Things to Do on Koh Phi Phi

Did you know that only one of the two Phi Phi islands in Thailand is inhabited? Koh Phi Phi Don is home to a growing tourism industry and offers a variety of activities and attractions centered around its stunning natural beauty.

From beautiful beaches, hikes to scenic viewpoints, and exciting water sports, to shallow turquoise waters, white sand beaches, and lush coconut groves, Phi Phi Don has it all. Although the island lacks traditional Thai cultural attractions, it more than makes up for it with breathtaking scenery and endless opportunities for adventure.

How to Get to Koh Phi Phi

Before we dive into the top things to do, we need to let you know how to actually get to the island. There are several routes that will lead you to this island paradise, all of which include taking a ferry. Whether you are coming from Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Lipe, Krabi, or Surat Thani, you will be able to take a ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The journey itself is a beautiful experience as you get to soak in the beautiful views of the sea and the surrounding islands.

Top Koh Phi Phi Attractions

Lo Dalam Bay

This is the centre of activity on the island with a lovely undisturbed beach that sweeps for several miles. Lots of the beachfront venues were established here prior to the Tsunami, though it now has a more open and natural appearance. There are watersports and plenty of activities on offer in the high season, but you can always escape to the fringes to enjoy a quieter atmosphere and admire the scenery of the nearly enclosed bay.

Tonsai Beach

While badly hit by the 2004 Tsunami, Tonsai is still a lovely beach of Phi Phi Don and is a scenic place that has done much to rebuild itself since sustaining so much damage at the hands of that catastrophic natural disaster.

Water sports can be arranged from the sand or visitors can just enjoy a spot of sunbathing and simple relaxation. It’s slightly quieter than Lo Dalam beach (100m across the narrow spit) but is a little spoilt by the marine traffic of ferries and moored day-tripper boats.

Monkey Beach Koh Phi Phi (Yong Kasem Bay)

So-called because of its primate population, Monkey Beach can be accessed by canoe or longtail boat and is a fairly secluded spot. Visitors can enjoy a little tranquility, watch the sunset or just enjoy feeding bananas to the monkeys. Beware though, some of the rascals can get a little feisty!

Koh Phi Phi Viewpoint

A designated viewpoint at the center of the island offers visitors some fairly awesome perspectives of the surroundings. Take the slightly taxing walk to the point, which is signposted, and make sure to bring your camera with you to capture the magnificence of the breathtaking panorama on offer. It’s located on the Ko Nai elevation to the east of Ton Sai and Lo Dalam, accessed by finding your way to the lanes of guesthouses at the east side of the settlement.

Koh Phi Phi Leh

This is the sister island of Phi Phi Don and, if you discount the hoards of tour groups assembling on it, it remains totally unspoiled. There are no tourist facilities, residential or otherwise, to dumb down its impressive natural beauty.

Phi Phi Leh is home to the famous Maya Bay which is featured in the movie The Beach. While for some that might be their most significant reason for visiting it, others are happy to solely appreciate its stunning natural beauty. Maya Bay is the only place you can land on the island, it has a stunning beach of white sand and from here you can follow a short nature trail that leads to a secret grotto with a tidal pool from the other site of the island. Boat trips also visit other shallow bays around the island where you can swim.

Viking Cave (Tham Phaya Nak)

A short ride by longtail boat brings you to Tam Viking at Phi Phi Leh, a collection of limestone caves which are still home to sea gypsies to this day. Swiftlets also call the caves home and the nests that they create are later used for making bird’s nest soup by the human residents. The locals are able to make a living by harvesting these nests and selling them to restaurants.

Koh Phi Phi Watersports and Activities

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

The latter activity is perhaps the more rewarding, but it’s fair to say that any opportunity to get out into the crystal clear waters of the Andaman Sea is worth pursuing. Visitors with their own snorkeling equipment can take a canoe out to areas within safe distance of the shore and observe some fascinating specimens of plant and animal life. Otherwise, scuba enthusiasts (or novices) can make use of local dive companies to enjoy supervised diving in a variety of carefully chosen locations. Dive trips from Phuket and Krabi also roll in daily to the uninhabited islands of the archipelago which have good diving.

Boat Trips

Longtail or speedboat trips around the islands in the immediate area can be arranged easily with local tour operators and are relatively inexpensive, invariably offering lunch and drinks as part of the deal. Visit Ao Nang and Railay beaches in the Krabi area, and neighboring Phi Phi Le with opportunities for snorkeling in between. In fact a visit to Phi Phi Don, without venturing to Phi Phi Le is a real shame, since the latter offers a new level of natural beauty.

Phi Phi Le is a stunning island off the coast of Thailand that has become a wildly popular tourist destination, in large part due to its association with the cinematic masterpiece, The Beach. This critically acclaimed film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, featured Maya Bay, a picturesque beach located on one of the islands, as its stunning backdrop. Since the film’s release in 2000, Phi Phi Le has been growing in popularity as an exotic paradise with crystal-clear waters, white sand beaches, and incredible natural scenery. Whether you’re a film buff looking to relive the magic of The Beach or just someone in search of a stunning tropical getaway, Phi Phi Le won’t disappoint.

Climbing

With so many fantastic karst rock faces in the region, this stretch of the Andaman coast certainly is on the world climbing map. Although Krabi’s Railay Beach is considered the center of these activities, companies also offer day trips to Phi Phi. This is your chance to see the island from viewpoints that few other visitors ever reach. There are all sorts of routes of varying grades marked out and pegged by local enthusiasts who have been exploring the area for years. Local tour agents on the island can also arrange for you to join a trip, both as an expert or a beginner. Ropes, harnesses, shoes, and climbing equipment are all provided, and international safety practices are generally observed.

Cliff Jumping

You may find it hard to imagine that anybody would want to pay good money to plummet from a rocky cliff-side into the engulfing waters below, but sure enough, there are companies providing opportunities to do just that. Some slightly hazardous climbing to key jumping spots is required before those with a complete absence of vertigo can leap into the sea without a harness or similar restrictions while tour operators capture the entire experience on video for posterity.

Sea Kayaking

From Tonsai Beach, visitors can rent canoes or kayaks by the hour and are permitted to explore the area unaided and pretty much free of restriction. Common sense is required to avoid wandering into the longtail and speedboat paths and to make sure you don’t get stranded somewhere far out, especially after sunset. Otherwise, it’s entirely up to you where you decide to steer your vessel. You’ll have to paddle quite far out to leave Lo Dalam Bay, and Ton Sai Bay is rather crowded at times with moored boats, but the scenery of the karst formations is brilliant.

Shark Watching Tours

Available through local tour operators, these trips give a money-back guarantee that visitors will see sharks. It’s not a claim lacking substance either since there are key locations in the area where small species of sharks assemble and those visitors prepared to don masks and snorkel and climb into the water, will indeed be treated to sights of these fearsome creatures. However, most of the sharks here are timid and keep a definite safe distance from human visitors.