Island Tours from Krabi and Ao Nang

Almost none of them do. The boats leave from Ao Nang beach, the Nopparat Thara pier or Ao Nam Mao, which are about twenty to thirty minutes west of Krabi Town. If your hotel is in town, check whether the price includes the transfer — most operators offer it, but not all of them include it.

Often not. Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park charges 400 baht for adult foreign visitors and 200 baht for children, collected at the pier or on arrival at the island. Whether it is already in the price differs from operator to operator and is stated on each booking page — take cash for it either way.

No. Railay is a peninsula, but the limestone cliffs cut it off from the mainland completely and no road leads in. Everyone arrives by longtail boat, usually from Ao Nang or Ao Nam Mao, and the crossing takes about fifteen minutes. This also means the last boats back go in the early evening.

The Phi Phi day trips run all year, but landing at Maya Bay itself is closed every year from 1 August to 30 September so the bay can recover during the monsoon. Tours in those two months still sail past and still visit the rest of Phi Phi — you just do not set foot on that beach.

The dry season runs roughly from November to April, and that is when the sea is calmest and the visibility for snorkelling is best. From May to October the southwest monsoon brings rain in bursts and rougher water; prices drop noticeably, but individual boat trips are cancelled at short notice when the sea gets up.

The longtail and larger group boats take children of any age and carry child-size life jackets. Speedboats are the bumpy option and many set a minimum age of around three to four years; the limit is stated on each booking page. For small children the calmest choice is a kayak tour through the Ao Thalane mangroves, where the water is almost always flat.