Everyone knows that Thailand’s beaches are beautiful. But to witness the most captivating and breathtaking scenery that Thailand has to offer, we needed to venture to the Phi Phi Islands. Primarily large limestone cliffs emerging from the sea with some surrounding natural beach, these islands can be reached by speedboat from Phuket and are a popular excursion because of their incredibly picturesque natural beauty. In an effort to beat many of the other tourists to the most popular beaches, we booked the Early Bird Phi Phi Island by Speedboat Tour online several weeks prior to our trip. I did read that you can actually book similar day trips for much cheaper prices once you arrive in Phuket, but for only about $120 USD per person, we were more comfortable making our plans in advance since we wanted to accomplish so many things during our one week abroad. Words do not do the beauty of the Phi Phi Islands justice, so our amateur photography may be the most enjoyable aspect of this post. Still, I’ll do my best to describe what to expect from a day in the Phi Phi Islands and how much we loved the experience.
As the name implies, our trip departed early; we were picked up from our hotel in an air-conditioned passenger van at 4:45 AM. Our shuttle picked up one other group then headed to the Royal Phuket Marina, a journey which took about 45 minutes in total. There we checked in and were offered a simple breakfast of croissants, ham and cheese sandwiches, cereal, coffee, and juice. By about 6:15 AM the large group that had gathered was separated into smaller groups of about 20 people, introduced to our guide for the day, and led to our speedboat. Our guide was named Tuk, and he did a fantastic job throughout the day of keeping us well-informed and entertained. Once aboard the speedboat, Tuk outlined the itinerary for the day, introduced us to the other boat crew, and pointed out some essential safety features. Then we were off on our hour-long high speed ride to the Phi Phi Islands. For those considering this or other similar speedboat tours, be advised: these boats are fast and bumpy! Those who don’t do well with sea sickness might wish to reconsider. Emily and I really enjoyed the ride, though, and spent most of it at the front of the boat with the wind in our faces taking in the surrounding seemingly endless ocean with various sized islands scattered throughout.
As we approached the Phi Phi Islands, the sun rose slowly in front of us. The boat’s captain slowed to a halt, and everyone was invited toward the bow to catch a glimpse of the sun rising above the tranquil sea. From there we continued on toward our first stop, Maya Bay.
Our first island stop was the insanely beautiful and wildly popular Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh, the second largest of the Phi Phi Islands. Much of its popularity is due to the filming of the movie The Beach on the island back in 1999-2000, showing its exquisite natural beauty to the entire world. Luckily, because we booked the sunrise tour, we were the second boat to arrive at Maya Bay and found it relatively desolate compared to the crowds that build throughout the day. In fact, by the time we left an hour later, there were already upwards of 15 boats in the bay. The speedboat anchored close to shore, allowing us to walk through the rocky, shallow water to the white sand beach. The towering limestone cliffs arising from the blue-green waters of the Andaman Sea left us speechless and struggling to accept that we were actually present in a place so stunning. To come from a place so entirely different in its landscape, it felt magical to such impeccable scenery everywhere we looked.
After snapping some pictures in Maya Bay, we walked to the equally gorgeous yet less appreciated Loh Samah Bay on the other side of Ko Phi Phi Leh. Easily accessible by a 5 minute trail through the island, conveniently with toilets and a snack bar along the way, Loh Samah Bay offers, in my opinion, an even more picturesque spot. There is a viewing spot at the top of a set of old, rickety wooden stairs that is perfect for that selfie you’ve been wanting to snag to make all of your friends jealous. But if you really want to find the best view, skip the wooden platform and climb along the rocks below to get right to the water’s edge. For us, wearing climbing sandals (Chaco or some equivalent) made this and other parts of the day much easier. We encountered some feral cats along our trek back to Maya Bay where we spent the remainder of our time on the island lounging on beach enjoying the unbeatable views and contemplating recounting how lucky we were to be in that moment.
Once we were back aboard the speedboat, we set off toward a good snorkeling spot with the plan to make a few stops along the way. The first of these stops was a slow drive by Viking Cave on the northeastern side of Ko Phi Phi Leh. Viking Cave, as we learned, gained its name from paintings present on the cave walls resembling Scandinavian boats. The cave is no longer open to tourists, though, so after a quick picture we were back on our way. We continued at high speed for about ten minutes before we arrived at Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi Don, the largest of the Phi Phi Islands. Much to our disappointment, the tide was too shallow, and our boat was not able to anchor to allow us to disembark and interact with the monkeys. Tuk knew his customers well, though, and still did his best to give us a glimpse of the monkeys by luring them into the water and toward our boat with bananas. For those keenly interested in actually setting foot on Monkey Beach, it is accessible by long-tail boat from Ko Phi Phi Don.
We continued to our first of two snorkeling spots. Emily and I aren’t huge snorkeling fans, so we tried to book a tour that including either little time allotted for snorkeling or suitable alternatives for those who wished not to snorkel. We were a little disappointed to find out we would be stopping twice to snorkel, as the tour description only cited one stop. Still, we gave it the old college try. As they say, “When in Thailand,” right? We were told that we needed to watch out for sea urchins in such shallow, rocky waters, which was slightly unsettling, but we still enjoyed ourselves and even saw a small white shark (not Jaws – this one was tiny and harmless). We got back on the boat earlier than most and spent the remainder of the 45 minutes soaking up some sun and snacking on complimentary chips and sodas.
Next on the itinerary was an early lunch at a beach-side island restaurant. The restaurant, which had no name and is basically only visited by tourists from many of the speedboat tours, opened at 11:00 AM. We were the first boat to arrive, so this meant we had 30 minutes to relax on the beach or in wooden lounge chairs situated with a sweeping view of the tranquil waters. I chose to grab a Thai beer from the bar whiled we waited. The lunch was fantastic. Presented as a buffet style meal, both Western and Thai options included pineapple fried rice, chicken curry, green chili chicken, doner sandwiches, fresh fruits, vegetable tempura, and more. As mentioned, beer and beach cocktails were available for purchase. There was more than enough food to make us feel re-energized and ready for the rest of the day.
Now with our stomachs full and ready for more adventure, we once again boarded the boat and sped off toward Bamboo Island, a tiny island further north from Ko Phi Phi Don. We anchored within sight of the beach and were offered another opportunity to snorkel. Once again, and somewhat begrudgingly, we swam with the fish, this time recording some video of the crystal-clear water and exotic fish. A few daring members of tour decided to swim over to the beach rather than snorkel. We operate on a strict no working out policy while on vacation, though, and were not about to break the rules. Instead we waited for the 30 minute snorkeling session to conclude and rode the boat to the beach. We then had about 90 minutes to spend on Bamboo Island. The views were breathtaking, the waters calm and peaceful, and my company was second-to-none. Emily thoroughly enjoyed one of her favorite pastimes, sitting in a shallow pool of warm water, while I loved getting to explore the beach, climbing its rock formations and capturing photos of the panoramic allure.
Unfortunately, we eventually had to leave the Phi Phi Islands behind and return to Phuket. The ride back to the marina took about 45 minutes followed by another 45 minute van ride to the hotel. The entire excursion, including arranging transportation back to our hotel, was incredibly well-organized . Upon arrival back at our hotel, we needed a quick nap before freshening up for, what I’d describe as, the trip’s most interesting evening.
