From Phuket: Sunrise Tour of Phi Phi Island, Maya Bay & Bamboo Island by Speedboat with Lunch & Hotel Transfers

Everything from start to end about this tour was just amazing. The tour guide the captain the food. Highly recommended.

My husband did the Phi Phi Sunrise Tour yesterday. We chose this company based on reviews. After our trip yesterday, I’m questioning who’s actually reviewing this trip/company. I’ll say the tour was nice and hit all the stops listed. However, our guide and the crew, while polite and kind, weren’t overly friendly or did anything that stood out during our trip that deserved special mention. It was just here’s our names, here’s where we’ll go, and let us know if you need anything. So while I’d still recommend the tour, I didn’t find anything outstanding about our crew. The locations we visited were beautiful, though it would’ve been nicer if it hadn’t rained all day (of course, that’s not the tour company’s fault!). A few other things to mention: the breakfast at the pool club before departure was good but basic. The banana bread and sticky rice at the Maya Bay stop were good too, but I don’t get why others were raving about it? Maybe they’ve never had banana bread before? They didn’t mention that at the first stop, Maya Bay, the washrooms were horrifically dirty and there was no toilet paper available. You’re expected to just use the hose to clean yourself after. This made the conditions of all the toilets and stalls really unsanitary. At the last stop, which was a beach stop, there was a little beach shack selling beer, soft drinks, and snacks. For this reason, our guide refused to give us a soft drink from the boat and told us to go buy our own. No thanks. I’ve already paid for the drinks that were supposed to be included in our tour. Overall, I’d probably do the tour again knowing these things, but I’m a bit skeptical now about all the reviews claiming this company and their tours are just wildly fantastic. We had booked a second tour with them before arriving in Thailand due to the rave reviews, which we’re scheduled to do in a couple of days. Hopefully, it lives up to the hype!

We booked the Phi Phi Sunrise tour with Simba Sea Trips and had a lovely day starting with breakfast at the departure point (Soho Pool Club). Then it was onto the boat to travel to Maya Bay while stopping for 5-10 minutes on the sea to witness the incredible sunrise. The early start meant we avoided the mega crowds at Maya Bay, meaning we were there with around 500 other people instead of 5000! It still felt busy, but I guess there will never be a quiet time with so many trips available! After Maya Bay, we headed to Pileh Lagoon where we could jump in the sea and swim around for 20 minutes. We then went to another area to snorkel, which let us see some colorful fish around the reef. After that, we traveled to Monkey Beach and snorkeled just off the beach where we could see the monkeys having fun. Our next stop was Koh Rang Yai where we could chill on the beach for about an hour and enjoy some drinks at the bar. This beach was beautiful with not many people around, so we wandered up the beach and it felt like we were the only ones on the island. Bliss! Our final stop was lunch back at Soho Pool Club, which was buffet style and had plenty to choose from, then back to the hotel via the transfer service. The crew on the boat were fantastic, keeping us updated on where we were headed and what we’d be doing next. There were drinks and fruit available throughout the trip. At Maya Bay, they offered us some coconut rice and banana bread. Both were amazing, but the banana bread was divine!!!! The only slight (very slight) note I’d add is that the boat was full and felt a bit tight for space. However, that’s just a minor note as it was hard to fault the trip. So much so, we booked with Simba for a second trip to James Bond Island a few days later. Thanks to all the crew that made our day amazing. I’m sorry I can’t remember any of your names

What an incredible day out. Early start (picked up promptly from our hotel in Karon Beach at 4:55 am). Small group of 10 people with a crew led by tour guide Sara. Calm sea with a stunning sunrise... first to arrive and enjoy Bamboo Island (since Maya Beach is closed in August and September). We did a 'speedboat drive by' during the day and got to see the beach from a designated distance... stunning - (but make sure not to book in August or September if you want to step foot on the beach and enter the cove by boat due to restrictions for regeneration) Visited many beautiful spots throughout the day and had the chance to snorkel in crystal clear emerald waters! So many fish, a baby shark, and even some sea snakes . for those wanting to get in the water! Attentive staff who couldn’t do more to make us comfortable and cared for during the day! One crew member even dove to the sea bed to retrieve a client's sunglasses when they lost them jumping in! They also collected a lot of plastic and debris they saw in the sea when we stopped to dispose of it properly - kudos to them!) Someone in a previous review complained about the food provided during the day... but honestly- it was fine! The food at the end of the tour was good too - though a small selection! We couldn’t get off the boat at Monkey Beach since the monkeys can be aggressive and this is for your safety. Some operators do allow this and someone at our hotel told us someone on their trip got bitten badly by a monkey - so be careful which operator you choose! The price, while higher than some, guarantees a smaller group and access to beaches and areas to snorkel at good tide times with fewer people! Definitely a trip worth doing! I might be braver next time and actually get in the water! Thanks to Sara and her little crew. An exceptional day that we loved!