Koh Phi Phi

The Phi Phi islands consist of four island but normally only the two largest are mentioned, i.e. Phi Phi Lay and Phi Phi Don. Phi Phi Lay is the smaller of the two and very impractical to get to with steep rocks that dramatically rise out of the sea. Despite this, the island is a very popular destination. For this reason is the incredible beautiful beach on the island, Maya Bay. The beach lies in an almost hidden bay and this was the location for the film The Beach starring Leonardo de Caprio. If you sail around the island, you get to the old cave with murals from the 16 hundreds. Here you also find the island’s 22 inhabitants who for generations have collected swallow’s nests sold on the Chinese market where this is considered a delicacy.

North of Phi Phi Lay lays Phi Phi Don, the largest and most popular of the islands. When the first tourists came to this island they must have thought they had found paradise. It’s the same dramatic nature as on Phi Phi Lay with swaying palms and beaches with crystal clear water and white sand, and no cars.

The beach is beautiful but there are very few people on the beach. The anchored boats with tourists on day trips from Phuket take up the entire place. Tonsai (the main town) have restaurants, bars, tour agencies, diving centre, internet cafes, mini markets, exchange agencies and ATMs. From the beach the longtail boats sail to the other islands with beaches, such as the amazing Hat Yao about 10 minutes from Tonsai.

From here there are opportunities to snorkel. This is one of the only places in the world from where you can walk from the beach to see sharks, the leopard shark that is.

Tonsai lies on a tip of land which connects the island’s two big parts. The part towards the east is large and flat and accessible on little paths. Towards the west you find large rocks with inaccessible forest. Wild monkeys live here and you are guaranteed to see some on the so called Monkey Beach. You can also swim on Monkey Beach at low tide. The little tip of land, on which you find Tonsai, is 300 meters wide and on the other side you find Ao Lo Dalam, a beautiful shallow beach where you can rent beach chairs and umbrellas. A little further out and around the point you find Ao Youn Kasem Beach with an excellent beach and very good opportunities to snorkel and look at the colorful corals.

Phi Phi Don has a wide selection of hotels. You find both the inexpensive and simple guesthouses/bungalows as well as the 4-star hotels. All kinds of people visit the beautiful island today but it still has the backpacker feel to it.