Koh Hong private boat from Phuket: boats, prices and the tide

A private boat to Koh Hong in Phang Nga Bay from Phuket costs from ฿50,000 for the whole boat with crew through Horizon Cruises Phuket (Prada 50, a five-hour trip with Koh Yao in the low season, from Ao Po Grand Marina); 25 boats go there. Half-day trips of four or five hours leave from Ao Po Grand Marina, 18 km away, and from Royal Phuket Marina; Chalong Pier is 48 km away, and boats from there go for a full day.

Koh Hong is a limestone ring in Phang Nga Bay with a lagoon hidden inside it, reached by canoe through a single passage. It is 18 km from Ao Po Grand Marina, about half an hour under way, and 48 km from Chalong. The bay is sheltered, so the route works all year. The park fee is paid separately on arrival unless the yacht's page lists it in the rate. Horizon Cruises Phuket offers twenty-five boats whose routes name this island; message us on WhatsApp with the date and the size of your group.

Which boats go to Koh Hong, and what the day costs

Twelve of these boats: the ones we charter here most often and the cheapest of each type, with the route as each boat's page names it. Where a page publishes a fuel fee for the bay, the figure includes it.

Prices from: the lowest rate for the whole boat on this route in the 2026/27 season, before park fees and before guests above the number included in the rate.

Say Yes, Sofia and Beluga are the three yachts Horizon Cruises Phuket runs itself; the rest are the partner catalogue, and fifteen more of its boats publish the island beyond the table: the Indigo 53s from Chalong; the Axopar 37 Lila and five power catamarans from Boat Lagoon, from 83,000 baht on the Shashani Leopard 43 with ten guests in the rate and up to fifteen aboard, fuel fee included; the SUAY, the Princess V39, the Princess 65 S, the Princess S72, the SPLO 74 and the Astondoa 102 from Royal Phuket Marina; and the Lagoon 56 OO7 and the Pisces 85 from Ao Po; under sail, the Satisfaction 55 from Ao Po sells Phang Nga Bay as an eight-hour day for up to forty guests. The spread on this route is wider than on most: four guests on a 28-footer out of Boat Lagoon and eighty-five on an 85-footer out of Ao Po are both the same island.

Ask which boat is free on your date

How the day is put together

Boats out of Ao Po are in the limestone within the first half hour, which is what makes a half day to Koh Hong possible at all. From Chalong the run is 48 km, so the southern boats sell this island only as a full day: eight hours on the F1, the Sea Explorer, the two Indigos and the Azimut Atlantis, nine on Say Yes and Sofia, with an earlier start on the slower hulls.

Our usual order is James Bond Island, Koh Hong, Koh Panak, Naka. A private charter has no timetable, so the hours move with the group, but the Koh Hong stop is set by the tide rather than by the clock, and when the mid-tide window falls early or late the order changes around it. At the island the boat lies on a mooring buoy or on the anchor, whichever the spot allows on the day.

The lagoon, and why the tide decides

The island is named after its hongs, rooms. Water has eaten the limestone from the inside, and what is left is a walled pool open to the sea through one low passage. The passage is the whole problem: at one end of the tide there is not enough water to float a canoe, at the other there is no headroom under the rock. What we watch for is a mid tide. The tide shifts by roughly fifty minutes a day, which is why two groups on consecutive dates get different hours for the same island.

Yachts do not go in, and nothing rigid does. The hong takes inflatable canoes, hired on the spot: two guests in front, a local paddler in the back, and a circuit of 40 minutes to an hour. Inside, the water is still and the limestone cuts the wind and the engine noise; that contrast is what people remember rather than the colour of the water.

Koh Hong in Phang Nga or Koh Hong in Krabi

Two islands, one name, and the most common mix-up on this route. They are 25 km apart, in different provinces and in different national parks. The Phang Nga one is this page: nearer to Phuket, no beach, the lagoon is the point. The Krabi one is larger, has a beach to land on, sits 26 km from Ao Po and is normally sold together with its neighbours; Koh Hong in Krabi has that day. The two lagoons are not the same size, and that is the part guests feel: the Krabi hong is wide enough that at high water even a speedboat can go inside, while this one takes nothing bigger than an inflatable canoe. If a quote says only "Koh Hong", ask which province: the hours and the park are different.

What is in the price and what is paid on the day

Fuel for the agreed route is in the rate; the exceptions on this route are the Limpopo Axopar 28 and the five power catamarans from Boat Lagoon, whose pages publish a fuel fee of 10,000 baht for the Phang Nga day, already in the figures on this page. Captain and crew, soft drinks, fruit, towels, snorkelling gear and life jackets in adult and child sizes come with every charter; lunch and transfers depend on the boat and are listed on its page. What is included has the three layers in full.

Paid separately on the day: the Ao Phang Nga National Park fee, charged per adult and per child in cash to the rangers, unless the yacht's page lists it in the rate; guests above the number included in the rate; and the canoe into the hong, hired at the island with its paddler.

When to go

Phang Nga Bay is screened by hundreds of limestone islands, so the water inside stays flat when the open sea is not. That is the practical argument for this island over a southern one in the low season: from May to October the bay is often the only comfortable day on the chart. High season runs November to April and costs more, and the peak dates differ by boat.

A slow hull is not a handicap here. The distance is short and the water is calm, so the choice comes down to deck space, guest numbers and which marina the boat sits in, not to speed.

Koh Hong by private boat or on a group tour from Phuket

Most travellers see this island from a group tour, sharing a longtail boat or a speedboat, with a guide and a timetable that fixes the hour at the island. A fixed hour is a gamble here, because the hong opens on the tide, not on the clock. A private boat tour from Phuket lets the captain put the Koh Hong stop where the mid tide falls and build the rest of the itinerary around it; a sightseeing circuit of James Bond Island, the bay's best-known attraction, with the beach of Khao Phing Kan, the sea caves of Koh Panak and the stilt village of Koh Panyee fills the hours on either side. A private charter carries no tour guide: the captain runs the day, and the paddlers at the island take you into the hong.

Koh Hong, James Bond Island or Phi Phi: which day trip from Phuket?

Koh Hong and James Bond Island share the same sheltered water and the same park, so they are one day rather than a choice; the table above shows which boats sell them together. Phi Phi is the other classic day trip from Phuket, across open sea to the south-east: roughly ninety minutes each way out of Chalong, with Maya Bay, the Pileh lagoon and Bamboo Island as the stops and a separate park fee per person. Pick the Phi Phi islands for sand and swimming and Koh Hong for canoeing, caves and limestone cliffs; in the low season the bay is also the safer bet on sea conditions. With two days in Thailand you can do both, and our guide to a private yacht charter from Phuket to the Phi Phi islands has the boats for the second day.

Meeting and pickup: where the boats to Koh Hong leave from

The boats on this page leave from all four marinas: Ao Po, Chalong, Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina. Ao Po Grand Marina, the north-eastern marina where the half-day boats are based, can be entered at any state of the tide and is the nearest of the four to the airport. Chalong Pier in the south is where the Chalong boats board: the captain does the passenger paperwork there, and guests give their passports to the crew for it. Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina on the east coast share one tidal channel, so departure times there follow the tide. Be at the pier 15 minutes before a private tour departs. The hotel transfer depends on the boat: Beluga includes one vehicle for up to ten guests on every charter and Say Yes and Sofia on a full day; the Boat Lagoon boats, the Myra and the OO7 include it too; the Astrea, the Prada and the Indigos do not, and each yacht's page says which. Where it is included, we agree the pickup hour at your hotel lobby once the booking is confirmed.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does a private boat to Koh Hong in Phang Nga cost?

From 50,000 baht for ten on the Prada 50, or 50,900 for twelve on the Astrea 42, 51,900 on the F1 with eight guests in the rate, and 54,900 on the Limpopo Axopar 28 for four with its fuel fee included. Say Yes, Sofia and Beluga run from 171,200. Prices are per boat, not per guest, and are the lowest rate of the 2026/27 season.

How long does it take to get to Koh Hong from Phuket?

From Ao Po Grand Marina, 18 km: about 25–30 minutes on a motor yacht, under twenty on a speedboat, about an hour and a half on a sailing catamaran. From Chalong it is nearly three times as far and well over an hour, which is why southern boats sell the island as a full day.

Do you pay a park fee at Koh Hong?

Yes. Koh Hong is inside Ao Phang Nga National Park, and the rangers collect the fee per person in cash on the day, with a reduced rate for children aged 3 to 14. It is paid on top of the charter unless the yacht's page lists it in the rate, and because the park revises its rates from time to time we confirm the current figure with your quote.

Can you go to Koh Hong with children?

Yes, and the bay suits them better than the open water south of Phuket: short crossing, flat water, a lagoon to paddle into. Life jackets in child sizes are on every boat. In the canoe the paddling is done by a local paddler, so two guests simply sit in front; the part that depends on the day is the tide, not the group's fitness.

Can you always get into the Koh Hong lagoon?

No. A mid tide is needed: at one end of the tide a canoe has too little water, at the other too little headroom, and the window shifts about fifty minutes every day. The captain plans the stop from the tide table, and if the window does not fall inside your hours, the day is built around the outside of the island instead.

Can you do Koh Hong and James Bond Island in one day?

Yes, and twelve of the boats on this page sell it as one programme: the Astrea 42 runs Koh Hong with James Bond Island from 09:00 to 17:00, the Limpopo Axopar 28, the Myra, the OO7, the Azimut Atlantis and the Boat Lagoon power catamarans take Panak, Hong, James Bond and Naka in eight hours, and the SPLO 74 and the Pisces 85 publish James Bond with Hong and Panak. The F1, the Sea Explorer, the SUAY, the Princess V39 and the two larger Princesses publish the two as separate days, and on the other boats it is a route change to agree at booking. The James Bond Island page covers that day in full.

Is a half-day boat tour to Koh Hong enough?

From the north and east coasts. The Beluga 88 sells four hours to Koh Hong with Naka and the Prada 50 five hours with Koh Yao, both from Ao Po; the Axopar 37 Lila from Boat Lagoon and the SUAY and the Princess V39 from Royal Phuket Marina publish five-hour half days that reach the island. From Chalong a half day does not reach this island.

Is there a beach or a restaurant on Koh Hong?

Nothing built, and that is the point: no resort, no restaurant, no shops. Lunch is on board. The floating village of Koh Panyee, 12 km further into the bay, is the nearest place to eat ashore and is added as a stop on longer days.

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