Skip to content
Thailand Frontier
Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island, Thailand

Phuket

Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island

The limestone bay north-east of Phuket: James Bond Island, Koh Panyi and the sea caves, which tour and boat to choose, what the park fee really is, and why it is the one boat day that works in every month.

Researched & fact-checked by our editors · Updated 14.10.2026

Phang Nga Bay is the shallow, island-studded water between Phuket and the mainland, about 400 km² of it, and the limestone landscape people picture when they think of this coast: towers of karst rising straight out of green water, sea caves, mangrove and fishing villages on stilts. Phuket itself has none of it. Most of the bay has been a national park since 1981, and it is a Ramsar wetland of international importance for the largest native mangrove forest left in Thailand.

Almost every visit is a day tour from Phuket, and the bay’s three famous names are its three standard stops: James Bond Island, the stilt village of Koh Panyi, and the sea caves you paddle into by canoe. It is also the one big boat trip from Phuket that holds up in every month, because the bay is enclosed.

When it works

Every month

The sea inside the bay peaks at 0.43 m in Jul, under the 0.6 m line where an open-sea crossing starts to be cancelled.

  • Boats leave from

    Ao Po pier on Phuket's north-east coast: 42 min from Patong, 51 from Kata, 25 from the airport by road. Most tours include a hotel pickup.

    Directions · Drive times from every beach

  • National park fee

    300 baht for an adult in the listings that name it, left out of the price by 23 of 34 tours.

  • Protected

    A national park since 1981 and a Ramsar wetland since 2002, for the largest native mangrove forest left in Thailand.

Where the boats go

The tour boats leave from Ao Po and Bang Rong on Phuket’s north-east coast and head north into the bay. James Bond Island is the far point of most days, with Koh Panyi beyond it and the canoeing islands, Ko Hong and Ko Phanak, on the way.

25 km in a straight line Ao Po pier most boats from Phuket Bang Rong pier James Bond Island Khao Phing Kan and Ko Tapu Koh Panyi the stilt village Ko Hong Ko Phanak Samet Nangshe viewpoint, by road Koh Yao Noi Nai Ngob pier from the Phang Nga side PHUKET 5 km
PierTour stopViewpoint © OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Ao Po pier

    Where most bay tours from Phuket board.

  2. Bang Rong pier2 km from Ao Po

    The other east-coast pier, and the public boats to Koh Yao.

  3. Ko Phanak15 km from Ao Po

    Sea caves, the other canoe stop.

  4. Ko Hong20 km from Ao Po

    Sea canoeing into the hong.

  5. Samet Nangshe20 km from Ao Po

    The sunrise view over the bay, reached by road.

  6. Koh Yao Noi20 km from Ao Po

    A quiet island with places to stay, by public boat.

  7. James Bond Island25 km from Ao Po

    The far point of most days, and the most crowded stop.

  8. Koh Panyi32 km from Ao Po

    The usual lunch stop.

  9. Nai Ngob pier37 km from Ao Po

    Where boats from the mainland side leave.

Distances are straight lines over the water, not boat routes.

The bay in pictures

A longtail passing Ko Tapu, with Khao Phing Kan behind A longtail passing Ko Tapu, with Khao Phing Kan behind Visitors under the overhang and the leaning rock on Khao Phing Kan Visitors under the overhang and the leaning rock on Khao Phing Kan Koh Panyi, the stilt village under its cliff Koh Panyi, the stilt village under its cliff The split, leaning rock face on Khao Phing Kan The split, leaning rock face on Khao Phing Kan The cliffs of Ko Phanak over green water The cliffs of Ko Phanak over green water Islands of the bay seen from under a cave overhang on Ko Phanak Islands of the bay seen from under a cave overhang on Ko Phanak Fish farms in front of karst islands in the bay Fish farms in front of karst islands in the bay A speedboat between karst islands A speedboat between karst islands The jetty on the quieter side of Khao Phing Kan The jetty on the quieter side of Khao Phing Kan

Photographs from Wikimedia Commons, by Vyacheslav Argenberg, Diego Delso, shankar s., Telgaa, edwin.11, Glen MacLarty and Anthony Byrne; credited in full at the foot of the page.

James Bond Island

The name covers two islands. Khao Phing Kan, “hills leaning against each other”, is the one you land on, with a beach, a cave under an overhang and a face of rock split and leaning as the name says. Ko Tapu, “nail island”, is the needle in every photograph: about 20 m tall and some 40 m off Khao Phing Kan’s shore, standing in the water on a base worn narrower than its top.

Both became James Bond Island in 1974, when the bay was the hideout of the villain Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, and the name stuck to the point that few people use the real ones. It is also the most crowded stop in the bay, and the photograph of the needle is taken from a beach shared with every other boat that morning. The earlier the boat, the emptier the beach.

Koh Panyi, the village on stilts

Koh Panyi is a Muslim fishing village built out over the water on stilts, against a limestone island. It was founded in 1880 by seafaring families who, at the time, could not own land, so they built over the sea; today around 1,600 people live there. It is the usual lunch stop on a bay tour, and the narrow walkways between the houses and the stalls are the part worth the time.

Sea canoeing into the hongs

A hong, “room” in Thai, is a cave chamber inside a limestone island whose roof has collapsed, leaving an open-air lagoon walled by cliff. The way in is through a sea cave at water level, often low enough that you lie back in the canoe to pass. Ko Hong and Ko Phanak are the usual islands, and on most tours a guide paddles while you sit.

The caves are passable only at certain tides, which is why canoe times move from day to day and why the tour, not you, chooses the order of the stops.

Which tour

The choice is mostly the boat. A speedboat gets to James Bond Island before the crowds and fits more islands into the day; a big boat is slower and cheaper and usually has the canoes on board; a yacht is the small-group and sunset version. The other thing that changes the real price is the national park fee, which most tours leave out.

34 tours from Phuket, by boat

  • SpeedboatFastest to the far islands; the most stops in a day from US$4413 listings
  • Big boatSlower and cheaper, usually with the canoes on board from US$348 listings
  • Yacht or luxury boatSmaller groups, often timed for the sunset from US$1154 listings

The park fee

23 of 34

leave the national park fee out of the price, to be paid on the day; 10 include it. Of the 18 that name the fee, 17say300 baht for an adult, and 1 says 400. Check the "not included" line before comparing prices.

Of the 34: 30 stop at James Bond Island, 32 include sea canoeing into the caves, 10 stop at Koh Panyi and 22 at Ko Hong.

Every Viator listing for the bay that leaves from Phuket and has at least ten reviews, read on 14 October 2026: the boat from its title or description, the park fee from its own included and not-included lists, the six most-reviewed shown. Listings that add an elephant camp or any other animal attraction are left out. Another 4 leave from Krabi, which is further from the bay. We earn a commission on Viator bookings, at no cost to you.

Why it works in the monsoon

Phang Nga Bay is enclosed: it sits behind Phuket, it is shallow, and it is ringed by limestone. The measurements show what that does to the sea:

Wave height, mean daily maximum

Open sea, Phuket west coastInside Phang Nga bay

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.6 m: a comfortable crossing Jan, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.51 m Jan, inside phang nga bay: 0.23 m Jan Feb, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.53 m Feb, inside phang nga bay: 0.24 m Feb Mar, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.48 m Mar, inside phang nga bay: 0.2 m Mar Apr, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.47 m Apr, inside phang nga bay: 0.21 m Apr May, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.96 m May, inside phang nga bay: 0.3 m May Jun, open sea, phuket west coast: 1.14 m Jun, inside phang nga bay: 0.37 m Jun Jul, open sea, phuket west coast: 1.3 m Jul, inside phang nga bay: 0.43 m Jul Aug, open sea, phuket west coast: 1.14 m Aug, inside phang nga bay: 0.39 m Aug Sep, open sea, phuket west coast: 1.28 m Sep, inside phang nga bay: 0.43 m Sep Oct, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.85 m Oct, inside phang nga bay: 0.26 m Oct Nov, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.57 m Nov, inside phang nga bay: 0.19 m Nov Dec, open sea, phuket west coast: 0.54 m Dec, inside phang nga bay: 0.18 m Dec
The sheltered water's roughest month (Jul, 0.43 m) is calmer than the open sea's calmest (Apr, 0.47 m). Open sea measured off Patong, the bay at Ao Nang on its far shore; open-meteo marine reanalysis, 2022 to 2025.

That is why a Phang Nga day works in September when a Phi Phi day is a gamble. What the bay cannot do is stop the rain: in the wet months, take a raincoat and expect grey skies over the karsts on some days. The rest of the island’s boat trips, month by month, are on things to do in Phuket.

Samet Nangshe

Samet Nangshe is the view from above: a hill on the mainland shore of the bay, looking over the karsts at sunrise. It is not a boat stop. It is about 80 km by road from Patong, an hour and a half without traffic, so a sunrise there means leaving Phuket in the dark. Some tours combine it with a boat on the same day. Sunrise times by month, when to leave and what the hill costs are on our Samet Nangshe page.

From Phuket or from Krabi

Phuket is the closer side. Ao Po pier is about 25 km from James Bond Island in a straight line, and 34 of the tours we found leave from Phuket against 4 from Krabi, which usually drive to a pier before the boat. From Krabi, the islands near Ao Nang are the better boat day; see things to do in Krabi.

Getting there

Ao Po pier is 25 minutes from the airport and 42 from Patong without traffic, and 51 from Kata. Almost every tour includes the drive from your hotel, so these are the times your pickup will take, at best.

Mai Khao 37 min Airport 25 min Nai Yang 26 min Banana Beach 32 min Bang Tao 36 min Surin 33 min Kamala 36 min Patong 42 min Old Town 34 min Karon 49 min Kata 51 min Nai Harn 54 min Rawai 50 min Ao Po pier
Minutes by road with no traffic. © OpenStreetMap contributors
  1. Phuket airport 25 min 20.1 km
  2. Nai Yang 26 min 20 km
  3. Banana Beach 32 min 27.1 km
  4. Surin 33 min 26.5 km
  5. Phuket Old Town 34 min 27.9 km
  6. Kamala 36 min 29.5 km
  7. Bang Tao 36 min 26.4 km
  8. Mai Khao 37 min 26.2 km
  9. Patong 42 min 36.2 km
  10. Karon 49 min 42.7 km
  11. Rawai 50 min 43.4 km
  12. Kata 51 min 42.9 km
  13. Nai Harn 54 min 44.8 km
Directions in Google Maps

OSRM over OpenStreetMap roads, from each beach's own point to the place, with no traffic: a floor, not a forecast.

Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island FAQs

Where is James Bond Island?+

In Phang Nga Bay, inside Ao Phang Nga National Park, about 25 km north of Ao Po pier on Phuket's north-east coast in a straight line. The name covers two islands: Khao Phing Kan, which you land on, and Ko Tapu, the 20 m needle of rock about 40 m off its shore.

Why is it called James Bond Island?+

Because it was the hideout of the villain Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, released in 1974. Before that it was Khao Phing Kan, 'hills leaning against each other', and the needle was Ko Tapu, 'nail island'.

How much is the Phang Nga Bay national park fee?+

The tour listings that name it almost all say 300 baht for an adult and 150 for a child; one says 400 and 200, and one well-known guide gives 400. Most tours from Phuket leave it out of the price, to be paid on the day, so check the not-included line before comparing tour prices.

Is Phang Nga Bay worth it in the rainy season?+

Yes, and it is the boat day to choose in that half of the year. The sea inside the bay peaks at 0.43 m of average daily-maximum wave, in July, which is calmer than the open west coast of Phuket in its calmest month. Phi Phi and the Similans cross the open sea and are cancelled far more often from May to October.

Speedboat or big boat to James Bond Island?+

A speedboat reaches the far islands first and fits more stops into the day; a big boat is slower and usually cheaper and carries the sea canoes on board. Yachts are the small-group and sunset version. The tour section on this page counts how many of each leave from Phuket and what each costs from.

Can you visit Phang Nga Bay from Krabi?+

Yes, but Phuket is closer. Ao Po pier is about 25 km from James Bond Island in a straight line, and Krabi tours usually drive to a pier first. There are far more tours from Phuket.

How far is Samet Nangshe from Phuket?+

About 80 km by road from Patong, an hour and a half without traffic, on the mainland shore of the bay. It is a sunrise viewpoint, so people leave Phuket well before dawn.