How to visit Ko Panyi and what to see in the stilt village

What Ko Panyi is and what the village offers

Ko Panyi (Koh Panyee, Thai เกาะปันหยี) is a small island close to the mainland in Phang Nga Bay. Houses, shops and restaurants stand on stilts over shallow sea at the foot of a cliff. TAT describes “hundreds of huts, shacks, restaurants and houses” on stilts, with its own school, a police post and a health centre, and a mosque nearby. It is a living village, not a set: fishing is still part of the income, and tourism has become, in TAT’s words, a big part of the local economy.

The DOPA register for December 2025 lists 1,378 residents and 360 houses in Ko Panyi village. The Ko Panyi sub-district includes three more villages and has 4,039 residents in total.

What visitors do here:

• Eat. Stilt restaurants serve fish, shellfish and prawns. TAT says fish and shellfish are kept in nets right beside the restaurants
• Walk the boardwalks. Narrow passages run between the houses, and stalls sell souvenirs and handicrafts
• See the floating pitch. It lies at the edge of the island, reached by a walkway of plastic floats (Thailand Tourism Directory)
• Watch or join a game. TAT mentions local sepak takraw (kick volleyball) and casual football

The floating football pitch: what is known

TAT tells it this way: a group of boys wanted to form a team, Panyee FC, after the 1986 World Cup. There was no free land on the island, so they built a pitch over the water from old wood and whatever they could find. Today the island has a new pitch on land, and the floating one remains “to show tourists where it all began”. TAT calls Panyee FC one of the most successful youth teams in southern Thailand.

The Thailand Tourism Directory describes the current floating pitch as plastic pontoons tightly lashed together. Size, opening hours and rules for stepping onto it are not stated in the sources, so ask your guide.

How to spend your time on Ko Panyi

The village is seen as part of a tour, and the order depends on the operator:

• Love Andaman, early program: 10:25 Ko Panyi with lunch, 11:25 canoeing at Tham Lod cave. That leaves about an hour in the village (page checked 18.10.2026)
• Phuket Tour, catamaran: lunch on Ko Panyi around 12:30, then a beach island at 14:30
• Simba Sea Trips: Ko Panyi is not on the program, lunch is on Ko Yao Noi after canoeing at Panak and Hong

The village has no opening hours: people live here all year. Restaurants cater to day tours, and no timetable for them is published.

Getting there and how long it takes

Few people come on their own; most arrive on a tour. Tours from Phuket work in two ways: by boat from Phuket’s piers (Love Andaman, for example, returns to Panwa pier) or by minibus to a pier in Phang Nga and then by boat. The park headquarters stands at Tha Dan pier. From Phuket Old Town it is 86.4 km and about 90 minutes, from Patong 89.8 km and about 95 minutes (OSRM route on OpenStreetMap). From Tha Dan pier to Ko Panyi pier it is about 7.3 km in a straight line (Thaipedia calculation from OpenStreetMap coordinates), and from Ko Panyi to Khao Phing Kan about 6.8 km.

The DNP says a shuttle bus runs from the market in Phang Nga town to the pier, where visitors can hire a boat to the park. We could not confirm the price or crossing time.

Park fee and what is included

The DNP names Ko Panyi among the sights of Ao Phang Nga National Park. The foreigner fee in the DNP table is THB 300 per adult and THB 150 per child (Thai citizens THB 60 and THB 30), revision of 02.06.2023. Phuket Tour lists park tickets in its programme price; check what other operators include before paying. Keep your receipt with you: the DNP asks visitors to show it on inspection.

Whether the fee applies to someone who simply lands at the village outside a tour is not stated in the sources.

When to go

The bay is sheltered by islands, so boats run almost all year. The DNP says waves are moderate to strong from May to October, calm in the northeast monsoon except in November. Phuket’s driest months are December to March, per TMD norms.

On 18 October 2026 the DNP closure list shows nothing for Ao Phang Nga National Park. For more on weather see Phuket climate by month.

What to do in rain or rough water

The village is on the water, and rain alone does not cancel the stop: the walkways stay open. Boats, however, stay in during storms, and the operator decides. Look for weather terms in the booking conditions: Simba’s page lists only free cancellation 24 hours ahead. If the day is lost, move the trip to a clear day. For a rainy day on Phuket there is the Phuket Aquarium, and the low season guide covers the weather.

Safety and etiquette

• Life jackets are issued on board: Love Andaman says every boat seat has one
• This is a residential village: dress modestly, do not look into houses, ask before photographing people
• Do not throw litter in the water: live fish are kept in nets around the restaurants

Who it suits and who should skip it

• Suits anyone who wants to see a village over the water, eat seafood and see where the Panyee FC story began
• Suits children from 4: operators’ child fares start at that age
• Skip it if you expect a beach and swimming: the island is fully built up
• Skip it if you dislike crowds: many boats stand at the village at midday
• Skip it if you get seasick easily: the trip across the bay is by speedboat or big boat

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