Koh Phi Phi
The monkeys on Monkey Island were rounded up on Phi Phi Don and moved there in the early 2000s, when tourism arrived. Blacktip reef sharks are pupping in Maya Bay's shallows again.
Koh Phi Phi in a nutshell
Koh Phi Phi: what to expect
Our travellers have planned 94,000+ stops on the island on Stippl. That is where the numbers here come from.
Koh Phi Phi has no roads, no cars and no airport, and that shapes everything about a stay. You arrive by boat at Tonsai and walk from there. The viewpoint stairs above the village are the island's signature twenty minutes, Long Beach has the best reef you can swim to straight off the sand, and the Phi Phi Leh circuit takes in Pileh Lagoon, Monkey Beach, Viking Cave and the Bida islands. Most travellers give it 2 nights on Stippl.
Koh Phi Phi is reached rather than chosen, and the boats decide who turns up. 34.5% of travellers who plan Koh Phi Phi on Stippl come straight from Phuket, and a quarter more arrive from Krabi. Both are ferry rides of a couple of hours, which is why the quiet window at Maya Bay is before half past ten and the middle of the day belongs to the day trips.
Two nights is what most people take and three is the version worth having. One day goes to the Phi Phi Leh circuit by longtail, arranged at Tonsai Pier rather than bought as a package, with Maya Bay on the terms it is actually offered: a boardwalk across the island, an hour ashore, wading only, and nothing at all from August into September. The next goes to Bamboo Island in the morning or a dive on the Bida archways, where leopard sharks are the local speciality. Loh Dalum handles the night.
Voor wie is Koh Phi Phi
Divers and snorkellers
the Bida Nok / Bida Nai pinnacles are the signature dives, leopard sharks are the local speciality, and dry-season visibility can exceed 30 m
Backpackers and partygoers
Loh Dalum is one of Thailand's most concentrated beach-party strips, with bucket bars, fire shows and daytime pool parties within a few hundred metres
Short-stay island-hoppers
two to three nights covers the island and its boat trips, and it slots between Phuket, Krabi/Ao Nang and Koh Lanta on the Andaman circuit
Scenery-first travellers
vertical karst walls, twin bays seen from one viewpoint, and lagoons that photograph the way the brochures promise
Walkers and car-free travellers
a destination with no traffic at all is genuinely rare; the island's single most praised quality is the absence of vehicles
Couples who commit to quiet
Laem Tong and Loh Bagao are quiet in a way the isthmus never is, provided the boat-only trade-off is accepted up front
Maybe not for you: light sleepers on the isthmus (Loh Dalum's noise carries across to Tonsai), anyone with mobility limits or heavy luggage (no vehicles, boat landings, and lanes and stairs everywhere), travellers with a fixed schedule in May–October (individual sailings are cancelled on Andaman weather warnings), and anyone whose whole reason for coming is Maya Bay in August or September: it is closed
Wanneer ga je naar Koh Phi Phi
Dry / northeast season
Nov–Apr
calm sea, clear water, all boats running; December to March is the settled core and late December to February the price and crowd peak
Southwest monsoon
May–Oct
rain is usually heavy and short rather than all-day, with clear mornings and afternoon storms; September and October are the wettest. Prices drop sharply, and so does reliability
- The headline that surprises people: there is no cool season. The average daily high never drops below about 31 °C in any month. What changes across the year is rain, sea state and underwater visibility, not temperature
- National festivals (Songkran, Loy Krathong, Chinese New Year, the Kin Jay festival) are not island-specific
- The Maya Bay closure is a recurring annual rule, not an event. Documented windows: 2018 (1 Jun – 30 Sep, then extended into a ~3.5-year full closure to January 2022), then 1 Aug – 30 Sep in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Write it as "closed every year from 1 August to 30 September, reopening 1 October", a dated sentence goes wrong on 1 October
- As of 10 August 2026 Maya Bay is closed, by the park's own announcement covering 1 Aug – 30 Sep 2569 (2026), corroborated by Thai national media reporting the red flag on 1 August. The park has extended a closure before (2018), so anyone travelling in early October should re-check
- The practical seasonal decision on Phi Phi is not about being rained on, it is about boats and visibility. Trunk ferries from Phuket and Krabi run year-round, but May–October brings fewer sailings, rougher crossings and same-day cancellations when the Marine Department raises Andaman warnings; small speedboats are pulled first
- Underwater visibility is best November–April and is cut substantially in the monsoon by swell, plankton bloom and runoff; the simpler version (January–April best, June–October poor) points the same way
Add your Koh Phi Phi dates and we'll flag the weather
Stippl shows the season, crowds and prices for every stop on your route.
Beschrijf je reis en krijg in seconden een reisroute voor Koh Phi Phi
Alles in deze gids staat al in Stippl. Vertel de planner hoeveel tijd je hebt en wat je leuk vindt: hij bouwt de route, de dagen en de reistijden, en jij past aan wat je wilt.
Things to do in Koh Phi Phi
Photo by Vlad Gregurco via Unsplash
Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis via Unsplash
Photo by Nott Peera via UnsplashThe Phi Phi Viewpoint
the island's signature walk: stairs up from Tonsai Village to a view with Tonsai Bay's deep blue on one side and Loh Dalum's teal on the other, the village on the bar between them. 20–40 minutes up depending on fitness; viewpoints 1 and 2 are the busy ones with a bar at 2, and another ~15 minutes reaches the nearly empty viewpoint 3
Maya Bay, on the terms it is actually offered
a landing on Phi Phi Leh via the Loh Samah floating pier and a boardwalk through the island, one hour ashore, ranger-timed, no swimming, and not at all from 1 August to 30 September. Beautiful and heavily regulated; before 10:30 is the quiet window
The longtail circuit around Phi Phi Leh
Monkey Beach, Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, Loh Samah and the Bidas, arranged privately from Tonsai Pier over half a day or bought as an organised day trip. Pileh Lagoon is where you can actually swim, which Maya Bay is not
Diving the Bida islands
Bida Nai's archway full of baitfish opening onto a shallow coral garden, Bida Nok's swim-throughs among giant boulders, with leopard sharks as the local speciality and blacktips and whitetips also around. Moderate depths, so they double as boat snorkelling
Bamboo Island (Ko Mai Phai)
Our sources' consensus most beautiful stop, ~5 km off Phi Phi Don, with no infrastructure at all: bring food and water, go in the morning, and check the itinerary, because not every day trip actually calls there
Snorkelling straight off Long Beach
the best shore-accessible reef on Phi Phi Don, and the reason Long Beach works as a base; Tonsai and Loh Dalum are boat traffic and sand
De wijken van Koh Phi Phi
Laem Tong
honeymoons
North-eastern tip. Boat only, ~30–45 min by longtail. The quietest end: a handful of upmarket resorts plus a small Urak Lawoi (sea-gypsy) settlement; effectively self-contained, you eat at your resort
The quietest tip, a handful of resorts by an Urak Lawoi sea-gypsy village.
Tonsai Village (Ao Ton Sai)
first-timers
South side of the isthmus, where the ferry lands. The commercial heart: pier, agents, dive schools, shops, restaurants, most hostels. Dense, walkable, noisy; a working bay rather than a swimming beach, and sound from Loh Dalum carries
The ferry pier, dive schools and most of the island's hostels and shops.
Loh Dalum Bay
backpackers, nightlife
North side of the same isthmus, two minutes' walk. The party beach: white sand, wide shallow bay, beach bars, fire shows and buckets, loud until very late. The bay empties almost completely at low tide
White sand, fire shows and bucket bars, the island's party beach.
Long Beach (Hat Yao)
families
South-east coast; 20–30 min on a dark jungle/coastal path from Tonsai, or ~5–10 min by longtail. The compromise: a proper swimmable beach and the best shore-reachable reef, relaxed, a few bars but no party
The best shore-reachable reef on the island, and an actual swimmable beach.
Loh Bagao Bay
resort holidays
East coast of the northern lobe. Boat only, ~25–30 min. An ~800 m beach, one of the island's longest; resort-led, very few independent restaurants
One of the island's longest beaches, an ~800 m stretch reached by boat.
See every Koh Phi Phi neighbourhood on one map
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Waar te overnachten in Koh Phi Phi
All accommodation in the Phi Phi group is on Phi Phi Don. There is none on Phi Phi Leh: no hotels, no restaurants, and camping ashore is banned, so "staying at Maya Bay" is not a thing that exists
Laem Tong
North-eastern tip. Boat only, ~30–45 min by longtail. The quietest end: a handful of upmarket resorts plus a small Urak Lawoi (sea-gypsy) settlement; effectively self-contained, you eat at your resort
Tonsai Village (Ao Ton Sai)
South side of the isthmus, where the ferry lands. The commercial heart: pier, agents, dive schools, shops, restaurants, most hostels. Dense, walkable, noisy; a working bay rather than a swimming beach, and sound from Loh Dalum carries
Loh Dalum Bay
North side of the same isthmus, two minutes' walk. The party beach: white sand, wide shallow bay, beach bars, fire shows and buckets, loud until very late. The bay empties almost completely at low tide
Long Beach (Hat Yao)
South-east coast; 20–30 min on a dark jungle/coastal path from Tonsai, or ~5–10 min by longtail. The compromise: a proper swimmable beach and the best shore-reachable reef, relaxed, a few bars but no party
Loh Bagao Bay
East coast of the northern lobe. Boat only, ~25–30 min. An ~800 m beach, one of the island's longest; resort-led, very few independent restaurants
Wat je moet eten in Koh Phi Phi
the island's genuine strength: fish, prawns and squid grilled to order, priced by weight at beachfront places
pad thai, curries, fried rice and noodle dishes from family-run kitchens rather than the Western menus that dominate the strip
stalls, skewers, smoothies, fresh produce and local desserts, aimed at residents rather than tourists
Discover food spots in Stippl
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Koh Phi Phi customs and what not to do
Phi Phi Leh is policed
the access rules are enforced in person: boats may not anchor in Maya Bay, everyone lands at the Loh Samah floating pier, the hour ashore is timed, and rangers whistle people out of water deeper than a wade
Laem Tong is somebody's home
it holds a small Urak Lawoi (sea-gypsy) settlement alongside the resorts, a resident community, not a sight
Monkey Beach monkeys bite
the macaques there are wild and habituated: feeding is discouraged, and bites and theft of belongings are common, do not hand them anything and keep bags closed
The green signs are working kit
the tsunami evacuation routes run through the village and up the paths, and residents are drilled on them; they are working infrastructure and worth reading on arrival rather than photographing
Wel doen
- Pay the park fee once and keep the date-stamped ticket on you, it covers every park site that day
- Check which pier your ticket actually departs from before you book a transfer
- Choose your bay before your hotel, and accept the boat transfer if you choose a quiet one
- Take the longtail back from Long Beach after dark rather than the coastal path
Niet doen
- Don't swim or snorkel inside Maya Bay: wading only, and rangers enforce it
- Don't plan a Maya Bay landing between 1 August and 30 September
- Don't expect to sleep on Phi Phi Leh, there is no accommodation and camping is banned
- Don't feed the monkeys at Monkey Beach
Dagbudget voor Koh Phi Phi
Budget
country band €20–30, realistically at its top here
dorm bed on the isthmus, market and Thai-kitchen meals, everything on foot, one shared boat trip
Mid-range
country band €55–90
private room or a beach resort room, restaurant meals, a day trip with the park fee paid, longtail transfers
High-end
country band €180+
Loh Bagao or Laem Tong resort, private longtail charters, diving
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Leuke weetjes over Koh Phi Phi
The monkeys on Mosquito/Monkey Island were rounded up on Phi Phi Don and moved there in the early 2000s as tourism surged
Land camping on Phi Phi Leh has a documented on-off history: informal camping until a 2005 ban, licensed camping reintroduced in November 2007, permits revoked in 2012 and never restored
In 2015–16 a single operator held the only licence to bring visitors into Maya Bay after the day boats left, running overnight sleep-aboards moored in the bay, a product the closure and the swimming ban ended
Mosquito Island is named for its night-time mosquitoes and is fine by day
Phi Phi Don is no more than about 10 km², and the whole village sits on the narrow sandy bar between the two limestone lobes
DNP has publicised the return of blacktip reef sharks pupping in the Maya Bay shallows as part of the justification for the swimming ban: corroborated first-person by gg (2026), who saw the juvenile sharks from the beach
Lokale tips voor Koh Phi Phi
There is no "Krabi pier"
Four distinct departure points serve Phi Phi from the Krabi side, Klong Jilad (Krabi Town), Nopparat Thara (Ao Nang), Ao Nam Mao and Railay East, and Ao Nang's own longtail jetty is not one of them. "Take the ferry from Krabi" is the instruction that most often puts someone at the wrong pier
Everyone lands at Tonsai
arrival on Phi Phi Don is at Tonsai Pier, and there is no alternative port of entry for scheduled boats; from there you walk
The named operators
on the Phuket route they include Andaman Wave Master, Chao Koh, Phi Phi Cruiser, Bundhaya Speed Boat, PP Sabai Marine and PP Cabana Express; the Lanta route adds Tiger Line and Satun Pakbara Speedboat Club
The fares are August 2026
those above are aggregator and agent prices captured August 2026, now cross-checked against two 2026 first-person accounts, expect roughly ±100–200 THB by season and booking channel, and treat departure times as indicative. History on the Krabi speedboat: the aggregator-only figure was a flat 1,000 THB; bpw paid ~€22 (≈820 THB) in June 2026, so the cell now carries the range
The 2004 wave hit both sides
it struck Phi Phi Don from north and south at once: the wave entered Tonsai Bay from the south and Loh Dalum Bay from the north and met on the low isthmus, which is exactly where the village and nearly the whole population sat; roughly 70% of Tonsai Village was destroyed. The village was rebuilt in place, a warning system now covers the main beaches, and evacuation routes are signed from the pier inland and uphill toward Viewpoint 1
Veelgestelde vragen over Koh Phi Phi
Put it between Phuket and Krabi rather than out on a limb, because both are a couple of hours away by ferry and you will pass one of them anyway. Lay the boat days out in Stippl so you can see how many half-days the crossings actually eat. Then ask people who have done it, in subreddits like r/ThailandTourism.
Close to a third of routes say so: 30.9% of Thailand trips planned on Stippl include Koh Phi Phi. What you get is a car-free island with a reef you can swim to from the beach, and what you pay is two half-days sitting on ferries to reach it and leave again.
About one in five: 19.1% of Koh Phi Phi stops planned on Stippl are a single night, and that is usually somebody fitting the island in between two ferries. One night means the viewpoint and Loh Dalum, and it leaves no room at all for the Phi Phi Leh circuit.
No, and that has been the rule for some time. Maya Bay sits on Phi Phi Leh, a different island, and a visit means landing at the Loh Samah pier, walking a boardwalk across and an hour ashore with wading to about knee depth. It also closes completely through August and September.
None at all, and no motorbikes and no roads either. Everything moves on foot, by longtail or on the pushcarts that shift luggage and supplies through the village. Pack for walking the last stretch to your room, because a wheeled suitcase and a sand path are a poor combination here.
Overwhelmingly in the dry season: 65.2% of the trips carrying Koh Phi Phi on Stippl start between November and March. The sea is calmest then and the ferries are reliable, and the flip side is that the viewpoint and Maya Bay are at their busiest in exactly those months.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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