A stilt village at the foot of a limestone cliff
Photo: Serg Zhukov · Pexels License · source
Why go
Most of Phang Nga Bay is about scenery; Koh Panyee is about people. Roughly 1,600 residents, around 360 families, live on an island of just 0.13 square kilometres, in houses and walkways raised over the water. Fishing is still the main livelihood, and the community speaks Thai and Malay. Walking the narrow wooden lanes, past drying fish and small shops, gives the bay a human scale that the famous rock towers cannot.
The village also has a story worth knowing. Because Thai law once limited land ownership to people of Thai origin, the founders built over the water instead, and the first buildings on solid ground were a mosque and a freshwater well. Today the golden-domed mosque is the community's meeting point, and the floating football pitch, built by local boys inspired by the 1986 World Cup, is its best-known sight.
Gallery
Photo: Serg Zhukov · Pexels License · source
Photo: Sanat Anghan · Pexels License · source
Photo: Sanat Anghan · Pexels License · source
Photo: Martti Salmi · Unsplash License · source
Highlights
The village is a maze of timber boardwalks and houses on piles, pressed against the foot of a limestone cliff. Wander slowly: the lanes are narrow, people live and work here, and the best moments are small ones, such as a boat being repaired, fish drying in the sun, or children heading home from school.
A mosque stands on the island's solid ground next to the settlement and is the community's focal point and meeting place. Its gold dome is visible from the water as you approach. It is a working place of worship, so treat it as one: look from outside unless you are clearly welcome, and keep voices down.
Children inspired by the 1986 World Cup built a pitch from scrap wood and fishing rafts. Their team reached the semi-finals of a school tournament and finished third, playing the second half barefoot. A newer pitch was later built on land, but the floating one remains and is the village's most photographed corner.
A market sells goods brought from the mainland, including medicine, clothes and toiletries, alongside food stalls and small restaurants serving the visitors who arrive by boat. Buying lunch or a souvenir here is the simplest way to put money directly into the village, and prices are usually posted or easily asked.
The approach by boat is half the experience: the village appears at the base of a sheer limestone wall rising from the water. Seen from a distance, the wooden roofs and the dome seem almost to hang beneath the cliff. Keep a camera ready on arrival, and again as you leave.
Practical information
Ko Panyi, Mueang Phang Nga District, Phang Nga 82000 (reached by boat from the Phang Nga Bay piers)
See on mapA living fishing village: visitors come during the day with the boat trips across Phang Nga Bay.
No village fee. Trips across Phang Nga Bay also cross Ao Phang Nga National Park, which charges an entrance fee: check the current rate with your boat operator.
Checked in November 2026. Hours and fees can change: check on the day before you go.
Getting there
Koh Panyee is in Phang Nga province, not on Phuket. From Phuket Town allow about 1 to 1.5 hours by car to the Phang Nga Bay piers, then a boat of about 20 to 30 minutes.
About 1.5 hours by car to the piers, then the boat.
About 45 minutes to 1 hour by car to the piers on the north side, then the boat.
There is no road to the island; you arrive by boat. Phang Nga Bay trips run from piers on the Phang Nga coast. The national park headquarters is at Tha Dan, about 6 km from Phang Nga town. Confirm the pier and the park rules with the boat operator when you book.
Insider tips
Residents depend on visitors who spend money locally. Have lunch at one of the village restaurants and buy a small souvenir from the stalls rather than only taking photographs.
This is a home as well as a sight. Keep cameras discreet, ask before photographing individuals, and stay on the walkways rather than looking into houses.
Tourists come in large numbers mainly in the dry season. In the rainy season water conditions around the settlement can be dangerous, so expect boat trips to depend on the weather.
The mosque is a place of worship and a community gathering place. Keep your voice low near it, and do not enter unless you are invited.
Nearby
From the Phuket City Guide, each with its own Holiplanet page. Straight-line distances.
Hotel · 31.0 km
Beachfront resort on Mai Khao Beach beside Sirinat National Park
View hotel →Hotel · 35.6 km
Family-friendly resort of garden rooms and bungalows a few steps from Nai Yang Beach
View hotel →All hotels on the Phuket map → All things to do on the map →
Questions
No. Koh Panyee, also written Ko Panyi, is in Phang Nga Bay, in Mueang Phang Nga District of Phang Nga province, north-east of Phuket. Most visitors reach it by boat as part of a Phang Nga Bay day trip.
Wikipedia gives about 360 families, roughly 1,600 people, living on an island of 0.13 square kilometres. The village is predominantly Muslim, and Thai, Southern Thai and Malay are spoken.
Wikipedia says Thai law at the time limited land ownership to people of Thai national origin, so the settlement was built on stilts over the bay. A settlement dating from about 1880 is often cited, though accounts of the founders differ.
Local children inspired by the 1986 FIFA World Cup built a pitch from scrap wood and fishing rafts. Their team reached a school-tournament semi-final and took third place. A new pitch was later built on land, but the floating one remains.
It lies inside the boundaries of Ao Phang Nga National Park, but the village is run by its own community. Park fees apply to the park's attractions, not to the village itself.
