Perfect Daytrip!
We booked KRABI Vip Tours for total 4 days. All Tours with KRABI VIP Tours are amazing. It is indeed a Privat Tour where everything is perfectly organized. Privat Pick up and drop off Service, privat local Guide that speaks perfect english, very good Captain and modern & clean Speedboat. We visited some nice areas off the beaten track. The Food at the italien Restaurant was yummi????. The communication with Frederico and Pick, the owner of KRABI VIP Tours, is easy. They respond very quick and are very helpful. They really concern about the well beeing of the clients. Since 1992, my wife and me travel 2 to 3 times a year to Thailand, so we have seen a lot of places and made a lot of tours. To be honest, the Tour with KRABI VIP Tours is for sure under the Top 5 agencies we did tours with!!! If you want a relaxed daytrip and if you don’t want be in a Speedboat with 40 to 45 other Tourists, then KRABI VIP Tours is the perfect option. There is nothing that KRABI VIP Tours could to better!
BradReynolds627
01 Dec 2022
Everything about this tour and tour operator is amazing. Strongly recommend!
It's quite easy to discover that seeing the sights in the Andaman Sea can be less than rewarding with droves of tourists trying to get a slice of paradise. The touted solution is always to book a private tour. That recommendation is 100% accurate. In other locations, private boat tours are a nice luxury but aren't critical. Booking a private tour to see sights around James Bond island or Phi Phi island buys you a lot of value. I would strongly recommend a private tour to get the benefit of customizing your trip, not having to deal with delays being with other guests, and--most importantly--to get to the places you want to see first and without crowds. It really does work as an effective strategy and is magical.
I booked a private tour with Federico at Krabi VIP Tour to James Bond island area as well as one with a different operator to go to Phi Phi islands since Krabi VIP was booked already the other day. While both tour operators were great and there was nothing bad at all about the other, Federico's and his team at Krabi VIP tour were absolutely a stand-out bunch. Operating tours in such a beautiful area allows an operator the benefit of letting the location do the heavy lifting. Federico and team clearly want you as a guest to have a great experience and they are making sure they put the work in to make your trip a memorable one. From booking through follow up, Federico was on top of communication to see what I wanted to do, what my preferences were, etc. When I got busy and forgot about replying, he didn't let me slip through the cracks. Arranging transport to and from where I was staying to the pier was all arranged by Federico and was super easy.
On board, Paw was the guide and she was accompanied by the captain and a deck hand. Paw spoke English well which was incredibly helpful. She was very enthusiastic about the places we were going, knowledgeable, and kind. She had a great sense of humor, clearly wanted to be helpful in any way that she could but also did a great job of giving space without being overbearing. She had a good camaraderie with the crew and they were both good-natured and very helpful and competent.
Keep in mind that they will customize the tour to your preferences. I noted that I was most interested in seeing the natural landscapes, mangroves, plants, geology, etc and was not as interested in things like snorkeling/swimming. There were plenty of opportunities to do those sorts of activities so don't let the exact details of my trip deter you if that doesn't align with your interests.
We, of course, saw James Bond island. It was a cool formation but the site was clearly geared to tourism and it was probably my least favorite stop. That had nothing to do with the tour operator but just the location itself. It was a very easy visit so it was worth stopping. I'm just saying the area has so much more to offer than simply that. The team did a great job at arriving as early as was feasible so there were maybe ten other tourists there when we arrived.
I noted I was interested in seeing mangroves and I was not prepared for what they had in store. Our first stop was to a Kai that was completely encircled in a limestone bluffs with a mangrove in the center, like a bowl. The way to enter was through a small archway that the water had cut out. Because of the geography, the area can only be accessed at low tide. Our boat and one lone fisherman untangling his net were the only people on the entire Kai the full duration of our being there. being able to walk through a mangrove, see the spires of limestone surrounding us, clear-water streams of water was magical. And doing so completely without interference was something I'll never forget. I was shocked that this was not a place people were clamoring to visit.
Another short but incredibly memorable and surprising sight was being able to see some 3000+ year old cave paintings that were viewable directly from the boat. I was skeptical about these at first but after doing a bit of reading, sure enough, the Andaman sea has (if I remembered these numbers correctly) around 30 ancient cave paintings spread across 11 or so sites. This particular one was only discovered (at least officially) in the last twenty years and I believe only as recently as 1987 is when any of the paintings were recognized/discovered in an official/scientific manner. I get the sense that this is an aspect of the area that many people don't know (care?) about. To be able to roll in on a boat right under these paintings and almost be close enough to touch them was quite a treat. Part of what made the event so memorable--and why I was skeptical at first--is that there was no signage, no observable attempt to keep people away from them, and no observable interest in seeing them or defacing them. It seemed impossible they were real though, alas, apparently they are and it was quite a sight to see.
There were lots of other places to go and see. A floating village that was admittedly a bit depressing and felt a bit encroaching to visit (though a huge portion of the village was selling souvenirs so clearly some portion of the population wants tourists poking around their business). It was fascinating to see. Like everything, we were there before the tourists arrived in masse, so while there was clearly an element catering to tourism, it seemed as if we were walking around a ghost town. Like I said, I had mixed feelings about this stop. If you're trying to engage in ethical tourism, is it bad or helpful to go to a place like this? It seemed the answer might be: both. While there were was a pressure from the people to sell things to tourists, unlike some "villages" that are not villages at all but stands of places with stuff being sold, people do actually live here and it very clearly is their home. The way it is constructed and the story of how it came to be is interesting. I cannot say it is a place I would want to go back to and I'm not sure if anyone described it to me I would say it is a place I wanted to visit but it was interesting to have seen and I'm glad I did. There were lots of cats sleeping around so that was a bonus.
There were quite a few other stops that were great to see. There was a lagoon that (if you're comparing to the one near Phi Phi is not as great) is exceptionally nice. You could do a quick circle around it for viewing or hang out there to swim or take in the view. We did not but I saw a couple long tail boats taking a picnic lunch in some shade and that could be a good way to spend some time if you felt so inclined. We stopped at an island where the attraction is literally a big tree. It sounds ridiculous. I know. Roll with it. It's a shorty but pretty walk and it's a giant-ass tree that's cool to see. We were there along with exactly three other tourists who were clearly perturbed they had worn flip-flops to do an (albeit very short) trek through the jungle.
We stopped off at Bamboo Island. This was later in our day so some crowds had amassed by the time we arrived. It wasn't awful but it wasn't idyllic either. The beach is beautiful; it juts out as a sort of peninsula shape and has tons of pretty, cream-colored sand. For those of you who want to bake in the sun, this is your place. There is very minimal shade unless you go back in an area deeper into the island (I didn't do this so I cannot really comment on it) which is farther away from the water and at least seems like it would not be so desirable. As a person who finds a plain beach kind of boring, isn't looking to be pelted with sun for extended periods, and wants to have some space from others I thought I was going to dislike this beach. I noticed that at the VERY end of where the majority of the tourists were swimming, there were some cool rock formations. I went down that way, really just interested in seeing some rocks. What I discovered was a path to an additional section of beach that, in my opinion, was 100x more beautiful and had shade and had only an occasional tourist walking through. Interestingly, there were a couple families who seemed to be local hanging in that exact area and--maybe I'm projecting--but I felt like they knew what was up and where to go for the real show.
There was a stop at another beach that I cannot remember the name of at all. It was at the end of the day so there were some crowds but they were evenly disbursed, especially for how gorgeous the site was. There was a nature walk that was short, easy, and worthwhile. There was a viewpoint with 400-ish steps that I opted out of (it was hot) but probably would have been nice to see. The beach itself was incredibly scenic and just had the perfect blend of flora to your back, the limestone bluffs flanking the beach, and some mini-limestone outcroppings actually in the area of water you could swim within. This wouldn't be the place to go (or at least not in the afternoon) if you wanted to see no people, but it was gorgeous and on the how-amazing-this-is to how-many-people-are-here ratio, it was a pretty good value I thought.
One last stand-out event that was a surprise was lunch. Lunch is almost always a disappointment on group tours and on private tours its a crap shoot. Federico asked me if I wanted Thai food or Italian. I said Thai. Either we had a miscommunication or Federico ignored me because he knew better. I don't know and I don't care because Italian was the right choice. It felt completely ludicrous to be eating Italian food whilst in Thailand but... To set the scene, you are careening around seeing amazing things and the boat stops off at a random beach that appears to have more resort-vibe than many other islands and you are walking to what does not at all look like a restaurant from the distance. What you experience is a wonderful, mind-bending: authentic, gourmet Italian restaurant open-air on a beach in Asia. It seemed most of the patrons were European. The chef who owned the restaurant was invested in your experience and came out to engage with patrons. The staff was attentive. The food was delicious. The setting was serene. It was wonderful but also emanated a sort of dissonance that I found funny and that added to the experience. I don't know what the Thai option is; maybe it's great or better. But--and I can't believe I'm saying this--go Italian on this one. Or maybe there isn't even a Thai option and it's just a trick to make you feel like you have a choice as a guest. I don't know.
Throughout the whole time, Paw (the guide) was making clear how long we lingered at a given place was up to me or not. She was good about offering opportunities to snorkel, swim, sunbath, etc. It really did feel like they listened to what my desires were (except the Italian food. LOL) and catered the trip around that and in a way that I could not have planned myself if I even had the inclination to. Still, Paw was constantly keeping it dynamic and making sure there were not adjustments that needed to be made.
Logistical details: at least for the things I did, you'd definitely want to have water shoes for some of the stops. Mosquito spray recommended but most of the jungle-time is pretty limited so you could get by without if you absolutely had to. Breakfast is provided by some private tours, I don't think it was for this one. I didn't want it and didn't ask so I don't want to speak out of turn so that's why I'm saying I don't think it was. They did have fruit/water/and some soft drinks available on board. I brought my own towel so not sure about towel service.
Most people will likely know this from reading about different tour options but it is worth saying anyway: primarily people are touring on long boats or speed boats (you see a yacht or two maybe and a couple sail boats). The long boats definitely have a more Thailand vibe but their range is far more limited. In my mind, trying to get to some of these far-flung places via Long Boat really limits what you can see in a day. Yes, the speedboats are more expensive (1-2 additional crew and I'd have to assume the fuel and maintenance is more costly) but you really are getting a lot of extra value for the speed boat. Also it is more comfortable sitting in a speedboat all day than a long boat. If you're dead-set on taking a long-boat, I'd suggest booking a short/easy long boat experience somewhere so you can be on one but for your legit touring, hands down, private speedboat is the way to go and Krabi VIP tour is amazing. Thanks so much to everyone involved in the excursion. It truly was an unforgettable experience. Part of that was the setting but an equal part of that was the effort and lengths everyone at this tour operator went through to make it happen. Thank you!!
Oh, also note: I believe Krabi VIP offers the Phi Phi island and maybe a couple other tour lcoations so just reach out to them to set something up if you're not sure exactly what you want to see. They will make it work for you. If this doesn't go without saying, the earlier you leave, the more you will avoid the crowds. We left the pier at about 7:45 or so. I'm not sure the earliest that Krabi VIP offers though some tour operators depart as early as 6:30 or 7am.
Also, you can book directly on their website I believe which I think is better for them financially so maybe help them out and take a moment to find their website. Enjoy!