Phang Nga Bay by longtail and kayak
Limestone towers rising from green water, sea caves and a village on stilts.
- Area
- Phang Nga & Krabi
- Start from
- Phuket
- Distance
- about 1–1.5 hours to the piers
- Time needed
- 1 day
- Best season
- All year; best November – April
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Transport
- Tour boat, longtail, kayak
- Tickets & rules
- National park fee
Why go
Phang Nga Bay is a seascape of limestone karsts and mangroves. Kayaks slip into hidden lagoons called hongs.
Ko Tapu, known as James Bond Island from the 1974 film, is the famous rock.
Koh Panyee, a Muslim fishing village on stilts, has a floating football pitch.
The bay's mangroves are home to monkeys and monitor lizards.
Paddling through dark caves into hidden lagoons is magical.
Most tours use big boats, then transfer guests into inflatable canoes paddled by local guides who navigate the low cave entrances. Inside, you emerge into hongs: lagoons open to the sky, surrounded by vertical walls and hanging plants, completely silent apart from birds.
Ko Tapu itself, the slender rock rising from the water, is best seen from Khao Phing Kan, the island where the film was shot. Boats can't approach Ko Tapu closely anymore, to protect it from erosion.
The story
The Koh Panyee football team built their pitch on rafts, a famous local story.
The film made Ko Tapu world famous.
Koh Panyee's ancestors came from Indonesia generations ago.
Phang Nga's karsts are remains of ancient reefs.
The bay's limestone formed from ancient coral reefs, raised and eroded over millions of years into the shapes you see today. Rainwater dissolving the rock created the caves and hongs.
Koh Panyee's football team, building a floating pitch on rafts because the village had no flat land, inspired a famous short film and is a source of local pride. Today you can see the pitch and eat seafood in the village's restaurants on stilts.
Getting there
Tours from Phuket; or drive to Phang Nga piers.
Tours depart from several piers.
A suggested plan
- MorningLongtail to the karsts.
- MiddayLunch at Koh Panyee.
- AfternoonKayaking in the hongs.
- OptionalSunset kayak tour.
- Late afternoonSome tours offer an evening visit to the hongs and a floating lantern ceremony; quieter and very atmospheric.
Where to stay
Day trip.
Good to know
- Choose small-group tours.
- Bring a waterproof bag.
- Wear a hat.
- Bring water.
- Small-group longtail tours from Phang Nga town are calmer than big tours from Phuket.
- Bring a phone pouch; you'll want photos inside the hongs.
- Crowds at James Bond Island.
- Low tide affects caves.
- Respect locals in Koh Panyee.