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View all Krabi toursSunrise Speedboat to Phi Phi with Poda Island Breakfast in Krabi
Leave before dawn, eat breakfast on an empty Poda Island beach, then reach Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon hours ahead of the main Phi Phi crowds.
Highlights
- Pre-dawn departure ahead of the tour fleet
- Picnic breakfast on a near-empty Poda Island
- Maya Bay before the day boats arrive
- Swim in the deep green water of Pileh Lagoon
- Snorkelling stops around the Phi Phi islands
Full description
The difference between a good Phi Phi day and a frustrating one is almost entirely a matter of timing. This trip solves it by starting in the dark: the speedboat leaves while most tours are still loading minibuses, so you reach the headline stops during the quiet window before the fleet arrives.
Breakfast is a picnic on Poda Island, laid out on the sand with the sun coming up behind the limestone stacks and hardly another boat in sight. From there the crossing to Phi Phi takes you to Maya Bay, the beach at the foot of near-vertical cliffs, and then into Pileh Lagoon, where the water sits still and deep green between rock walls.
Snorkelling stops fill the middle of the day, with lunch on Phi Phi Don before the boat turns back. It is a long day, but the early hours are what you will remember.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pre-dawn hotel pickup
Very early transfer from your hotel to the pier while the roads are still empty.
Breakfast on Poda Island
Picnic breakfast on the sand as the sun comes up over the limestone stacks.
Maya Bay
Arrive at the famous bay early, before the main wave of day boats.
Pileh Lagoon and Viking Cave
Swim in the enclosed lagoon and pass the cliff-face cave used by birds-nest collectors.
Snorkelling and lunch on Phi Phi Don
Reef snorkelling followed by lunch ashore on the main island.
Return crossing
Speedboat back to Krabi with a final swim stop, then transfer to your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
Pickup is at roughly 05:00, early enough that the roads are empty and the pier is quiet. Breakfast is served on Poda Island at first light, usually with only the crew and a handful of other guests on the whole beach.
The run across to Phi Phi takes about an hour, putting you at Maya Bay soon after 08:00 while the sand is still relatively clear. Pileh Lagoon follows, then the boat passes below Viking Cave on the way round the island.
Mid-morning to early afternoon is given over to snorkelling and lunch on Phi Phi Don, with time to walk the beachfront before boarding again. The return crossing starts around 14:30 and includes one last swim stop; hotel drop-offs are usually complete by late afternoon.
Includes
- Early hotel pickup and drop-off
- Speedboat with crew
- English-speaking guide
- Picnic breakfast on the beach
- Lunch
- Snorkelling equipment
- Drinking water and fruit
- Life jackets
- Insurance
Excludes
- National park entrance fees
- Towels
- Alcoholic drinks
- Tips
- Underwater camera hire
Important information
Meeting point
Early hotel pickup in Ao Nang, Krabi Town and Klong Muang
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
Pickup was around 5am which hurts, but eating breakfast on an empty Poda Island beach with the sun coming up made the alarm worth it. We reached Maya Bay before the Phuket boats and had maybe twenty minutes there with barely anyone else. Pileh Lagoon afterwards was the same, glassy and quiet.
Eleven hours is a long day and you feel it, but the whole point is beating the crowds and it worked. Maya Bay has a strict no-swimming rule now which the guide explained clearly beforehand. Monkey Beach and the Viking Cave were on the way back.
Breakfast on Poda was simple, pastries, fruit and coffee, but the setting made it. The speedboat crossing to Phi Phi took about an hour and was smooth in the early morning. By the time we were leaving Maya Bay it was heaving.
Excellent trip and worth doing the sunrise version rather than the standard one. The price is high compared with other Krabi day trips and the national park fees are on top of it. Snorkelling at Bamboo Island was superb though.
Sea was calm going out and rougher coming back in the afternoon, which is normal. The crew handed out cold towels and water constantly. We saw a big school of blacktip reef sharks in the shallows at one stop.
Getting to Pileh Lagoon before the fleet is genuinely a different experience, the water is a deep turquoise and completely still. Lunch was on Phi Phi Don and there was time to walk around the town. Long day, well organised.
Fantastic scenery and the early start pays off, but eleven hours in the sun on a speedboat is tiring with young children. Ours coped but only just. Take a hat, a rash vest and more water than you think.