Are National Park Fees Included in Phuket Island Tours?

By Phuket Thailand Travel · Local Phuket travel experts · Published October 19, 2026

The single most common surprise charge on a Phuket island day — and the easiest one to settle before you pay.

Are national park fees included in phuket island tours? Sometimes, but not always, and it is the most common cause of an unexpected charge on the day. Several of Phuket’s best-known island destinations sit inside marine national parks that charge a per-person entry fee, collected in cash at the pier or on arrival. Some operators build it into the headline price and some quote without it, which is why two tours to the same island can look hundreds of baht apart. The fee is set by the Department of National Parks, not the tour company, so no operator can waive it.

Why some tours include the fee and some do not

There is no single industry standard. An operator quoting an all-inclusive price looks more expensive in a side-by-side comparison but costs you nothing more on the day. An operator quoting without fees looks cheaper and collects the difference in cash at the pier. Both are legitimate; the problem is only when the second kind does not tell you. Online travel platforms add to the confusion, because a listing may show an inclusive price for one operator and an exclusive price for another on the same page.

Why the fee cannot be avoided

Park entry fees are a statutory charge under Thailand’s National Park Act, collected by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. They fund ranger staffing, mooring buoys, waste removal and reef management. No tour company has the authority to waive them, and an operator who promises to get you in without paying is proposing to break the law on your behalf, which is a reason to book elsewhere.

Which Phuket island destinations charge a park fee

Not every island trip from Phuket enters a national park. The ones that do are the headline destinations, which is exactly why this matters. The table below shows commonly quoted rates — treat them as a planning guide and reconfirm current figures when you book, because the Department reviews them periodically.

Thai and foreign rates

Thailand operates a dual-rate system in national parks, with lower fees for Thai nationals and residents. At the Similans, for example, the Thai rate is a fraction of the foreign rate. If you hold a Thai ID card, a work permit or a long-stay visa, carry it — rangers will usually apply the local rate on sight of documentation, and on a family trip the difference adds up quickly.

Phi Phi: the most common case

Phi Phi is where most travellers meet the question, because the park fee applies to Phi Phi Leh — the uninhabited southern island with Maya Bay, the Viking Cave and the best snorkelling bays. Phi Phi Don, the inhabited island where the ferries dock at Tonsai, is outside the park, so a trip that only visits Phi Phi Don may carry no park fee at all. That is one reason prices vary so much between tours that both say “Phi Phi”.

Maya Bay specifics

Maya Bay is open for visits but with restrictions: swimming inside the bay is not permitted, boats land at Loh Samah Bay on the opposite side and visitors walk across, and the whole bay closes annually from 1 August to 30 September for reef recovery. Visitor numbers and time ashore are managed. If Maya Bay is the reason you are going, check that your tour includes it for your travel date before you pay. See our Phi Phi Island guide for the full itinerary picture.

Similan Islands: fees plus an e-ticket

The Similans have the strictest system of any destination reachable from Phuket. The park is open only from 15 October to 15 May, there is a daily visitor cap of 3,850 people, and an e-ticket must be obtained before travel — in practice by 08:00 on the day of travel. The entry fee is commonly around 500 baht for a foreign adult and 250 for a child, with much lower Thai rates.

Because the cap is real and enforced, a Similan day trip is not something to arrange the night before in high season. Departures are from Tap Lamu pier in Phang Nga province, roughly 1.5 hours by road from Phuket plus 1.5 to 2 hours by boat, so it is a long day whichever operator you use. Ask specifically whether the quoted price covers the park fee, the e-ticket and the road transfer from Phuket, as all three are sometimes quoted separately.

What a complete Similan quote should list

1. Return road transfer from your Phuket hotel to Tap Lamu pier
2. Boat transfer and the island itinerary
3. National-park entry fee and e-ticket registration
4. Lunch, drinking water and snorkelling equipment
5. Insurance and whether a park-closure or weather cancellation is refundable

Phang Nga Bay and the sheltered routes

Ao Phang Nga National Park covers the limestone bay north-east of Phuket, including James Bond Island, Koh Panyee, Hong Island and the canoeing lagoons at Koh Panak. A park fee applies, commonly around 300 baht for a foreign adult. Because the bay is enclosed and calm, these trips run year-round, which makes them the usual alternative when open-water routes are cancelled — so the fee is worth budgeting for even if Phang Nga is not your first choice.

Trips with no park fee at all

Coral Island (Koh Hey), the Racha Islands and the Khai Islands are not inside national parks, so no entry fee applies. Tours there are often cheaper for exactly that reason, and they can be the better value option for a half-day or a first beach day. There may still be small local charges for beach facilities, sunbeds or activities at some of these stops, which are paid directly on the island.

How to read a tour quote properly

Park fees are only one of several items that can sit outside a headline price. When comparing two quotes for the same destination, line up these items before deciding which is cheaper — often the more expensive-looking quote wins once everything is counted.

• National-park entry fee, per adult and per child
• Hotel pickup and drop-off, and any area supplement
• Lunch, drinking water, fruit and soft drinks
• Snorkelling equipment and life jackets
• Insurance, and what it actually covers
• Pier or marina service fees at the departure point
• Camera or GoPro rental, if that is being upsold

The question to ask in writing

One sentence settles it: “Does the quoted price per person include the national-park entry fee, and if not, how much will I pay in cash on the day for each adult and child?” Any legitimate operator answers that in a line. If the answer is evasive, that tells you something useful about how the rest of the day will be handled.

Paying on the day: bring cash in small notes

Where fees are not prepaid, collection happens at the pier before boarding or at a ranger station on arrival, and it is almost always cash. Card terminals are rare and unreliable, and there is no ATM at most collection points. Bring the exact amounts for your group in 20, 50 and 100 baht notes, plus a margin for drinks and snacks on the islands.

Keep your ticket

You may be asked to show the park ticket again at a second stop within the same park on the same day, so keep it dry and accessible — a phone pouch or a zip pocket, not a damp shorts pocket. If you lose it you may be asked to pay again. Our guide on what to pack for a Phuket island day tour covers how much cash to bring and how to keep it dry.

Children, infants and group rates

Child park rates are typically half the adult rate, with the age or height threshold set by the park rather than the tour operator. Infants are usually free. Tour operators apply their own separate child pricing on top, often with different age bands, so a family quote can have two different definitions of “child” in it. Ask for the breakdown per person rather than a single total, and check both the tour and the park thresholds.

Larger groups and corporate trips

For groups, park fees are usually payable per head with no volume discount, so they scale linearly and should be stated as a separate line in any proposal. If you are planning a company trip or an incentive programme, our incentive and MICE team includes park fees explicitly in quotations so the budget holder sees the real per-person cost rather than a figure that grows at the pier.

What to do if you are charged unexpectedly

If a fee appears that you were told was included, the practical response on the day is to pay it — rangers do not negotiate and the alternative is not entering the park — then take a photograph of the receipt and raise it with the operator afterwards with your written confirmation attached. A reputable company will refund it. This is also the clearest argument for having the inclusions in a message rather than a verbal promise.

1. Pay the fee at the ranger station and keep the receipt.
2. Photograph the receipt and your written booking confirmation together.
3. Raise it with the operator the same day, not after you fly home.
4. If the operator refuses and you booked through a platform, open a case with the platform.
5. If the operator is TAT-licensed, you can also raise the matter with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Official fee schedules and park information are published by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and general destination guidance is available from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Frequently asked questions