Complete travel guide to Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands
No trip to Thailand is truly complete without a visit to the stunning Phi Phi Islands. This tropical paradise boasts pristine sandy beaches, crystal-clear turquoise waters perfect for snorkeling and a laid-back island vibe that’s hard to beat. In this complete travel guide to Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands, we’ll share all the tips you need to make the most of your visit to Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands!
How to Get to the Phi Phi Islands
We visited the main island, Phi Phi Don, during our tour through Thailand. While the island group consists of several islands, Phi Phi Don is the only one with accommodations. Day trips to the other islands are widely available from both Krabi and Phuket. Although you can explore the islands on a day tour, we highly recommend staying for at least three or four nights (or longer if you can!).
Travelling from Phuket
Ferries leave daily from Phuket’s Rassada Pier. (According to Google Maps, there’s another pier closer to Karon and Patong Beach, but it doesn’t seem to be operational anymore). Tickets for the larger ferries start at 500–700 THB per person for a one-way trip, with the journey taking around two hours. If you’re short on time, speedboats are faster, cutting the trip down to about an hour, but expect to pay more.
We booked our tickets a day in advance through our hotel. They also arranged a taxi for us to the pier (700 THB per person). However, you can probably buy tickets directly at the pier without much hassle as well.
Travelling from Krabi
From Krabi, ferries depart from Klong Jilad Pier. This pier is much quieter than Phuket’s, so we’re not entirely sure how easy it is to buy tickets on the spot. We arrived here after our crossing to the mainland, so we didn’t have a chance to investigate. That said, both routes can be conveniently booked online through 12go.asia. Our tickets from Krabi cost 450 THB per person.
All ferries dock at Ton Sai Pier, right in the lively center of Phi Phi Don. We bought open tickets for our return trip while at Rassada Pier, but don’t worry if you forget, there are plenty of vendors at Ton Sai Pier loudly advertising boat tickets (“Boat! Boat!”). We turned it even into a game to see how many times we’d be approached in five minutes!
Where to Stay on the Phi Phi Islands
The area around Ton Sai Pier is the busiest part of the island, with a small but bustling town center, a lively pier, and a beautiful bay with a wide beach at the back. This area can get crowded, especially during peak season.
We stayed on the far southeastern side of the island at HIP Seaview Resort. While it’s not a full-fledged resort, we found it charming. We had a cute little bungalow, and breakfast was included in the price. Keep in mind that it’s a bit of a hike from the beach (there are a fair number of stairs), but they have a luggage lift to save you the effort!
The location was, in our opinion, absolutely perfect: right on Long Beach, the most stunning beach on the island. The soft sand, vibrant water, and relative seclusion make it a true gem. From here, it’s about a 30-minute walk (2.5 km) to Ton Sai Pier for the nearest shops, though there are some restaurants along the beach. If you’re carrying luggage, don’t worry, because most accommodations offer free transport to and from the pier. We missed this one on our arrival and ended up hiking with our backpacks!
What to Do on the Phi Phi Islands
We stayed for four nights (giving us three full days for exploring) on Phi Phi Don, but honestly, we could’ve happily stayed longer. Here are some of the highlights.
Jungle Hikes and Viewpoints
One of our days was spent on a 15 km jungle hike. If you’re feeling adventurous, it’s a fantastic way to explore the island. The trails are quite overgrown, and we encountered monkeys and even small snakes along the way! You’ll also pass several viewpoints offering breathtaking views of the island’s bays (note: there’s usually a small fee of 30 THB per person for accessing these viewpoints).
Island-Hopping Tour to Phi Phi Leh
We highly recommend a day tour to Phi Phi Leh, a smaller neighboring island. The tour took us to incredible snorkeling spots, Monkey Bay (where cheeky monkeys scamper along the rocks), the serene Pi Leh Lagoon, and the famous Maya Bay. If possible, look for a tour that includes plankton snorkeling. After sunset, you’ll jump into the water in complete darkness to see bioluminescent plankton glowing like tiny stars with every movement. It’s a magical experience that was our favorite part of this trip.
For a complete travel guide to thailand’s Phi Phi Islands and other parts of Thailand, check out our Google Maps travel guide Thailand, where you can see all the spots we visited!
