Krabi 5 Islands and Talu Cave Snorkeling Tour by Longtail Boat

This tour was really nice. We got very tasty lunch. Our guide, Love, was really caring and wanted us all the best. We saw a lot of different fishes out snorkelling. Nice.

A little disorganized in the beginning. Our transportation to the dock had way too many people in the car. Once on the water snorkeling was great. We did not get to go into the cave due to high winds.

The one star of this review is for the tour guide who really tried his best. I think his name was Love (genuinely). But you can’t polish a turd so here we go. We were told to wait on Railay East, only to be collected by a shady looking guy who didn't tell us who he was, and walked back to Railay West (where we’d just come from). We waited there for approx 30 mins before being collected by a longtail boat and taken to Phra Nang beach (which was timetabled for the end of the day but apparently not...). We waited there for another 30 mins, and then got on another longtail boat with far too many other people on it (the boat can comfortably seat about 8 people, we had around 15 on ours). Most of the day was spent on the boat like sardines, with a super loud motor leaking out noxious fumes the whole time. When we did stop off at islands, it was for no more than 30 mins, or we’d stop in the sea and be told to take a photo, then we’d move on. This was sold as a snorkelling trip but we only snorkelled for a total of 1 hour out of a total of 8 hours - one of the two snorkelling places wasn’t even a proper snorkelling site with very little sea life to look at. We weren’t given any information about the places we were going, no one was told not to stand on the coral or the sea urchins, despite having children aboard. This could’ve resulted in injury to both the humans and the corals and other sea life. The sea was really choppy which would’ve been ok had we been in a proper boat with fewer people, but these longtail boats are essentially large motorised canoes. We actually thought we might capsize and people started putting on life jackets (there were not enough for the number of people on board). We finally made it back to our lodgings, soaking wet from sea spray and with headaches from the motor noise. All in all, we would’ve done better to rent our own snorkelling equipment or invested in a trip with the dive centre. This excursion was a complete waste of a day, an awful experience, and despite the scenery being beautiful, all the issues with the trip really detracted from our enjoyment of it. Do not waste your money.

Chim was our tour guide and awesome at his job. We were a bit concerned about jellyfish given a storm had recently pushed some into the region. He reassured us we were safe to swim as any jellyfish in the water were very mild and we could easily avoid them. We only ended up seeing a few at most. Chim navigated us through the water seeing sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sea claims, sea slugs, and other fish. He made the experience light hearted, fun, and adventurous. We had kids as young as 7 and adults as old as 60 with us. It was good for all. One thing that was a little difficult to figure out was who our tour guide was when we first got to the floating pier at Railay East Beach. None of the Thais wear identifying clothing so it seems a little confusing, possibly sketchy. However, if you say the name of the tour “5 Island Tour” to one of the Thais they will get you to the right person and it’s not actually sketchy at all. They all know each other. You also must pay the 400 Baht per person fee for the national parks. This helps with preservation of the islands. Time on the water in Krabi is a necessary adventure to experience this area truly. Definitely recommend this trip.

Too big group. It was 3 boats together as one group, started 1 hour later than we should so got very short time to enjoy the islands, chicken island just passed by and we were told "chicken, picture only" snorkelling spot by one of the islands was very nice, got 30 min to snorcle.. other spot got 15 min. All the time felt time in the rush..

Our tour was suppose to be on Sunday, since we had to book 3 days in advance, but last minute we had to try and change it to Saturday. I messaged the person who organises all the times and what not, and she had no problems with putting us on a tour one day early(Bonus: free of charge). The tour started a bit late, we were waiting for about an hour after the time we needed to show up for pick up. The lady who was our tour guide, Nina was great, she knew some fun facts about each island we passed/stopped at, her English was clear. The food was buffet style, as for vegetarian, not very many options but still delicious. I would do this trip again, guaranteed.

Everyone working on this trip was very friendly and helpful. They also went out of their way to pick us up at our residence that was outside the area specified free of charge. We saw a large school of parrot fish at the last snorkel session. It was also the spot with the best visibility and coral. I recommend that you check the tide patterns or query about it before taking the trip as we couldn't go through the Talu Cave because the water was too high.

The guide is very friendly, polite and powerful. Great excursions! Really worth the money paid! Satisfying lunch and beautiful islands. Talu Cave is amazing!

El guía fue muy simpático, nos trataron genial y además, fue una excursión preciosa. Creo que hay que hacerla si o si.

Het waaide te hard waardoor we 2 eilanden niet konden bezoeken en het zicht voor snorkelen beperkt was. Het was geen longtailboot maar meer een klein cruiseboot. Wellicht was het beter geweest om de tour op een andere dag te laten plaats vinden.