Phuket Surrounding Islands

The beauty of visiting Phuket is that you do not have to limit yourself to the island. There are over twenty small outlaying islands and three larger island chains to discover. You could spend an entire two-week holiday exploring the surrounding islands.

Coral Island

This island is only a fifteen-minute boat journey from the southern tip of Phuket. Coral Island is also known as Kho Hae. As the name of the island suggests, there are countless opportunities to snorkel and dive around this coral laden coastline. The island also owns its own resort.

Phi Phi Islands

These world famous islands were immortalized by the Leonardo Di Caprio movie, The Beach. When you have visions of the stereotypical South-East-Asian tropical wilderness, Phi Phi is what you are dreaming about. The sole reason that some people visit Phuket is to see the Phi Phi Islands.

Phi Phi Lei and Phi Phi Don are the two islands that people come to see. The sheer cliff faces and the untapped beaches to the backdrop of the jungle-laden wilderness is an alluring feature.

Reaching the island takes roughly fifty minutes by speedboat, but there is also the option of taking the ferry from Rassada Port, which takes 90 minutes. You can take day trips or overnight stays, because Phi Phi Don has resorts and beachside bungalows for rent.

Similan Islands

The Similans are a group of islands situated only 84km northwest of Patong Beach. The islands are famous for being listed in the top ten best dive destinations in the world. The vast array of marine life and on-land wildlife makes the Similans a pleasure to observe.

Reaching the islands during the low season months of May to October can prove tricky, because there is no regular boat service. Some people hitch a ride with local boat owners and take their risks. Getting there from Phuket can be achieved by joining a liveaboard boat trip, but the journey can take forty-five minutes to three hours depending on the boat used.

Racha Islands

The Racha Islands are otherwise known as Raya Islands, situated 12km south of Phuket. Racha Yai is sadly developing quite fast, losing some of its former glory. The islands are very scenic, and offer perfect conditions for diving and snorkeling.

The islands can be reached by Long-tail boat or speedboat from Rawai or Chalong Pier. The journey will take between forty-five to over one hour, depending on which form of transport you take.

Nakha Islands

The Nakha Islands are made up of Naka Yai and Naka Noi. In a relatively short space of time, three exclusive resorts are being constructed on Naka Yai. At the moment, there is not much to do on the island except relaxing and swimming. The views across Phang Nga Bay are a remarkable sight.

Naka Noi is where the rare South Sea Pearls are to be found. This is how the island gets its nickname Pearl Island. A trip to the island will take in the sights of the local peal farm, which is very interesting.

The short journey out to the Nakha Islands can be organized at Ao Po Pier, on the southeast coast of Phuket. You will make the journey there by long-tail boat.

Koh Lone

This picturesque island is situated in Chalong Bay on the southeast coast. It only takes a fifteen-minute long-tail boat journey to reach the island. Although there are a handful of resorts on the island, it still remains tranquil and a great little place to visit for a couple of hours.

Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay is famous for its limestone rock formations that rise from the waters in formidable fashion. Here you will find the famous James Bond Island that was used in filming for the Man with a Golden Gun.

Phang Nga Bay is also home to Koh Panyee, otherwise known as Sea Gypsy Island. The defining feature of the Sea Gypsy Island is the amazing wooden village built on stilts in the bay. This is usually the lunchtime destination for the majority of the tour companies from James Bond Island. The maze of wooden shops and restaurants on stilts is totally unique, and must be seen to be believed.

Within Phang Nga Bay, you will also find other outlaying islands such as Kho Hong, Khao Khien, and Koh Maak. Phang Nga Bay is situated directly off the northeast coast of Phuket and south of the mainland. Every tour operator worth their salt offers tours to Phang Nga Bay.