Welcome to Phi Phi Islands, Thailand!

Phi Phi Islands, we are coming!

So it was time to go to Phi Phi Islands! … The days in Koh Tao have gone as fast as my very first coffee at 5:30 in the morning before we left our apartment at Sairee Beach. A pickup taxi drove us to Koh Tao’s pier where we took the ferry to Koh Samui Airport. The journey from Koh Tao to Koh Phi Phi Don took about 9 hours, from 6:30 to 15:30 (ferry from Koh Tao to Samui + taxi to Samui Airport + flight to Krabi + taxi to Krabi’s Pier + ferry to Phi Phi Don + taxi boat from Tonsai Pier to Long Beach).

Koh Samui Airport

Bangkok Airways

Koh Samui’s Airport won first place for the smallest airport so far. It was that small, there were no buildings whatsoever, but some counters outside that served as gates 😀 Half an hour later we were sitting for the first time in a Bangkok Airways plane – a miny-tiny one! We were flying to Krabi where we immediately took the ferry to Phi Phi Don.

Gulf of Thailand from Above

Krabi from Above

The ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi Don took about 1h 30 min. The only Island where you can stay for the night is Koh Phi Phi Don so I had already booked in advance a bungalow in HIP Seaview Resort @Phi Phi at Long Beach. Long Beach has the greatest views over Phi Phi Leh and is far away from the backpacker’s wild nightlife in Tonsai Village and is about a five-minute longtail boat ride from Tonsai Pier.

Krabi Phi Phi Ferry

Koh Phi Phi Tonsai Pier

I always wanted to go to Phi Phi Islands, especially after watching The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio when I was 12. Well, some dreams take often too long – in this case some 18 years or so. But as we know, better 18 years later, than never 😀

Anyways, we all know that the Phi Phi Islands have changed a lot since the movie “The Beach”.

View from HIP Seaview Resort @ Phi Phi

View from HIP Seaview Resort @ Phi Phi

The natural paradise of Phi Phi is no longer a secluded place or a hidden gem. The Phi Phi Islands are literally abused by mass tourism and thirsty for party backpackers from all over the World. But one thing has not changed – the Phi Phi Islands are probably the most naturally beautiful islands in Thailand. There are limestone mountains with cliffs, caves, long white sandy beaches and amazing marine life.

View from HIP Seaview Resort @ Phi Phi

View from HIP Seaview Resort @ Phi Phi

View over Phi Phi Leh

The Phi Phi Islands are two islands with an almost identical name: Koh Phi Phi Don and Kho Phi Phi Leh which are very close to each other. Ko Phi Phi is a small archipelago where Ko Phi Phi Don is the largest and only island with permanent inhabitants. Kho Phi Phi Leh is an uninhabited island, declared a natural park. The most famous beach Maya Bay, located on Phi Phi Leh, closed indefinitely in June 2018. How long – until its ecosystem and physical structure returns to its full condition and until its natural resources return to normal?

Sunset Long Beach Phi Phi Don

We spent our first day at Long Beach as we had it almost for ourselves. Several boats came and went during the afternoon, but we enjoyed the beautiful sunny Andaman Sea day undisturbed in the shadow of some trees along the shoreline. The great thing about the HIP Seaview Resort @Phi Phi at Long Beach is the sunsets as we could enjoy them directly from the veranda with our new cat friends (… and best friends after one or two ham slices).

Sunset Long Beach Phi Phi Don

On the next day, we were going to explore the small islands around Phi Phi Leh. So we enjoyed our dinner at one of the several restaurants in Long Beach and went to sleep pretty early.