Koh Phi-Phi, Thailand – How to Arrive ? Where to Stay ? What to Visit ? – Page 1

Maps – Orientation

Map 1 : Distance from Bangkok

Map 2 : Overview of the Zone – Boat Transport

Map 3 : Koh Phi Phi

Map 4 : Koh Phi Phi Center

Map 5 : Interactive Map

  1. Points in Red : Transport
  2. Points in Blue : Tourist Attractions
  3. Points in Green :  Beaches

How is Phi Phi island ?

A beautiful, very small island. How small ? The center where people live is less than 1 Km long (look at Maps 3 and 4 above).

The rest of Koh Phi Phi is mountainous and it is hardly inhabited. The vertical length of Koh Phi Phi is about 6 Km.
Unlike other touristic islands in Thailand, in Koh Phi Phi you will not use a motorbike nor other vehicle, you will simply walk.

Except the center, there are also beaches around the island which are accessible by boat. There are some resorts on these beaches, usually expensive ones. (see on Page 2 Where to Stay in Koh Phi Phi).

The highlight of Koh Phi Phi is to make a boat excursion to nearby tiny islands, with stops for snorkeling. A prominent stop of these excursions is in Maya Bay, where the famous movie “the beach” was filmed (a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio).

In Koh Phi Phi itself there are 3 viewpoints on a hill (see Page 3 : What to See and Do in Koh Phi Phi).

There are a 2 beaches in the center of Koh Phi Phi (located on different sides). These beaches are nice, but you can also hire a long tail boat (with driver) and swim in more remote places on Koh Phi Phi itself or on tiny islands.

Koh Phi has many diving schools. (Koh Tao and Koh Phi Phi are the most active islands with diving).

Koh Phi Phi attracts many visitors and the living area is small, so the hotels tend to get full and the prices of the hotels get high. As always, the high season is especially problematic with the hotels.

The nightlife in Koh Phi Phi is excellent. There are many young people in Koh Phi Phi and the central beach has parties every night, with fire plays.

The restaurants in Koh Phi Phi are average quality. There are almost no foreigner owners. There is a lot of Fast Food (there is even a Mc Donalds).

There are a lot of cats in Koh Phi Phi and almost no dogs. One reason for cats and no dogs is the big population of Muslims in the south of Thailand and in Koh Phi Phi. Muslims usually prefer cats over dogs. Another possible reason is that the livable space in Koh Phi Phi is small and cats are more clean.

But I found a dog

Is it worth to visit Koh Phi Phi ?

Yes, of course. Koh Phi Phi is beautiful.
There is a mix of bad and good. The bad is that the center of Koh Phi Phi is a small area crowded with people. The hotel issue can be frustrating (in high season, you get a non perfect room at a high price).
The good is that Koh Phi Phi is beautiful and very animated at night, with parties on the beach.

How to Arrive to Koh Phi Phi ?

  1. Step 1 : Arrive to the area of Koh Phi Phi by Flight, Bus, Taxi, Train or Car.
  2. Step 2 : A Boat to Koh Phi Phi

Look at Map 2, above. Koh Phi Phi is a small island and it has no airport. You first need to arrive to the zone of Koh Phi Phi and then take a boat to Koh Phi Phi.

Step 1 : Arrive to the zone of Koh Phi Phi

Option 1 for arriving to the zone of Koh Phi Phi : By Flight

Look at Maps 2 and 5 above. There is an airport in Phuket and there is an airport near the city of Krabi. After you land, you need to arrive to the pier and take a boat to Koh Phi Phi (why not stay a few days in Phuket or Krabi area ?).

  • See How to arrive to Phuket (including information about the location of the airport and the pier).
  • You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Option 2 for arriving to the zone of Koh Phi Phi : By Bus

There are a lot of buses in Thailand. There are buses from Bangkok and other Thai locations. Some of the buses are night buses with some kind of beds. You can arrive by bus to Phuket or Krabi area and then go to a pier and take a boat to Koh Phi Phi.

  • See How to arrive to Phuket (including information about the location of the airport and the pier).
  • You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Option 3 for arriving to the zone of Koh Phi Phi : By Train

The train line of Thailand passes near the right coast and not the left coast (Yes, there is more or less only 1 vertical train line in Thailand). The nearest train station to the area of Koh Phi Phi is in Surat Thani. From Surat Thani, you need to continue to Krabi area or Phuket by Bus or Taxi. The road distance between Surat Thani and Krabi area (or Phuket) is about 200 Km.

  • See How to arrive to Phuket (including information about the location of the airport and the pier).
  • You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

You can buy a train ticket at the train stations, at the travel agency or online.

You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Option 4 for arriving to the zone of Koh Phi Phi : By Taxi

Comfortable. If you share the taxi with other people, the price may be reasonable.

You can arrive to Phuket or Krabi area and then go to a pier and take a boat to Koh Phi Phi.

  • See How to arrive to Phuket (including information about the location of the airport and the pier).
  • You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Option 5 for arriving to the zone of Koh Phi Phi : By rented Car or Motorbike

It is easy to rent a car in Thailand. It is very easy to rent a motorbike in Thailand (but usually you use a motorbike for short distances). You can arrive to Phuket or Krabi area and then go to a pier and take a boat to Koh Phi Phi.

  • See How to arrive to Phuket (including information about the location of the airport and the pier).
  • You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Step 2 : Arriving to Koh Phi Phi by Boat

There are a lot of boats from Phuket, Koh Lanta and Krabi area.

  • See Location of the pier in Phuket
  • You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Location of the Pier in Koh Phi Phi

The pier is located on the southern beach (see it on Maps 3, 4, 5 above.)

Where to Stay in Koh Phi Phi ? – Hotels

See this on Page 2.

How to Move in Koh Phi Phi ?

Option 1 : Walking

There is only 1 option for moving in Koh Phi Phi : By foot.

Don’t worry, the distances are very short (the center is about 600 meters long).
There are some trolleys used by porters of the hotels in order to help the guests with their luggage.

Option 2 : Long Tail Boat

This option is for arriving to one of the beaches around Koh Phi Phi or to tiny islands in the area (like Maya Bay). You will see signs for the boat taxis on the 2 beaches of Koh Phi Phi. You need to negotiate the price with the driver.

Option 3 : Organized boat Excursion

With an organized boat excursion, you will visit the tiny islands around Koh Phi Phi. See about the boat excursions on Page 3.

How is the Climate in Koh Phi Phi ?

Note : The climate in Phuket, Koh Phi-Phi and Koh-Lanta is quite similar. Also Krabi is very similar.

Temperatures

It is hot in this zone, all year round. At day time around 31 degrees Celsius. At night around 24 degrees celsius. You better have air-conditioning in your room.

Rain

Like in all Thailand, there is also in this zone a rainy season. The rainy season here is from April to December.

  • May to November : around 250 mm rain (the month of September is very rainy, around 400 mm rain).
  • April and November : around 150 mm rain.

How is the Nightlife in Koh Phi Phi ?

See this on Page 3 : Nightlife and Beach parties in Koh Phi Phi

What to Eat In Koh Phi Phi ?

There are a lot of young travelers in Koh Phi Phi and the food available is average. It is not a disaster but it is not top quality.

There is a lot of fast food and there is even 1 Mc Donald’s and 1 Burger King.

If you are not vegetarian (I am), then there is a lot of sea food restaurants.

There is a lot of sea food in all the Thai islands

If you are vegetarian, there are some places with Falafel in the center of Koh Phi Phi.

A Vegetarian restaurant that I can recommend is Dow Vegan.

They have mostly Thai food

But also some western dishes, like falafel.

Another good restaurant that has vegan dishes is Basil Bistro

For the morning, an omelette is served in all the cafés-bars.

Don’t forget to drink a lot of Fruit Smoothies. They are excellent in Thailand. The Mango smoothie is great.

Continue to Page 2 – Where to Stay in Koh Phi Phi

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