Should you choose Koh Rok, the 4 Islands or Phi Phi?

Koh Rok, the 4 Islands and Phi Phi are the three sea day trips most visitors weigh up from Koh Lanta. They differ more than the brochures suggest: in how long you sit on the boat, whether you need to swim, which national park fee you pay and which months they close. This guide compares them on those points, with the fees and 2026 closure dates checked on 18 October 2026.

The best day trip from Koh Lanta at a glance

The short answer: the 4 Islands for variety and short crossings, Koh Rok and Koh Haa for the best snorkelling, Phi Phi for the famous views. Times aboard below are approximate, taken from the sources named, and stretch in a swell.

	Koh Rok and Koh Haa	4 Islands	Phi Phi
What you see	Twin reef islands, white sand, Koh Haa’s limestone islets	Koh Mook and the Emerald Cave, Koh Kradan, Koh Ngai, Koh Chuak and Koh Waen	Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Bamboo Island
Snorkelling	The strongest of the three	Good stops, shared with beach time	Some stops; no swimming at Maya Bay
Time aboard	About 1 hr each way by speedboat, about 2 hr by longtail	Short hops; Koh Ngai is about 11 km away	About 40 min each way advertised by speedboat
Crowds	Fewer boats	Busiest at the cave entrance	The busiest
Swim needed	No, but the day is in the water	Yes for the Emerald Cave	No
Park fee, foreign adult	400 THB	200 THB, plus 400 THB if Koh Ngai is charged	400 THB (reported)
Closures, 2026	Koh Rok 1 Jun–30 Sep	Koh Mook, Koh Kradan 1 Aug–30 Sep; cave 1–30 Sep	Maya Bay 1 Aug–30 Sep
Best for	Keen snorkellers	Families, mixed groups, seasick-prone	First-timers, photographers, non-swimmers

Time aboard: Thai National Parks for Koh Rok and Koh Ngai; Phi Phi from speedboat itineraries listed on booking platforms. You can see how each trip is offered on our Koh Lanta boat tours page.

Koh Rok or 4 Islands for snorkelling

Koh Rok wins for snorkelling. Koh Rok Nai and Koh Rok Nok lie about 26 km south of Koh Lanta Yai. Thai National Parks describes much of the reef as about 5 m deep, with visibility of up to about 30 m on good days. Koh Haa, a cluster of limestone islets, adds a second set of reef stops and is also a known dive area.

The cost is time at sea. A Koh Rok day runs about seven and a half hours, mostly on the water, according to the trip description Thailand Tested reviewed. This is open water, so it is the trip most affected by wind. If snorkelling is the reason you came, put it early in your stay and keep a spare date. See the Koh Rok and Koh Haa tour for how we arrange it.

Is the 4 Islands tour worth it?

Yes, for most groups. It packs the most variety into the shortest crossings: white sand on Koh Kradan and Koh Ngai, snorkelling around Koh Chuak and Koh Waen, and the Emerald Cave (Tham Morakot) on Koh Mook. The cave is the one part that needs care. You reach its cliff-ringed inner beach through the water in a dark passage, and access depends on the tide and sea state. Our Emerald Cave guide covers what that involves.

This trip crosses two national parks. Koh Mook, Koh Kradan, Koh Chuak and Koh Waen are in Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang. Koh Ngai is in Krabi province and is part of Mu Ko Lanta National Park. Details are on the 4 Islands tour page.

A Phi Phi day trip from Koh Lanta for the famous views

Choose Phi Phi when the scenery is the point. Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and Bamboo Island are among the most photographed places in Thailand. They also draw boats from Phuket, Krabi and Ao Nang, so expect company. Advertised speedboat itineraries from Koh Lanta run seven to eight hours, with about 40 minutes each way.

Maya Bay reopened on 1 October 2026 after its annual closure from 1 August to 30 September. Swimming there is still banned, and boats land on the Loh Samah side of Phi Phi Leh instead of entering the bay. That makes Phi Phi the easiest of the three for non-swimmers, and the weakest for snorkellers. See our Phi Phi tour from Koh Lanta.

Koh Rok vs Phi Phi on park fees

National park fees are charged per person per park, separately from any tour price. These are the figures we found on 18 October 2026, with how certain each one is.

Where	Park	Foreign adult	Foreign child	Status
Koh Rok, Koh Haa, Koh Ngai	Mu Ko Lanta, offshore zone	400 THB	Not listed	DNP fee table, cited by Thailand Tested, 18 Sep 2026
Koh Mook, Koh Kradan, Koh Chuak, Koh Waen	Hat Chao Mai	200 THB	100 THB	DNP rates from 7 Jun 2022, secondary summary
Phi Phi islands, Bamboo Island	Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi	400 THB	200 THB	Island rate set 2007, kept in 2017; reported

Sources disagree on Phi Phi. Thai National Parks lists the park’s standard 200 THB adult rate, while the separate island rate of 400 THB was reported as unchanged in 2017. Budget for 400 THB and carry some cash in case it is collected on the spot. On a 4 Islands day you may be asked for a Hat Chao Mai fee and, at Koh Ngai, a Mu Ko Lanta fee. Ask us which fees apply on your date and whether any are included.

Which islands are open, and when

All three trips depend on the parks’ seasonal closures, which fall in the southwest monsoon. TAT’s notice of 15 January 2026 says closures depend on weather and park conditions, so a scheduled date is not a promise.

1. 18 December 2025 The Department of National Parks signs its 2026 closure schedule, covering Mu Ko Lanta and Hat Chao Mai.
2. 1 June 2026 Koh Rok closes for the season, and Hat Chao Mai closes Koh Chuak and Koh Waen.
3. 11 June 2026 Laem Tanod, Koh Haa and Koh Ngai close temporarily after Portuguese man o’ war wash ashore. All three reopen on 13 June.
4. 1 August 2026 Koh Haa, Koh Mook, Koh Kradan and Maya Bay close for their scheduled two months.
5. 1 September 2026 The Emerald Cave closes for the month.
6. 1 October 2026 Maya Bay reopens. Koh Rok, Koh Haa, the Hat Chao Mai islands and the cave are scheduled to reopen.

For Hat Chao Mai, the department’s 2026 status sheet, which TAT links to, staggers the dates too. Koh Chuak and Koh Waen closed from 1 June to 30 September, Koh Mook and Koh Kradan from 1 August to 30 September, and the Emerald Cave for September only. The same sheet, in its data of 7 January 2026, listed snorkelling and other water activities on the reef in front of Koh Kradan as temporarily closed from 15 May, with no end date. Ask whether that still applies. The 2027 dates had not been published when we checked. The Koh Rok and Koh Haa open dates article tracks the Koh Rok side in more detail.

Which islands to visit from Koh Lanta if you only do one

• Keen snorkellers: Koh Rok and Koh Haa, on a calm day between October and May.
• Families with small children: the 4 Islands. Short crossings and beach stops, and you can skip the cave.
• Non-swimmers: Phi Phi, where swimming at Maya Bay is not allowed anyway, or the 4 Islands without the cave.
• Photographers: Phi Phi for Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon; Koh Haa for limestone above clear water.
• Prone to seasickness: the 4 Islands, the shortest hops of the three.
• A group with different wishes: consider a private boat. Our article on when a private boat trip makes sense weighs it against a joined tour.

What to send us before you book

We arrange all three trips, with joined and private, longtail and speedboat options across the boat services we arrange. Which format runs depends on the route and your date. To get options that fit, message us with:

1. Your preferred date and a back-up date.
2. Your hotel or area on Koh Lanta.
3. The number of adults and children, with children’s ages.
4. Everyone’s swimming confidence, and anyone prone to seasickness.
5. What matters most: snorkelling, beaches, the cave or the views.

We reply with what runs on your date, the boat, the timings, the price and which park fees are included.