Phuket to Koh Yao Noi

It is 32 kilometers (20 miles) from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi of the Andaman Sea to cross. With no airport, you can only get to the island Koh Yao Noi from Phuket with the daily speedboat services.

Phuket is one of Thailand’s best known and loved destinations, giving visitors a wonderful introduction to the country’s beaches and beautiful scenery, but also offering great nightlife. By contrast, there’s the island of Koh Yao Noi. It’s not far from Phuket but it may as well be a world away, for all its differences! Even quieter than its bigger sister, just to the south, Koh Yao Noi gives visitors a sense of what Thailand was like before tourism impacted it. There are still places to stay on the island but it’s not full of big resorts and bustling towns, like Phuket is. Its beaches are untouched and Koh Yao Noi offers the quieter and more relaxing side to beachlife in Thailand. Even though it’s quiet, boats travel from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi every day, giving you the opportunity to discover this hidden gem!

Read about:
• Options for Travel from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi
• Phuket to Koh Yao Noi by Speedboat
• Timetable for shared Speedboats Phuket to Koh Yao Noi (2023)
• Private Speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi
• Speedboat and Hotel Transfer from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi

Options for Travel from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi

The twin islands of Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi are part of an archipelago of 44 islands in the Andaman Sea, at the southern end of Phang Nga Bay. Koh Yao Yai is to the south, and is a bigger and slightly more developed version of its little sister, Koh Yao Noi, and both sit roughly half way between Phuket and Krabi. Their ease of access mean that getting to Koh Yao Noi is actually very easy and quick, which makes it all the more surprising that the island hasn’t been developed more than it has already, and hopefully it stays that way so that tourists can continue to see the true side to life on a Thai island where tourism hasn’t changed everything! With no airport either here or on Koh Yao Yai, you can only get here by boat but that’s okay with speedboats offering service from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi every day.

Phuket to Koh Yao Noi by Speedboat

Because the islands of Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi are so close together, speedboat services from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi will tend to stop at Koh Yao Yai first, and so you will be following the timetable for boats to the bigger island. From the end of the pier on Koh Yao Yai to the end of the pier on Koh Yao Noi, it’s only about 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) so they really are very close together. Stopping first at Koh Yao Yai will therefore add a very small amount of time to your journey and isn’t really much of an inconvenience!

The speedboat companies recognize this as well because they don’t even charge any extra to get you to Koh Yao Noi – the fares are the same as for traveling to Koh Yao Yai, making it very simple to get your tickets, and affordable too.

So, there are a few different companies with which you can catch a speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi. The first is Tigerline Travel, and they have two speedboats every morning, leaving from Phuket’s Ao Po Pier at 08:00 and 10:00. The 8am speedboat arrives at Manoh Pier at around 08:15, so it takes only 15 minutes while the 10am speedboat does not arrive at Manoh Pier until 10:30. There is no indication on their website as to why this boat takes longer, but even so, it’s a quick journey from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi whether it is 15 minutes or 30 minutes.

If you would prefer to have more choice there is another company with three departures per day. Koh Yao Sun Smile has three speedboats departing from Phuket’s Bang Rong Pier at 09:30, 13:30, and 17:00. Tickets for travel with Koh Yao Sun Smile can be booked online in advance through 12Go, where you can also book an all-inclusive ticket that includes a transfer to your hotel on Koh Yao Noi – details on that below. The speedboat takes about half an hour from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi with this company.

Timetable for Speedboats Phuket to Koh Yao Noi 2023

Private Speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi

Although there are several companies offering speedboats from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi, the limited number of departures per day may not suit your plans. For this reason, you could consider a private speedboat instead. This may sound like a very lavish idea, but if you’re part of a group or traveling with your family, it actually makes a lot of sense. This is because the speedboat will hold up to 10 passengers and the ticket price is fixed, regardless of how many passengers you have – obviously the more people you have with you, the cheaper the ‘per passenger’ fee becomes. Having said this, you will find that even with 10 passengers, the per person price will still be about double that of the regular speedboat, so if you’re traveling on a tight budget this won’t be a good idea.

The best thing about the private speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi is that you can choose what time you would like to leave, providing that it is within their operating hours of 08:00 to 16:00. The speedboat takes about 45 minutes, leaving from Phuket’s Yamu Pier, and arriving at Manoh Pier on Koh Yao Noi.

Speedboat and Hotel Transfer from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi

As we mentioned above, another option is to have a transfer to your hotel on Koh Yao Noi included. This is a service that can be booked online through 12Go using Koh Yao Sun Smile for the speedboat and then the transfer by taxi. This does add some cost to the price of the ticket, but it is very convenient having a taxi ready and waiting to take you where you need to go. You can choose whether to take the 09:30, 13:30 or 17:00 ferry, and depending on where in Koh Yao Noi you are headed, the total journey time will be about an hour.

How far is it from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi?

It’s roughly 32kms (20mi) from Bang Rong Pier, Phuket to Koh Yao Noi, crossing the Andaman Sea.

How far is it from Koh Yao Noi to Koh Yao Yai?

From the end of the pier on Koh Yao Yai to the end of the pier on Koh Yao Noi, it’s only about 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) so they really are very close together.

How long is the Speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi?

A Speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi will take around 30 minutes, depending on which pier you depart from, and which ferry company you use. The price is around 600 THB depending on company. You can depart from Bang Rong Pier with Koh Yao Sun Smile, or for more choice, opt for Ao Por Pier with Tigerline travel, Phuket departure.

How do you get to Koh Yao Noi?

The island of Koh Yao Noi is just off the coast of Southern Thailand, in the Andaman Sea. Close to both Phuket and Krabi, you can buy Speedboat and Ferry tickets to Koh Yao Noi online at 12Go. It is a 40 minutes boat ride from Krabi and 30 minutes from Phuket.

How far is it from Krabi to Koh Yao Noi?

It’s roughly 35kms (22mi) from Ao Nang, Krabi to Koh Yao Noi, crossing the Andaman Sea.