I was dying to go to Hong island, the most beautiful Krabi island, after Phi Phi island, of course. Koh Hong or Hong island is much closer to Krabi than Phi Phi island and has nothing to do with it. Phi Phi islands have their own reputation and are dissociated from Krabi, but Hong island no, that’s why I say it is the prettiest island in Krabi. Hong island is not an island where you can sleep and spend some days, it is an island to visit on a day tour.
Therefore, if you need to decide what tour to make from Krabi, please do yourself a favor and chose this one.
How to go to Hong Island
There is a boat service from the pier in Ao Nang beach with a pretty good deal. Minimum of 8 people and 500bh round trip to visit the island by longtail boat which takes about 40 minutes to get there. The tour includes a visit to Hong lagoon. The boat departs whenever there are 8 people and supposedly comes back when we want.- Supposedly because we said we want to come back at 4 pm and the driver stated that we must come back at 3 because of the waves, blah blah, bullshit, blah bullshit again. Have done some island tours to know that it is bullshit. He said to come back at 3 pm because he wants. It had happened to me too many times to know that they use weather excuses to make the trips shorter so they can go home sooner. This one really pissed me off because I could have stayed in that heaven for much longer but my driver decided I won’t. I hate when it happens!! Truly!! Especially when I paid 300bh solely for the national park fee. Thai people pay 60bh, or sometimes nothing… very fair.
But, we paid a bit more for the boat because we didn’t find 8 people. We were only 7, so we paid the difference to make it up for 8 people. It was not a lot more anyway. In case you have 8 people, this tour price would be 500bh boat + 300bh park fee – about 21€
The day tour to Hong island through an agent would be 800bh + 300 national park fee – about 30€.
Probably because the place is missing tourists too much- this was in March 2022- I tried this twice and couldn’t find any people to join me on this tour. Luckily, during the Thai new year, Krabi got so full of people that I could finally have company to visit Hong island the cheapest way. During Songkran- or Thai new year- I tried to book a tour to the island through an agent but they were all fully booked, all week!!!! Seriously, Ao Nang was packed during Songkran. If I had joined that tour, it would have cost me 800bh + 300bh national park fee, but I would have visited Koh Lao Landing. I was so sorry to miss this beautiful island. It looks stunning in the pictures I have seen. It is not far from Hong island, and we asked our boat driver if we could go there if we paid him a little extra. He asked for 800bh extra so we didn’t go. We thought that was too much for such a small distance.
From Ao Nang pier to Hong island
We left Ao Nang at about 10 am and our 1st stop was Hong lagoon. WOOOW!! So pretty!! I was happy to visit it back then otherwise I can imagine that place filled with too many boats and not enjoyable. The water is a beautiful green scene, and we are surrounded by limestone cliffs and I loved it. I could have stayed there staring at the wonderful scenery around me for much longer, but we stayed in the lagoon for about 10 minutes and then off. We go to Hong Lagoon basically to take a few pictures… But the lagoon is very beautiful.
Next, we turn around and head to the beach on Hong island where we can do whatever we want until 3 pm in this case.
Hong island is basically a cliff surrounded by water with 2 separate bays and a viewpoint. The island is very small and doesn’t have much to explore. I mean, you have nothing to explore haha except for the viewpoint. This amazingly beautiful viewpoint was the reason why I was so hyped about Hong island. They say it is the highest viewpoint in the Andaman sea… well, I don’t know but the views are majestic. To get there you don’t have to go on a jungle hike or a difficult trail. There is a proper metal staircase and lots of stairs to go up. It is tiring because it is very hot and humid, but it doesn’t take so long to reach the very top.
On the top, you have distinguished views and a 360º view.
You can see the ocean and how many other limestone cliffs are nearby Hong island, and you can get a viewpoint of Hong Island itself where you can see the beach down there. This was my favorite part… The green water tones were soooooo beautiful to watch from up there. What a view!!! Already worth the trip!!
After the viewpoint, I made sure I checked the only walkable path on the island that takes about 10 minutes to be completed and is apparently a refuge in case of a tsunami. After the Tsunami episode in 2004, Thailand prepared itself in case the same would happen, so all over the south of Thailand you will see signs like: Tsunami hazard zone. Tsunami escape route.
The rest of the time, I enjoyed the beach views, the surrounding scenery, and snorkeling. You can bring your own snorkeling gear, or there is also a place to rent it on the island I guess. There is only 1 restaurant and of course, I brought all my supplies: water, food, snorkeling kit. The beach is simply beautiful to look at, but I spent most of my time snorkeling. The island offers some good snorkeling spots. Besides the common black and yellow striped fish, I was able to see huge sea urchins, the biggest hermit crab, some fishies that I have never seen before, and even Nemo haha. I love snorkeling, so no one could take me out of that water, that’s why I was so sad to leave as early as 3 pm. When we reached the island in the morning, it wasn’t very crowded, but it got busier in the afternoon. I walked everywhere I could and loved to spend my day here. I couldn’t recommend Hong island more. What a mesmerizing place!
