Phi Phi Island, Thailand
After our short stay in Ko Lanta it was on to one of the more well known Thai islands – Phi Phi. Famous for it’s stunning beaches featured in the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, and wild night life, Phi Phi island has something for everyone.
Getting there
We took the 8am ferry from Ko Lanta to Phi Phi and take it from me – it was an experience. The boat itself was small and the sea was very rough. While the journey was only an hour, I was holding on for my life while most of the people around me got sick in plastic bags. This included one young child in front of us who chose the floor instead.
We got talking to some guys from Columbia and Mexico who played music to lighten the mood, while other American girls distributed Tiger Balm to rub on our noses to mask the smell. The cockroach that decided to join us at the end of the trip just topped it off. I couldn’t wait to get off that boat and onto stable land.
Staying there
We were greeted at the pier, and walked a few hundred meters to our hotel – Phi Phi Banyan Villa. While our room was fairly basic, it had everything we needed. It was also in the most perfect location. A short walk to any part of the island!
Eating There
Phi Phi has a lot more to offer in terms of western food, however we still stuck to our guns and ate Thai food for the most part. Our favourite places were the following:
- Aroy Kaffeine: This cute little space had the best coffee on the island and amazing homemade desserts. We were raging we didn’t get to try breakfast here one morning but on our budget, we made do with our free hotel breakfast.
- Basil Bistro: We ate here twice. Definitely the best Tom Yum soup i have had and the cheapest (and nicest!) curry on the island at just 90 baht!
- Grand PP Arcade: Really good Thai food, and great service. The Western menu also looked amazing however we didn’t chance trying anything.
- Carlitos: For chilled out vibes away from the wild party scene on the beach you should head to Carlitos. They have unreal cocktails, jenga and four in a row on the tables and the best fire show we’ve seen so far. They also have a musician in every night doing acoustic versions of all the latest chart favourites.
Things to do
We really took time out to relax here. The beach was on our doorstep and if we weren’t there, we were at our pool just chilling. There’s not much to see on Phi Phi Island itself but we definitely did see a lot.
Viewpoint
Phi phi has a famous viewpoint that you can climb up to reach. We went just before sunset and we weren’t the only people with that bright idea. We even witnessed a proposal right before sundown! It was really beautiful.
Maya Bay Tour
One thing I would definitely recommend is doing a tour that includes Maya Bay. This is where the movie The Beach was filmed and it is very picturesque. On most tours you visit a few stops including a blue lagoon, go snorkelling and see the Viking cave. These tours are always busy and you can expect a number of other boats to accompany you to each stop. We did the 6am early trip to avoid the crowds and I would definitely recommend it. We had about 20 mins at each stop before anyone else joined us which gave us enough time to capture a photo tourist free.
Party
Phi Phi is definitely a party island. So many young people appear to move over to the island for the summer to work in bars and diving centres and there is always hustle and bustle near the beach. We met up with one of my best friends while we were here, and had a great time catching up over a few buckets!
Rent Kayaks
Along the beach there are a number of places to rent kayaks for very little. We paid 200 baht (about €4) for an hour. We just wanted to paddle out to get a better view of the big rocks but apparently if they conditions are good you can go all the way to monkey beach.
Phi Phi was my favourite island the last time I visited Thailand, and it is definitely going to be hard to beat this time around as well. The beaches, the atmosphere, the weather…. just perfect.
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