Island hopping through Phi Phi, Thailand
Thailand, it’s fair to say that you are one of my most favorite travel destinations. A few months ago, I visited your northern mountains whilst traipsing through Chiang Mai, and just two months later, I navigated your southern green waters surrounding Phi Phi island. Given that Phi Phi island is pretty far off the grid (almost two hours south of Phuket) there’s not a great deal to do. The main attractions include island hopping throughout the Andaman Sea at various lagoons and beaches. But as you'll see below, I'm not sure you need anything else...
Island hopping through Phi Phi
Maya Bay
Maya Bay, the revered location of the 2000 film, the Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was simply put: breathtaking. I know, I say that things are beautiful a lot on here, but this place is truly special. About a 25-minute speed boat ride from our resort, just coming upon Maya Bay from afar is awe-inspiring.
Giant limestone cliffs line the outside of the small bay on three sides. Once our boat entered the lagoon we were met with pristine green waters and sand so fine it felt like walking on flour. Unfortunately, Maya Bay has become hugely popular since the movie. On our particular day, it was absolutely mobbed with tourists, but when we actually went out swimming, it felt a little less packed.
Loh Samah Bay
The next stop on our island-hopping tour was snorkeling at Loh Samah Bay, where we discovered sharks! Apparently, these little guys (about four feet in length) swim within the shallow waters eating plankton. I was assured by our tour guide that they do not harm people, or at least they didn’t that day. The snorkeling in Loh Samah Bay was decent. In addition to sharks, our party saw an octopus, several rainbow fish and a lot of Dory’s.
Pi leh Cove
Pi Leh Cove was my favorite stop on the island tour. Similar to Maya Bay, this little lagoon is surrounded on all sides by tall limestone cliffs. It could have just been the way the afternoon sun was glistening in between the rocks, or the crystal-clear water, but this entire lagoon experience made me feel like we were in a dream. This place does not look like real life to me! Pi leh cove will be something I will never forget.
Snorkeling at Mosquito Island
Next, we did more snorkeling off of Mosquito island. In my opinion, this part was a little rough. The snorkeling wasn’t any better than it was in Loh Samah Bay, and with all of the other boats surrounding us, it was a little troublesome making sure we weren’t going to get run over.
Bamboo Island
After snorkeling it was time for lunch. Our boat docked on a very small island called Bamboo Island. So small in fact, you can walk around the entire area in 30 minutes. Here, we sunbathed and swam for about two hours.
Viking Cave + Monkey Beach
Two additional stops on our tour included a quick boat ride by Viking Cave and Monkey Beach. Viking cave was honestly underwhelming as you could tell at some point it must have been interesting, but for our tour it just looked a little run down, and possibly under construction?
And lastly Monkey Beach. I’m not sure if I’ve shared this before, but I hate monkeys. I was more than happy to stay on the boat for this part of the tour. However, as it turns out, our tour guide wouldn’t let anyone off because apparently the monkeys have been getting more aggressive over the years, and biting people! AH! I guess we can’t blame them. Just before we left another boat pulled up and someone was smoking a cigarette on the edge. A monkey actually hopped in to the water, swam over, and reached up to grab him! I guess the monkey thought the guy was sharing something. Scary.
And that concluded our island tour. All in the all, if you don’t mind a few crowds, I would 100 percent recommend visiting Phi Phi island and taking in the surrounding beauty. Between the pristine beaches, blue-green water and the aquatic life, I had absolutely everything I needed. If you’re interested in traveling at a less-busy time, try to visit between April and November.