What to bring / 29.02.2024

All about a paradise holiday on the Phi Phi Islands. What to visit on Phi Phi

In April, I visited everyone’s favorite Phi Phi Islands, where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. This time I went without Slava, since he had already visited the island 3 years ago from Phuket. I’ll also add his photo to the article so that you have a better idea of this place. My mother and I bought an excursion and happily went on a sea voyage.

Phi Phi

Phi Phi Islands: on your own or with a tour

Initially we thought of going on our own. We wanted to stay in Maya Bay all day. But, as it turned out, for this you need to either rent a small boat for 6-8 people. The cost of an independent trip on a longtail boat will be about 10 thousand baht. It's ok with a group, but a little expensive for two.

The second option is to take a ferry to the island for an overnight stay. And from the embankment you can already get to Maya Bay by water taxi - longtail boats at a normal price. Overnight, because the ferry runs only in the morning.

Hotels near Phi Phi Don >>

This option also did not suit us, since an overnight stay was not included in our plans. The excursion sellers did not answer us anything intelligibly about the trip, they shrugged their shoulders and offered us an excursion, which we eventually took.

Excursion to Phi Phi: reviews

For 1000 baht with bargaining, we purchased an excursion from a street travel agency and went to the islands, visiting lagoons and other nearby islands along the way. We were immediately warned that we would only be at Maya Bay for 45 minutes. Well, there's not much choice, just 45 minutes on one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand! So little! But I really wanted my mother to have a lot of impressions. After all, living in Krabi and not visiting PhiPhi is the same as coming from France without seeing the Eiffel Tower.

And mom has a blast in Krabi

We started at 8 am from Noparatara beach in Krabi. On the way to the islands, those interested can go snorkeling.

Ko Phi Phi Ley Island

And here it is! The stunningly beautiful uninhabited island of Phi Phi Ley. These islands were badly damaged by the tsunami that shook the entire Indian Ocean in December 2004, but now everything is in order. Perhaps Maya Bay has the most beautiful beach of all the islands. Further in this review I will use photos from my trip with my mother and Slavina’s photos from a previous visit to Pi-Pi.

The famous Maya Bay

Where can I order a transfer from the airport?

We use the service - KiwiTaxi
We ordered a taxi online and paid by card. We were met at the airport with a sign with our name on it. We were taken to the hotel in a comfortable car. You've already talked about your experience In this article

Phi Phi Beach

Maya Bay beach is very small. You know who spoils all the beauty? We are tourists. Yes, no matter how rude it may sound, but There are so many tourists that it’s impossible to fully enjoy the beauty. Very noisy and crowded, every minute they bring a new excursion and take away the old one. Everyone is taking pictures and running up and down the beach because they only have 40 minutes of time.

Phi Phi Beach crowded with tourists

Speedboats are out of place. Blocking the already small swimming space

The helicopter was still missing

How wonderful it can be there if you find yourself alone. For a few seconds I closed my eyes and imagined that all the people had disappeared, so that I could feel at least a glimpse of the place where I had long wanted to find myself.

And as soon as I opened my eyes, I plunged into a harsh reality with humming motor boats, screaming guides, crowds of people taking pictures of each other, children jumping in the water and crowds of Chinese. Slava was luckier in his time; in the next photo you can imagine that he was alone on the island

What PhiPhi looks like without tourists

We weren't able to have that much privacy. I kept trying to take good photos without strangers, but the bay was so small and crowded with tourists that then I gave up and my mother and I took turns running from one end of the beach to the other in order to have time to take at least a photo of ourselves against the backdrop of the wonderful views.

And we arrived in April, when the season in Thailand was already ending. I can’t imagine what’s going on here during the high season, in December-January. Time flew by instantly. Filled with emotions from both tourists and Maya Bay, we moved on

Maya Bay beach

Photos from a trip in May. There are significantly fewer tourists here during the low season

Walk deep into the island

Of course, it’s very disappointing that so little time is given. Ideally, you need at least 3 hours to enjoy this wonderful tropical island. But if you don’t linger anywhere, you can have time to run around the island to another bay. This walk will take about 20 minutes. Here's what you can see:

Path from the beach through the roots of palm trees

The path goes through the landscaped jungle with dizzying views

Log structure with the inscription Ma Ya Bay Thailand

Round uninhabited rock island

Phi Phi video

Video from an excursion to Maya Bay, the island of phiphi don and the view from the observation deck.

Fortunately, due to some remoteness and isolation from civilization, you, the bay, will not be so easily spoiled by exhaust fumes, garbage and cigarette butts in the sand. Although, more and more tourists come every year.

Live bay - you are beautiful!

Phi Phi hotels

If you want to come to Phi Phi on your own, you will need to stay overnight. There are hotels of different price categories on Phi Phi Island. The choice of accommodation is wide, from budget bungalows with a fan to luxury resorts with a swimming pool. Just keep in mind that there are no hotels in Maya Bay itself, all of them are on the neighboring island of Ko Phi Phi Don, and you can get to the bay by boat in 15-20 minutes.

Phi Phi Island or Phi Phi Island is a place where many people dream, have dreamed, and some will dream of going, and for good reason, because this is one of the best and most beautiful islands in the Kingdom.

Phi Phi Island in Thailand - view from the observation deck

Personally, I first learned about this place by watching the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It was quite a long time ago, but images from the film still live in my memory. At that moment, I remember that I very much dreamed of visiting those amazingly beautiful places at least once and voila, I succeeded. As it turned out, you don’t need to be a millionaire to do this, it’s enough to have a great desire and go towards your goal.

Phi Phi Islands

Islands two, Phi Phi Don And Phi Phi Ley. Let's take a brief look at both of them so that you can imagine what and where awaits you.

Briefly about Phi Phi Don

This is an island inhabited by people, on which the life of Thais and... Its size is no more than 6-8 km. (out of approximately 13 km.) of populated territory. Despite its size, there are quite a lot of hotels, as well as restaurants, SPA salons, bars and beach discos.

You can't drive a motorbike on the island, so you won't be able to rent one. I think this is one of the reasons why it remains so beautiful, the Thais at least somehow care about it.

Briefly about Phi Phi Ley

This is a small island located approximately 30 minutes by ferry from Phi Phi Don. By the way, the film Beach was filmed on it in May Bay. There are no hotels, bars or discos on this island; you cannot stay here for a long time, only with an excursion for 2 days and one night with an overnight stay in tents.

The island consists of three main bays such as: Maya Bay, Loh Samah And Pi Ley. The first bay is the most popular as it is the only one with a beach, the other two bays are suitable for snorkeling or diving.

You can usually get here by purchasing a tour or renting a boat with a boatman (pay by the hour). I will write more about this excursion and prices for a boatman in another article.

More about Phi Phi Don Island

Upon arrival on the island, you will need to pay 20 baht as a cleaning fee and maintenance fee on the island.

Helpers will be waiting for you on the island, who will find you a hotel, take your bags to the right place, on their carts, or sell you some kind of excursion. You need to find out in advance which beach you will be staying at, since you can only get from the pier to the desired beach by boat, unless you are staying at: Ton Sai Bay or Loh Dalam Bay, in these areas, the hotel can only be reached on foot.

Some hotels provide free transport from the pier to the desired beach, so when booking, check in advance whether this is available or not. If there is, then Thais will be waiting for you on the pier with a sign with the name of the hotel.

Phi Phi Island port - boatmen waiting for their clients

Advice: when traveling to Phi Phi, book a hotel in advance; in high season there is a critical shortage of places here; in a separate article I will write about some of them, as well as their features. Not all places on Phi Phi are quiet; in some hotels it is simply impossible to sleep because of the night discos.

There is a good pedestrian road on the island, so getting around here is quite easy; along the paths you can find restaurants and cafes with a pleasant interior and not-so-expensive cuisine and more affordable ones; there are no problems with food here.

Also on your way there will be many hotels and guesthouses, tour bureaus and diving centers, here they are most common.

Phi Phi Island Map

I am posting for you a map of Phi Phi Island, namely its central part, where life is in full swing.

But here is a general, tourist map, it is clickable.

Beaches on Phi Phi Don Island

Unfortunately, I was not able to visit all the beaches of the island, but I will tell you about the ones I visited - Tonsai Bay and Loh Dalam Bay, and later I will add descriptions of the missing beaches.

Ton Sai Bay Beach on Phi Phi Island

This is the first bay that you will see upon arrival on the island; it is on it that the port is located from where boats and ferries depart and arrive.

Its central and right part (if you look at the island from the sea) is not suitable for swimming, there are too many boats and boats in the central part, and in the right part there are a lot of stones and dead corals. Photo below.

The left side is more suitable for swimming, there is even a beach area with sun loungers and umbrellas.

Unfortunately, on the day I took the pictures, it was cloudy on this side of the beach, so you won’t be able to appreciate all the beauty from the photo above, but you can still make a superficial assessment.

I would like to note an important nuance: in this bay you can sleep peacefully at night, since there are almost no discos or noisy establishments nearby.

Loh Dalam Bay beach on Phi Phi Island

This bay has a large, long beach; it is more suitable for beach holidays and sunbathing, unlike its neighbor. Here you can rent a sun lounger, the price is 50 baht, or lay your towel on an empty spot on the beach, which is what almost all the young people I met there do.

You can see a photo of Loh Dalam Bay beach below.

Having visited these places, I concluded that the season in Thailand matters, so if you want to see Phi Island in a more beautiful form, then it is better to go here from late December to February.

My opinion and review about this beach on Phi Phi Island. There are quite a lot of people, but there are enough places, the sand is white, soft, when the sun comes out it is very beautiful, the water is clear, azure, the entrance to the sea is pleasant, there are no algae, stones or corals at the bottom, this beach did not cause any negative emotions in me.

Video of Phi Phi Island from the observation deck

IMPORTANT! You can get to the observation deck from two sides. 1) Up the steps through the hotel, you will need to pay 20 baht for entry; it’s a high, difficult walk, be prepared. 2) On the way, you can rent a motorbike to get to the top or pay a taxi driver to take you (price 250-300 baht (I think)), or you can walk, but it’s very far. Therefore, it is better to use option N1.

Prices on Phi Phi Island

I won’t delve deeply into prices, but I will describe an approximate picture of the island’s prices.

Food prices: on the streets in cafes and eateries from 60 baht for a slice of pizza or a plate of Thai food. In restaurants and cafes about 300 baht per person.
Housing prices: Shared rooms from 190 baht per bed, private room from 300-500 baht, a room in a more or less decent hotel from 1200 baht, a room in a good hotel from 2500 baht.
Entertainment prices: Alcohol on the streets starts from 150 baht per bucket, there are prices the same as everywhere else, hookah 300-400 baht, drinks in bars from 100 baht and above.
Prices for excursions: from 600 baht and above, depending on where. (I will write a separate article about this)
Massage prices: can be found for 200, but the standard price tag is 300 baht for a Thai massage.
Diving prices: from 3,500 thousand baht for two dives.

Prices are for 2012, low season; in high season they are approximately 30-40% higher.

Phi Phi Island at night

When night falls on Phi Phi, on Loh Dalam Bay beach, a completely different life awakens. Bars and beach discos open and young people get out of their rooms to get another dose of adrenaline... some from discos, some from jumping into the crowd, some from alcohol and other pranks, some from meeting new people, and some - from a fight between your friend or foe...;)

And now everything described above is only in photos and videos.

Preparations begin for a huge flow of young people who want to have a blast this night like it’s the last time... Merchants are preparing buckets of alcohol, a starter kit...

Street bakeries prepare delicious pizza... after all, walking all night requires energy...

Almost everything is ready, waiting in the wings...

And everyone is waiting... waiting for their clients, dear, loved ones and only with money, as they say in Pattaya - “ No money, No honey«.

Closer to 00:00 o'clock, the most popular beach bars Slinky, Moken, Waddy, open their doors to long-awaited customers.

Note: most of the people in these establishments are European youth (USA, England, Spain, etc.), a few Thais, almost no Russians.

The night has just begun, but for the guy in the photo below it is almost over, with the last of his strength he grabbed the flag and is trying to stay in this world of fun for at least a couple of minutes...

The guy is very good...

For some, just dancing is no longer enough...

Video on Phi Phi Island

Well, perhaps the most exciting and interesting spectacle is boxing. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of the bar where the ring is located, I don’t think it will be a problem to find it. The bottom line is this: you can challenge any bar visitor to a duel, and the winner will receive a free drink. There is no payment for the fight. Total 3 rounds, 2 minutes each, you specify the fighting style in advance - it could be Thai boxing, kickboxing, boxing.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t record a video, my memory ran out, but I really wanted to... But I still have a few photos for you of one of the fights. Two healthy guys crushed each other with dignity.

Boxing on Phi Phi

At the end of the fight, apparently the guys had adrenaline going off scale and they didn’t want to stop, as a result there was almost a fight between the two teams... The spectacle was interesting... At that moment it was about 3 o’clock in the morning (as far as my memory serves) both opponents were drunk. I advise you to visit and maybe even take part in such a show, it’s interesting.

Well, that’s probably all, I tried to tell and show the most interesting things that you can see on the island. In the next article I will show you many beautiful photos, tell you about hotels and excursions.

See also about Phi Phi:

And hundreds of thousands of other legs: now excursion groups are brought to the island from Phi Phi Don, and from Phuket, and from all the beaches of Krabi - an endless stream of jam-packed boats.
The only way to be there in relative solitude is to rent a boat yourself early in the morning and sail to Phi Phi Ley at least by eight. Then, for a couple of hours, diligently looking around at the same lucky people, it’s really not difficult to imagine yourself in heaven.

All covered with greenery, absolutely all!..

The water has some crazy colors, the rocks... well, you have to see it.

The madhouse begins after ten.
We jumped up before dawn and would have arrived earlier if it weren’t for the damn Gazza rain. I won’t say it was serious, but something was drizzling lazily, getting on my nerves. The sky was thick and we could only guess what surprises the weather could throw at us. But at about 11 o'clock it suddenly became a little blue - there is justice in life - and headlong we rushed after the boat.

I didn’t care about money anymore, so, having bargained purely for the sake of decency, literally in a few minutes we were already sailing to Pi-Pi Lei, who had been an eyesore for me for three days.

I knew how full Maya Bay would be, but, to be honest, I didn’t care about it either. At least we will see the island and maybe not in the rain - here it is, a little happiness.

By the way, Garland in “The Beach” described a completely different island - Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. But the curse of Hollywood fell on Pee Pee Lay. Filming took place here:

The “front entrance”, or rather the exit, to Maya Bay costs 200 baht per person. The boatman offered to save money and give us a lift from the opposite direction. We foolishly agreed, then regretted it. But not because they heated up the famous Beach for 400 Thai rubles, but because they had to leave the camera in the boat. "Back entrance" looked cool:

I had to undress and swim to the stairs. We walked to Maya Bay, hung out - and there were so many people! - we looked at the tent camp (you can stay overnight) and returned to our fidgety place to snorkel a little. Maya Bay, by the way, looked surprisingly clean, but for some reason there was no desire to splash around among the boats and people.

On Phi Phi Ley there is snorkeling at every corner and around every turn.

And from a variety of craft.

From time to time it seemed that we were about to run over some enthusiastic snorkeler.

If you noticed nice little coves, you asked the boatman to turn there. They arrived at one and were upset - that’s where it was littered. Damn! Who would dare to defile such beauty?

What the island is a little lucky with is that its vertical cliffs are not conducive to construction.

Now the island is inhabited only by sea swifts, whose nests are collected from rickety bamboo platforms by chaule. We didn’t see any pickers; their busiest time is from February to May.

Another bay of Phi Phi Ley, Phi Le Bay is considered almost the most beautiful in Thailand. Fortunately, not all ships can enter it. Cool place, I recommend it to everyone.

Not far from Phi Le there is a fairly large Viking cave. Of course, there were no Vikings nearby - the cave got its name from rock paintings of all sorts of boats. When we were swimming past, such a wave rose that I hid the camera.

On the way back, our longtail broke - it tried to throw off its tail - and we spent fifteen unforgettable minutes jumping on the waves exactly between Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Lei. We must pay tribute to the boatman, he was able to repair himself without outside help and, in general, all is well that ends well.

Everyone decides for themselves whether to go or not to go to PiPi. It seems to me that the islands are already struggling to cope with the influx of tourists and it will only get worse. But if you go, it’s better not with a one-day excursion for four hours, but at least for a couple of days. Then the impressions will be somewhat different.

We had a great time at Pipi for four days and it was time to move on. The next day someone arrived at our little hotel,

And as some information:
1. Map of Phi Phi Islands:

2. The boat to Phi Phi Lei cost us one and a half thousand, but we took it near the hotel, and it’s expensive there and you can’t really bargain.
3. It is much cheaper (but not better) to buy an excursion, it costs from 300 baht and above - it all depends on the size of the craft, the tour program and the included services. Some tours include 200 baht for Maya Bay, some will take you to the same stairs we climbed. If you choose a full-day excursion, you will be served lunch. There are excursions combined with Bambu or with an overview of Phi Phi Don (monkey beach and long beach). But, in my opinion, the only sensible offer is the “sunset snork” when you arrive at Maya Bay after lunch - by this time most of them are heading home in orderly rows or heading to Phi Phi Don.
4. The only ferry to Ao Nang (via Railay) this year departed from Pipei at 15-30. The issue price is 350 baht. What’s nice is that the ferry ticket includes a transfer to any hotel in Ao Nang.

Well, that’s probably all about Phi Phi. :))

One can only guess what kind of paradise Phi Phi Ley was like until DiCaprio set foot there.

All covered with greenery, absolutely all... :))

The water has some crazy colors, the rocks... well, you have to see it.

I didn’t care about money anymore, so, after haggling solely for the sake of decency, literally a few minutes later we sailed to Pi-Pi Lei, who had been an eyesore for three days.

I knew what a full house we would see at Maya Bay, but, to be honest, I didn’t care about it either. Even if we see you and maybe not in the rain - here it is, a little happiness.

By the way, Garland in “The Beach” described a completely different island - Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. But the curse of Hollywood fell on Pee Pee Lay. Filming took place here:

I had to undress and swim to the stairs. We walked to Maya Bay, hung out - and there were so many people! - we looked at the tent camp (those who wish can stay overnight) and returned to their fidgety tail to snorkel. Maya Bay, by the way, seemed surprisingly clean, but there was no desire to splash among the boats and people.

There are snorkelers on Pee Pee Lea at every corner and around every turn.

And from a variety of craft.

From time to time I had the feeling that we were about to run over some enthusiastic snorkeler.

If you noticed nice little coves, you asked the boatman to turn there. They arrived at one and were upset - that’s where it was littered. Damn! Who would dare to defile such beauty?

What the island is a little lucky with is that its vertical cliffs are not conducive to construction.

Now the island is inhabited only by sea swifts, whose nests are collected from rickety bamboo platforms by chaule. We didn’t see any pickers; their busiest time is from February to May.

Another bay of Phi Phi Lei, Phi Le Bay is considered almost the most beautiful in Thailand. Fortunately, not all ships can enter it. Cool place, I recommend it to everyone.

Not far from Pi Le there is a fairly large Viking cave. Of course, there were no Vikings nearby - the cave got its name from rock paintings of all sorts of boats. When we were swimming past, such a wave rose that I hid the camera.

On the way back, our longtail broke - it tried to throw off its tail - and we spent fifteen unforgettable minutes jumping on the waves exactly between Pee-Pee Don and Pee-Pee Lay. We must pay tribute to the boatman, he was able to repair himself without outside help and, in general, all is well that ends well.

Whether or not to go to Phi Phi is up to everyone to decide for themselves. It seems to me that the islands are already struggling to cope with the influx of tourists and it will only get worse. But if you go, it’s better not with a one-day excursion for four hours, but at least for a couple of days. Then the impressions will be somewhat different.

We had a great time at Pipi for four days and it was time to move on. The next day someone arrived at our little hotel,

and we went to Ao Nang.

And as some information:
1. Map of the PiPi Islands:

2. The boat to Phi Phi Lei cost us one and a half thousand, but we took it near the hotel, and it’s expensive there and you can’t really bargain.
3. It is much cheaper (but not better) to buy an excursion, it costs from 300 baht and above - it all depends on the size of the craft, the tour program and the included services. Some tours include 200 baht for Maya Bay, some will take you to the same stairs we climbed. If you choose a full-day excursion, you will be served lunch. There are excursions combined with Bambu or with an overview of Pi-Pi Don (Monkey Beach and Long Beach). But, in my opinion, the only sensible offer is the “sunset snork” when you sail to Maya Bay after lunch - by this time most of them are heading back in orderly rows or heading to Phi Phi Don.
4. The only ferry to Ao Nang (via Railay) this year departed from Pipei at 15-30. The issue price is 350 baht. What’s nice is that the ferry ticket includes a transfer to any hotel in Ao Nang.

Well, that’s probably all about Phi Phi. :))

Yes, you guessed right. I'm talking about everyone's favorite island in Thailand. And no, I didn’t make a mistake in the title, because it contains not only the name of the Thai island of Phi Phi Don, but also my personal impression of it.

So, I’ll tell you how I learned a completely different, by no means romantic and beautiful side of Phi Phi Don Island...

If we have already started talking about the name, I’ll make a note. Some call the island Phi Phi, and others call it Phi Phi, according to the transcription. I always called him Pi-Pi, and I will adhere to this tradition in this post.

The islet of Ko Phi Phi Don is located almost in the central part of the Andaman Sea. He became famous after the film “The Beach” with DiCaprio was filmed on a neighboring island (Phi Phi Leu). Both islands are located next door.

I was on the island a long time ago, back in 12. And I saw it from a slightly different, completely non-tourist side. I really hope that since then something has changed there for the better.

No, the foreground views that open to your eyes are simply amazing.

I bet every self-respecting tourist who visited Phi Phi has photos like this:

And a bunch of hotels. There are even ones with swimming pools. I have always wondered why install swimming pools when there is a sea just a few steps away? Although, as for Pi-Pi Island, I can imagine how much pi-pi accumulates in the waters there from crowds of tourists...

Yes, about hotels. For different colors and tastes!

Many, many shops and souvenir shops:

Everything is designed to create a feeling of eternal celebration. Even the working tractor is decorated with flowers and New Year's tinsel (I was on the island on January 12, apparently, the Thais, like us, have a very hard time parting with holiday attributes such as a Christmas tree, silver rain and tinsel).

As you already know, I’m an omnipresent tourist and it’s not so easy to be led off course by gorgeous beaches. And my course was towards the center of the island. I had to have time to run through Pi-Pi, looking into its very depths and those places where farang feet rarely go.

I have few regrets in my life. But this walk deep into the island of Phi Phi is exactly what I would gladly erase from my memory...

In the depths of the island, mountains and megatons of garbage appeared before my eyes...

One got the feeling that the entire small island consisted of some kind of plastic bottles, construction waste and waste...

It was sad... It’s sad because in fact, the once luxurious island is being so shamelessly polluted so that everything can be done without a hitch for tourists. And I was ashamed that I was also participating in this surreal thing. After all, it is for my benefit and comfort that local residents so thoughtlessly pollute nature, destroying its pristine beauty.

I got to know Phi Phi Island from a different, non-tourist side. Perhaps it is good that tourists are generally not curious creatures and are lazy. They do not think about the inner side of life in a resort town and believe that the surrounding world of their vacation is beautiful. But personally, I am a supporter of the idea that sometimes you need to take off your rose-colored glasses. So as not to destroy the world. And everyone must be aware of their responsibility for the destruction of nature and historical monuments, and understand what this or that action can lead to.

And if they tell you, for example, not to take a pebble from the Karadag nature reserve in Crimea, or they hang up basic signs asking you not to litter (they even started making them with pictures for the stupid rednecks! If you don’t know how to read, maybe you’ll at least understand the pictures!!!), then we must treat this with understanding.

Friends, don’t act like stinking pigs!

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All about a paradise holiday on the Phi Phi Islands. What to visit on Phi Phi