James Bond Island (Khao Phing Kan), Phang Nga Bay

James Bond Island at a glance

What is James Bond Island?

James Bond Island is Khao Phing Kan, two joined limestone islands in Phang Nga Bay, Thailand. It got the name after appearing in the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. The thin rock rising from the water just offshore is Ko Tapu, which means nail or spike island in Thai.

Khao Phing Kan translates roughly as the hills that lean against each other, which is exactly what you see: two karst towers propped together above a small beach. Ko Tapu stands apart in the bay, close to 20 metres tall and wider at the top than the base. That odd shape, and the cameo in the film, are why a fairly ordinary rock became one of the most photographed spots in Thailand. It has stayed famous ever since. Ko Tapu is fragile and protected, so you look at it from the beach or the water rather than up close.

How to reach James Bond Island

There is no bridge and no public ferry. Every visit is by boat, and nearly always as a guided day trip. From Phuket, boats leave the northeast coast at Ao Po Grand Marina and the nearby AA Marina, roughly 40 km from the island. A speedboat covers that in 45 to 60 minutes. A big boat or catamaran takes closer to two hours, but it rides calmer and costs less. Krabi and Khao Lak run day trips too, usually bundled with Hong Island or the sea caves.

Best time to visit James Bond Island

Go in the dry season, November to April. The sea is calm, the sky is clear and boats run to schedule. December to February is the busiest and driest stretch, so mornings get crowded, while late November and April stay quieter with much the same weather. From May to October the southwest monsoon brings rough water and last-minute cancellations, and some operators thin out their trips. Whatever month you choose, take the earliest boat you can. By late morning several groups land at once, the small beach gets tight and the midday light goes flat for photos.

James Bond Island entry fee

James Bond Island sits inside Ao Phang Nga National Park, so every visitor pays the park entry fee. For foreign travellers, including Indians, it is 300 THB for adults and 150 THB for children aged 3 to 14, which is roughly Rs 860 and Rs 430. Most organised tours fold the fee into the price, but budget trips sometimes collect it in cash at the pier, so keep a little on hand. For the full fee breakdown, boat fares and how each is charged, see our James Bond Island entry fees guide.

James Bond Island tours from Phuket vs Krabi

Almost everyone visits on a full-day tour, and where you start shapes the day. From Phuket, a typical trip runs 8 to 10 hours and costs somewhere around THB 1,400 to 3,500 per person, depending on the boat and the group size. That usually covers hotel pickup, the boat, the park fee, a buffet or seafood lunch at Koh Panyee, and canoeing through the sea caves. Speedboat tours squeeze in more stops; big-boat cruises trade speed for a slower, cheaper ride. From Krabi the day is a little longer on the water and often paired with Hong Island.

For Indian travellers, the simplest route is to fold this into a wider Phuket or Krabi holiday rather than book a one-off boat. Our Phuket tour packages build James Bond Island into island-hopping days alongside Phi Phi, so flights, hotels and transfers are all handled in one booking.

What you will see and combined stops

The island itself is small and the stop is short, usually 45 minutes to an hour. You land on a thin beach on Khao Phing Kan, look across at Ko Tapu standing alone in the water, and walk to the far side where a diagonal split in the cliff frames the bay. You cannot climb Ko Tapu or the cliffs. The rock is fragile and roped off to protect it, so this is a photo-and-short-walk stop, not a swimming beach.

The rest of the day is what makes the trip worth it. Most tours thread through the karst towers of Phang Nga Bay to Koh Panyee, a Muslim fishing village built on stilts over the water, where lunch is served. They also stop at Panak Island or Hong Island to canoe into the hongs, the hidden lagoons inside the limestone that you slip into through low sea caves at the right tide. If you want more ideas around the same coast, our Phuket travel guide maps the other islands worth adding.

What our Phuket desk tells first-timers

"Take the first speedboat out of Ao Po and do the island before the big boats arrive. By 11 am several groups land together, the beach fills up and the light goes flat for photos," says our Phuket desk lead. Fares and the park fee on this page are checked by our Phuket desk against the current Ao Phang Nga National Park tariff of 300/150 THB.

Plan your trip

James Bond Island is best seen as the headline stop on a Phang Nga Bay day out, ideally early and paired with Koh Panyee and the sea caves. If you are building a wider trip, our Thailand travel guide and Phuket tour packages put the island inside a full island-hopping itinerary, so the boat, the park fee and the rest of your days are sorted in one place.