The short version
Phi Phi is about open sea, clear water and snorkelling. James Bond is about a bay, limestone cliffs and canoeing beneath them. Phi Phi is further out, rougher and prettier underwater. James Bond is closer, calmer, and offers almost no swimming.
In one sentence: at Phi Phi you will be in the water; at James Bond you will be on it.
Route and effort
Phi Phi: a 45–60 minute speedboat crossing in open sea, a full day of 10–11 hours. The programme covers Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, snorkelling and lunch on Phi Phi Don. In a swell the crossing is hard going.
James Bond: the route runs mostly inside the sheltered Phang Nga Bay with minimal motion, and the day is shorter at 8–9 hours. It covers Ko Tapu rock, canoeing along the limestone walls and into caves, and the stilt village of Ko Panyi.
For guests prone to seasickness, seniors and children under 6, James Bond is noticeably more comfortable.
Water, swimming and snorkelling
This is where the gap is widest. Phi Phi has clear turquoise water, living reefs and proper snorkelling stops — one of the best spots in the Andaman Sea within easy reach of Phuket.
Phang Nga Bay water is murky and greenish-grey. That is not pollution but the effect of inflowing rivers and the silty bottom typical of mangrove bays. Swimming is technically possible but not enjoyable, and snorkelling is essentially absent.
The practical conclusion: if the trip is about the sea and underwater shots, it is Phi Phi. If it is about landscape and cliff photography, it is James Bond — and you will barely need your swimsuit.
Crowds
Both routes are mass-market and it is best to accept that in advance. Since reopening, Maya Bay runs in timed sessions and boats no longer moor at the beach — access is from the far side of the island. At peak season several hundred people share the bay.
Around Ko Tapu the boat traffic thickens by midday and a photo without other people's heads is hard to get. Only an early departure fixes it.
On both routes a private boat changes the picture entirely: leaving at 06:30–07:00 puts you at the key spot an hour or more before the main flow.
Price and the verdict
Group prices are comparable: Phi Phi from around 1,900 THB, James Bond from 1,800 THB per person. The gap widens on private charters — Phi Phi needs a more seaworthy boat and costs more.
First trip to Phuket with one free day: take Phi Phi, it is the postcard people come for. With children under 6, elderly parents, or a tendency to seasickness: James Bond.
If you have two days, take both — but not back to back, as two full sea days in a row tire even seasoned travellers. And a third option people forget: the Krabi islands offer the same clear water as Phi Phi with noticeably fewer people.