour packages usually means a day with transfers and lunch bundled in. In my data that is true of both trips here. The Discover Thailand listing bundles the park fee, lunch, snacks and an optional hotel pickup, and the Manta Marina cruise bundles pickup, lunch, snacks, fruit, soft drinks, a guide and insurance. The extras are what differ: pickup fees outside the main areas on the Manta Marina cruise, and a photographer or vendor activities on the Discover Thailand trip.

Always check who the operator is in the booking details, because several operators sell almost the same route under different titles. Both of these listings give the operator name, and both have a free cancellation window, so you can compare dates before you commit.

Island Hopping Phuket Price

Island hopping in Phuket costs $73 to $104 on my two tagged trips, and the cheaper one has more stops. The extra $31 for the Racha Island cruise buys a deep sea fishing day, not more islands. Per hour of listed time, the Discover Thailand trip works out at about $7 to $8, and the Manta Marina cruise at about $15.

If price matters most, the Khai Islands snorkeling trips start at $23, and the Phang Nga Bay big boat is $47. Neither has the island hopping tag, but both stop at several islands. On the Discover Thailand trip the 300 baht park fee is included and pickup is an option you select, so ask what your hotel zone costs before you pay.

Island Hopping Phuket Package

A package with several stops is easier to plan than separate tickets, but the plan only works if the sea cooperates. Phuket is on the Andaman Sea, and the southwest monsoon, roughly May to October, brings rougher water, so operators may swap islands or cancel. The Thai Meteorological Department publishes marine forecasts at tmd.go.th and I would check it the evening before.

The Similan Islands, which are not part of either trip here, sit in a national park that closes for part of the year, so check the Department of National Parks before planning a trip there. Whichever island hopping trip in Phuket you book, confirm the pickup time and the meeting point, and read the cancellation cutoff.

How to Pick an Island Hopping Tour in Phuket

I’d pick by answering three questions. How many islands do you want? Five means the Discover Thailand trip. Do you want to fish? Then the Manta Marina cruise, or my fishing charter page for the other options. How much do you trust an early rating? The 18 reviews behind the $73 trip are positive, and a reviewer liked the free breakfast and the uncrowded boat, but I’d choose a date with free cancellation.

Also think about group size and ages. A long day of island hopping in Phuket means nine hours or more away from your hotel, with short stops on beaches and a lot of sitting on a boat. Families with small children may prefer the shorter Khai Islands day, and anyone prone to seasickness should note that a speedboat is faster but bouncier than the big boats in the bay.

For the full set of Phuket trips, including yachts, snorkeling and fishing, go back to every Phuket boat trip I compared on the Phuket boat tours hub, and for other places on my site start from the home page.

If you are still deciding, island hopping in Phuket is best booked on a calm-weather date, and an island hopping Phuket package with free cancellation lets you move it.