Phi Phi Islands Tour: My Real Experience (Sharks, Monkeys and Maya Bay)

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

If you’re heading to Thailand, this tour is almost certainly on your list. It’s the famous one, the one from all the Instagram photos and from DiCaprio’s movie “The Beach,” and yes, it’s also the most crowded.

Everyone asks the same thing: is it worth it, or is it a tourist trap? Now that I’ve done it, my answer is simple: you have to go. The color of the water and those karst landscapes are like nothing else. That said, how you do it makes a big difference. Below, I walk you through my day step by step, plus what nobody tells you about Maya Bay and the wildlife encounter that made the whole trip worth it.

💡 Quick tip: Not sure whether to stay on Phi Phi? Read our guide first, because the island isn’t as perfect as it looks. See Our Phi Phi Accommodation Guide

🚤 Private or Shared Tour? The Honest Truth

The first thing to decide is how you want to go. There are two options, and the price gap between them is huge.

Shared Tour (Speedboat)

You go with a group of around 20-30 people. It’s fast and cheap.

Much cheaper
Same stops, same time
Less privacy on the boat

Private Tour (Longtail)

You get the boat all to yourself, but you pay quite a bit more.

Photos without other people (on the boat)
Flexible schedule
High price

⚖️ My verdict:

I’ll be honest with you. You spend the same amount of time on the islands and the experience barely changes. Only pay extra for the private one if photos are your absolute priority. If you’re there to enjoy it and don’t mind sharing the ride, save your money and take the shared tour. That’s the one I went on, even though I’m a travel blogger, and I still got good photos.

⏱️ The Itinerary: 6 Hours in Paradise

The tour lasts about 6 hours in total. The good thing about the speedboat is that you spend very little time at sea and a lot of time enjoying yourself. This is how my day went:

Saying Hello to the Monkeys 🐒

The first stop is just for sightseeing. We circled one of the islands for about 10 minutes to see the cliffs and the famous Monkey Beach.

⚠️ Heads up: The boat doesn’t usually stop to let you off, so you need to be quick with the camera if you want a good shot of them from the water. I didn’t manage it, so I hope you have better luck.

Maya Bay: The Beach from the Movie 🎥

Then came the crown jewel: the beach where Leonardo DiCaprio filmed The Beach. We got about 30 minutes of free time. That’s enough for a walk around the island (there are some really nice wooden walkways inside) and a thousand photos against that spectacular rocky backdrop.

🚫 Important Warning:

To protect the coral, swimming is completely forbidden. Park rangers keep watch the whole time, and you’re only allowed to wade in up to your knees. Forget about swimming: this is a place to look and admire.

More Angles of Maya Bay

Snorkeling in Deep Water 🤿

From there we headed toward Phi Phi Don, with a well-chosen stop out in open water.

⏱️ Time: 30 minutes.
🐠 The experience: The water is pretty deep here, but they give you a life jacket so you float effortlessly. The best part is the sheer number of fish. They’re really unusual, colorful fish I haven’t seen in any other country, and they come right up to you. It’s like swimming in a giant aquarium.

Phi Phi Don & Lunch 🍚

As soon as we reached the main pier, we went straight to lunch. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet. Don’t expect Michelin stars, but the food is local, pretty good and gets the job done: noodles, rice, chicken, stir-fried vegetables… (Watch out for the spicy dishes at the end of the line.)

After lunch we had an hour of free time to explore the village, pick up a souvenir or take photos by the palm trees and the beaches.

Bamboo Island and the Baby Shark 🦈

To finish, we took a short ride (10-15 minutes) over to Bamboo Island. If Maya Bay is beautiful for its rocks, this one is beautiful for its white sand and crystal-clear water. It’s a huge beach.

The reality: The marked-off swimming area gets a bit crowded. Despite the crowd, I wandered off a little and… jackpot!

An Unforgettable Experience!

We were incredibly lucky to see a baby blacktip shark swimming right by the shore. It was, without a doubt, one of the best experiences of my whole trip. I got the photo (on the left), and while it’s not exactly National Geographic quality because the excitement got the better of me, that memory will stay with me forever.

The Perfect Way Back

The boat drops you back on Koh Lanta at around 4:00 PM. My advice? Hop on your scooter and head straight to your favorite beach on the island, because it’s almost the perfect time to watch the sunset.

Loved Phi Phi and Want to Spend the Night?

Lots of people do it as a day trip, but you can also spend the night on the island. Just read our guide first, because all that glitters is not gold… and personally, I didn’t like it as a place to stay for several nights.

See Where to Stay in Koh Phi Phi