Wow. Where can I even begin with Koh Phi Phi? This island is possibly THE most beautiful place I have ever laid eyes on. If you have time to only visit the one island, make it this one!!!
Getting to Koh Phi Phi…
To get here from Bangkok was quite the experience though. We booked our journey online through a company called Songserm. They were to take us to Koh Phi Phi via two buses and a ferry totalling 17 hours of travel time. Unfortunately they began by being an hour late to arrive and then another hour late to actually set off. Then to top off this already hellish experience the stomach bug that was making its way around the Americans and Char finally made its way to me. Not pleasant.
#TopTip – Always carry painkillers in an accessible place. Don’t get stuck for 17 hours without them because your backpack is in the hold!
What to do?
Feeling slightly better by the time we arrived, Char and I set out to explore this very small island. It was so picturesque, we couldn’t wait to see it all.
Diving
As we wandered through town we were a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of diving companies all offering us a multitude of deals. Koh Phi Phi is a fantastic place to dive. The marine life is out of this world, however if you are going to book a tour I would recommend checking reviews online to be sure you’re getting your moneys worth!
Koh Phi Phi Boat Tours
Char had done a lot of research online about how to see the best of Koh Phi Phi and has landed upon Maya Bay Sleep Aboard Tours. It had excellent TripAdvisor reviews so we booked.
Very excited when reaching the pier we boarded our boat to be told that because we were travelling in low season we were the only two people on this particular tour! We had an entire cruise boat TO OURSELVES!!! Cue us madly dancing around on the top deck like excited school girls.
Viking Cave
The first stop on our tour was the Viking Cave on Koh Phi Phi Li, the smaller of the two islands. Although we couldn’t go into the cave for conservation reasons we sailed past its entrance and admired the scaffolding making its way up the limestone cliffs that is used to help workers harvest what they need for birds nest soup. It truly is a terrifying thought that people risk their lives for this.
Kayaking
Our boat then parked up in a nearby bay and we finally got to have our first swim in the beautiful blue sea. We jumped in from the top deck and both nearly lost our bikinis. Take it from me, wear a swimming costume that is actually secure before jumping off a three-story boat!
Following nearly flashing the boat driver we clambered into some sea kayaks and paddled off to explore the bay we had stopped in. As there were only two of us and we were fairly confident in kayaks we got to go off on our own and take our sweet time.
I can’t even put this experience into words. It was truly breath-taking. Kayaking on a beautiful blue sea, against the backdrop of huge limestone cliffs, topped with the most stunning emerald green plants. Hands down one of the best moments of my life.
Snorkelling
As if our trip hadn’t already gotten off to an incredible start we then got to go snorkelling! Here’s where our £5 waterproof phone cases from Amazon really came in handy. Can’t recommend them enough. There were so many fish below the surface in an assortment colours. Again, we got to take our time, and it felt so much more natural being just the two of us.
Maya Bay
After reluctantly climbing back on board our PRIVATE FRICKIN BOAT we sailed around the rest of Phi Phi Li nibbling on complementary fruit and taking in the scenery. This included a brief stop in the mouth of the famous Maya Bay.
Sadly, following intense tourism within recent years (over 4,000 people visit the beach every day) more than 80% of the coral in the bay has been destroyed. As a result the bay has been closed since April 2018 to allow restoration work to be done on the corals and ecotourism is being very heavily promoted on the island. This is something we should all try to be conscious of wherever we travel. I personally think Maya Bay looked far more beautiful empty than if it were to have had 4,000 people on it anyway!
Our boat then headed off to our resting place for the night, just off of one of the beaches on Koh Phi Phi Don. Whilst our dinner was being prepared for us we were able to kayak ashore and wade in the shallows as the sun began to set and illuminated the sea in the most astounding shades of orange. Once back on board we continued to watch the sun set as we ate a delicious dinner on the top deck. All the meals on our trip tasted fantastic. Hats off to our chef!
Bioluminescent Plankton
After waiting for our dinner to digest and the sun to fully set we were told it was time to see the bioluminescent plankton. At this point we were both incredibly sceptical as we had been watching the waves crash upon the shore and saw no glowing as Google images would have you believe. I’m pleased to say we were very pleasantly surprised when we climbed into the water and the boat lights were switched off.
With only the natural light of the moon the sea came to life. Thousands of little green dots suddenly appeared out of nowhere every time we moved. It was even better looking underwater through goggles. I can only describe it as feeling like I had become Tinkerbell covered in pixie dust. Easily the highlight of my entire trip!
BBQ on the Beach
Our evening was finished off by rowing ashore and having drinks and a barbecue on the beach. We became quite mellow as we watched for shooting stars and fireflies floating past. It honestly felt like we were in a dream. Life couldn’t really be this perfect, could it? Once the alcohol had hit we danced the night away back on board the boat with both our guide Tip and the chef! We then fell asleep peacefully under the stars on the top deck. Only to be woken by the sun rising over the ocean in the morning.
Monkey Beach
The trip wasn’t over just yet though. Whilst breakfast was on its way we kayaked out to monkey beach and snorkelled amongst the corals there. Although we didn’t see any we were told that this was a popular spot for the sharks to visit.
This entire tour was fantastic from start to finish. I would highly recommend it to anybody visiting Koh Phi Phi. I know you might think that this will bankrupt you faster than doing each individual element by yourself and haggling with tour operators, but in all honesty we had a bed for the night, three good meals, snacks, unlimited beverages, multiple activities and we visited all of the island sights we wanted to. Considering how expensive the island is (compared to the rest of Thailand), doing all of this separately wouldn’t have been much cheaper, if at all!
Island Viewpoint
The rest of our time spent on Koh Phi Phi was generally relaxing. We hiked up to the island viewpoint which is very well sign posted from town. Be warned, if you go on a hot day then the sweat will literally pour off you. It’s not necessarily a long or hard climb but damn is it exhausting in the heat. Take water! There are two viewpoints and both are well worth the effort and small entrance fee. They are absolutely jaw dropping.
Ibiza House Pool Party
If your visit coincides with a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday then be sure to visit the Ibiza House Pool Party. Call me sheltered but I’ve never been to a pool party before. I must say I would definitely go again because it was off the scale amazing. We went just before sunset and the atmosphere and view from the pool across the ocean was fantastic.
All in all, Koh Phi Phi was the Thailand I imagined in my Pinterest fuelled dreams. Gorgeous white beaches and crystal clear blue seas. Maya Bay Sleep Aboard Tour is definitely the way to get the most out of your time here and by the end of it you’ll never want to leave!
