Trip to Phi-Phi Krabi

Islands of the south.

A trip to Phi-Phi is one of the things to do when traveling in south Thailand. This small archipelago is a real gem in the island world south of Phang Nga, it is very well know from the movie "The Beach" which was shot there. 



Now a real magnet for young Japanese ladies who want to see where "Leonaro" was. One of the hot spots of the movie was Maya Beach, now overcrowded every day in particular in the first half of the day.

Phi Phi Islands Panorama Picture

Geographically (see the Phi Phi Map at right) the islands belong to Krabi province but Phuket is the usual starting point, they are almost exactly at half way in between. Every morning several bigger ferries and some speedboats start from Rasada Pier in Phuket Town. The best is to take the bigger ship, its more comfortable and wont take much longer than the speed boat with around 3-4 hours.

Before they drop the passenger at the village beach pier they usually make a turn to show the most interesting locations. Passing Maya Beach, Viking Cave and some high limestone ravines with hidden beaches.

After leaving the vessel and having a look around hotels are not far away, this is a very small island and mainly accessible by boat because of the steep limestone cliffs. If you have accommodations off the village beach make sure they pick you up otherwise you fall pray to the long tail boat sharks.

To find some orientation hire a long tail boat, but try at least 3 of them, this guys consider tourists as walking ATM machine where they only press the button and money comes out. They already know where to bring you on your sightseeing trip and if you want to stop on the way just tell him, there are many beautiful spots between the limestone rock, don't miss it and don't be shy to tell if you want to see something. 

Morning is not a good time to do this daytrip since all boats, ferries and vessels come in at that time and it gets really overcrowded everywhere because the area is rather small. Only take a boat with a roof even if it is quite flimsy you need protection from the sun suntan lotion wouldn't help a lot, it's to intense and you will be badly burnt. 

The main highlight is Maya Beach which has been declared a National Park after they made the movie "The Beach" you must pay entrance fee Baht 200,-. Since there is nothing interesting ashore it would made no difference if you step ashore or just glide along the waterfront.

The Phuket to Phi Phi ferry starts several times a day.

One in the morning, around 8 am and another in early afternoon. For a trip from Krabi with a speed boat from Ao Nang start is every day in the morning.

On your trip take some ear plugs with you, the longtail boats are extremely noisy because they have no muffler and during night people are often very loud. Buy ear plugs at a pharmacy in Phuket Town, take the silicon earplugs. Thailand is often very loud and noisy because no one cares about other. Its a nightmare if you sit in the longtail boat for some hours and have this deafening noise around, the boatmen are already half deaf anyway. 

See the Phi Phi clip here.




The limestone beach-fringed formations are set amid warm, emerald seas and other islands are around to explore. Actually already when you approach with the Phi Phi ferry from Phuket you get a good overview.
  
Beside of Phuket the Islands are the top destinations in the Phang Nga Bay and off Krabi mainland area. Naturally there are some other beaches on the mainland of Krabi Province but not one of them has the great image of this one. 

As a simple matter of fact it was the movie "the Beach" with Leonardo Di Caprio which catapulted Phi Phi Islands into the limelight.

If you want to find great views and timeless relaxation the Phi Phi Islands are for sure the right place. For the adventurous who seek an hotel island retreat, maybe with some scuba diving adventure with all comfort and service it could also be the right place. On the other hand it could also get pretty boring after a while. 

If you get bored in your Phi Phi island hotels take the ferry back to Phuket, possible every day. Here is just one of the many archipelagos in the Phang Nga Bay a little bit more in the north and all the way down to the Malaysian border. 

One of the best archipelago almost totally off the crowd trek is the Trang archipelago.
A real great Island world with excellent accommodation and easy access.

Several Hollywood stars like Roger Moore, Yul Brynner, Leonardo di Caprio,
Sylvester Stallone and other shoot movies in that area. Its not so difficult to imagine why moviemakers like Thailand.