Ko lipa beach how to get there. Paradise Island Ko Lipe

I would like to start my review of Koh Lipe with brief information characterizing this island. It lies in the Andaman Sea, on the southern border of Thailand. The island is very small and cozy - you can get around it in a couple of hours. It is simply created for a calm, leisurely beach holiday and romantic adventures. There are no vehicles here, but only a couple or three motorcycles that act as taxis, which almost no one uses. You should know that in addition to cars, there are no ATMs on Koh Lipe (in 2012 there were definitely none)! You need to come here only with cash and preferably with Thai baht, because... The local exchange rate is simply pirated.
But the rest of the benefits of tourist civilization - comfortable hotels, spas, cafes and restaurants - are present in abundance. For such a tiny island there are even more of them here.
There are a lot of vacationers, but they somehow disperse so much that they don’t interfere with each other much. There are no crowds on the beaches.
Getting to Koh Lipe is not very easy. To do this, you need to change several types of transport. If anyone needs information on how to get to this piece of paradise, read .

Pattaya Beach

There are only three beaches on the island. The central one is called Pattaya Beach - this is the most densely populated area. The bulk of hotels, including the most comfortable ones, are concentrated here. Note that the entrance to the water is clean and smooth; the beach is ideally suited for vacationers with children.

Popular hotels in Pattaya Beach:

1. Hotel AKIRA Lipe - for those who value increased comfort on vacation
2. Hotel Mali Koh Lipe - wonderful bungalows, perhaps the best hotel in Koh Lipe in terms of price/quality ratio
3. Seaside Resort and Family Restaurant is one of the most budget options on the island, bamboo bungalows with a fan start from about 800 rubles.

The pier where boats arrive from the mainland and other islands is also located here.

The main and, by and large, only shopping street of Koh Lipe, Walking Street, runs from Pattaya Beach to the quieter Sunrise Beach.

Sunrise Beach

This beach is the second most popular on the island. Housing here is different. From expensive resorts and duplex bungalows to bamboo houses for 300 baht per night. True, such houses cannot be booked online, only on the spot, but they are almost always sold out, because... this is the only resort of its kind in Lipa.
Sunrise Beach is a calm and quiet place, perfect for a leisurely holiday.

Popular Sunrise Beach hotels:

1. Idyllic Concept - for those who value comfort
2. Anda Resort Lipe - excellent bungalows with glass walls and sea views, hammocks on balconies and luxurious beds

Sunset Beach

The third beach on Lipa is the most remote, small and least crowded Sunset Beach. The beach is not large and sparsely developed, there is little housing and it is relatively inexpensive. There are almost no tourists in this part of the island.

Popular Sunset Beach hotels:

1. Smile Sunset - nice bungalows in a quiet location with great sunset views
2. Phuritra Resort - pleasant bungalows on the rocks with a pleasant panorama of the uninhabited islands of the reserve
3. Mountain Resort Koh Lipe - excellent price/quality ratio, magnificent views from excellent bungalows and simply gorgeous territory, one of the best hotels in Koh Lipe

It’s not for nothing that the beach is called Sunset; you can watch beautiful sunsets from it.

All Koh Lipe hotels on the map

To go to view the hotel, simply click on the marker, to change the display of the number of hotels, change the scale (+/-), to sort by cost, use the price range scale.

In the depths of Koh Lipe, closer to Sunset Beach, there is a simple Buddhist temple, but with a wonderful atmosphere and energy.

What to do on Koh Lipe besides a beach holiday

Of course, trips to nearby uninhabited islands
and snorkeling.
The underwater world here is one of the best in Thailand. In order to take such a walk, you can contact one of the many agencies and buy a mini-tour, or you can negotiate directly with local boatmen. By the way, newlyweds, and simply lovers, can organize an unforgettable romantic adventure in this way...
Those who want to feel like Robinson can go on a trip to the islands on their own. See an example of such a journey.

And of course, you can rent kayaks, which are very interesting to take a stroll around Koh Lipe or to the ranger station on Koh Adang. The Ranger Station is a place for those who are looking for solitude, silence and a little respite from the problems of civilization. You can stay in one of several bungalows or in a tent, including your own.
But be careful, do not leave things unattended! Monkeys live here - thieves hiding in the branches of trees.
Almost all restaurants, cafes, and shops are concentrated on Walking Street, which is also the center of the island’s nightlife. Travel agencies, exchange offices and diving centers should also be found here.

Well, in the evening, after the hard work of tourism, a well-deserved rest awaits you - a cocktail
and dinner by the sea.
However, it should be noted that prices on Koh Lipe, compared to other resorts in Thailand, are greatly inflated. So, if you go to this paradise with snow-white beaches, crystal clear water and the reserved beauty of the uninhabited islands in the neighborhood, be prepared to spend a lot. And don't forget about the lack of ATMs.

Have a nice holiday!

The Adang archipelago on the border of Thailand and Malaysia is often called the “Thai Maldives” for its snow-white sand. Lipe is the only inhabited island in this archipelago. Lovers of serene bliss come here, as well as divers, since representatives of almost a quarter of the species of marine life that exist in nature are found in the coastal waters of Ko Lipe.

Lovers of serene bliss come here, as well as divers, since representatives of almost a quarter of the species of marine life that exist in nature are found in the coastal waters of Ko Lipe.

The island does not have its own pier; boats arriving at Koh Lipe moor at a special floating platform, on which tourists transfer to small boats of local residents, who in turn take them ashore. This pleasure costs only 50 THB per person. The return trip from the island to the platform with boats will also cost 50 THB.

The highlight of this archipelago is the Tarutau National Park, a must-see. Prices on the page are as of September 2018.

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It is easier to get to the island in the high season: ferry services are organized from many popular resorts in the Andaman Sea: Lanta, Phuket, Phi Phi, etc. In the low season, boats operate only from the Pak Bara pier, which is most conveniently accessible from the town of Hat -Yay.

From Bangkok

1. The fastest way is air travel. Flights to Hat Yai depart from Don Mueang Airport, which is a 40-minute drive from Suvarnabhumi, where planes fly from Russia. Then you can take a taxi to the pier in Pakbara (about 1000 THB) or buy a comprehensive ticket to Koh Lipe at the airport for the same money. Or go to the bus terminal in Hat Yai (150 THB by tuk-tuk or 400 THB by taxi), where you can take a bus to the pier. From Hat Yai to Pakbar it takes about 2 hours.
2. In addition, at the capital's Don Muang Airport you can immediately buy a comprehensive ticket to Ko Lipe, which includes a flight, transfer to the pier and a ferry ticket. In terms of cost, such a route is comparable to an independent one, and there are no worries about changing transport: you will be met and escorted everywhere.
3. You can also get to Hat Yai from Bangkok by train. An evening train departs from Hua Lamphong Station and arrives in Hat Yai early in the morning.
4. Another budget option is a bus. They depart to Hat Yai from the capital's southern terminal and travel all night (10-12 hours). The cost of a bus trip is comparable to a train ticket, but the bus travels slightly faster than the train, and also arrives directly at the bus station.

From the pier in Pakbara you can sail to the island either by speedboat or on the so-called ferries. They take a full hour longer (2.5 hours), but sailing on them is much more comfortable than on a speedboat, which shakes from being hit by waves (and the seats are hard and uncomfortable), and the spray often hits passengers. Ticket prices for speedboats and ferries do not differ in price.

It's also worth considering that boats only operate between the mainland and the island during the day, so it's best to arrive in Pakbara as early as possible.

Search for flights to Phuket (the nearest airport to Koh Lipe)

From the southern resorts of Thailand

In the case of Lipe, islands such as Phuket and Lanta can be called “southern” only conditionally, since they are located north of the country’s southernmost archipelago. In high season, boats run from most of these southern resorts to Ko Lipe. The ticket costs about 1000-1200 THB, it will be much cheaper (but also longer) to take a bus to the pier in Pakbara and from there swim to the island.

From Malaysia

Since the island is located on the border with Malaysia, Ko Lipe can also be reached from this country. The closest to it - just 30 km - is the Malaysian island of Langkawi, from where boats start towards Thai Lipe. Guests from Malaysia go through border control upon arrival on the island, however, the checkpoint on Koh Lipe is only open in the high season; in the low season, you will have to cross the border on the mainland, in the Thai city of Satun, from there get to Pakbar and cross to Lipe.

Next to the Adang Archipelago is the Tarutao Island Nature Reserve. This is a fairly large island, most of which is occupied by tropical jungle. There is no tourist infrastructure or full-fledged hotels here - only small guesthouses and private bungalows that are rented out to tourists.

You can get to Tarutao in the same way as to Lipe, since boats going to it from the Pakbara pier make a stop off the coast of Tarutao. The cost of a ticket to it is about a hundred baht cheaper than to Ko Lipe.

Koh Lipe is the southernmost island of Thailand, a resort that is little known among our tourists. However, on the first day in Koh Lipe we met a lot of Russian speakers. However, the very next day and until the end of our “vacation” we no longer heard our native speech. What is interesting about this island, how does it differ from other islands of Thailand?

Ko Lipe, Thailand

Sea and beaches

The most important thing that now sets Koh Lipe apart from other destinations is that the island has stunning beaches, one might even say, some of the best in Thailand. Better only on . It is for the sake of paradise beaches and the sea that tourists from all over the world come here. Just 20 years ago, the beaches were deserted and semi-wild, but now civilization has reached here. But despite the abundance of tourists and hotels, Lipe beaches are still beautiful. Thanks to the beaches, you can close your eyes to the other shortcomings of the island. We compiled our rating of the best beaches in Ko Lipe, and gave first place to a beach that is not recommended by guidebooks.

• Read:

Hotels on Koh Lipe

• AKIRA Lipe Resort
• Bundhaya Villas
• Lip Sunset Beach Resort
• Harmony Bed & Bakery
• The Reef

All hotels in Ko Lipe

That feeling when swimming in the sea is perfect

If anyone hasn’t seen it in the last article, watch our video review of the best beaches on the island.

Nature

Not to say that Koh Lipe has any particularly outstanding nature, but the views are pleasing to the eye in some corners of the island. For example, when you cross the bridge from Pattaya Beach to the secret beach. Large stones, greenery, clear turquoise water...

My favorite place on Lipe




Sand spit on Karma beach

Atmosphere of relaxation and carefree

The third thing we noticed was the atypical atmosphere for Thailand. With the onset of darkness, everything changes on the beach, music comes from dozens of cozy cafes, fire shows are held, kind, half-drunk people of all nationalities walk along the shore, intoxicated by tropical nature and the sea breeze, there are bright stars in the sky, and glowing plankton can be seen in the waves under your feet.

We came to the beach every evening and enjoyed the moment. Very reminiscent of the evening beaches of Goa. So, if you find yourself in Koh Lipe, be sure to go to Pattaya Beach after 8 pm. Feel the realization that you are at the end of the world, on a tiny tropical island in the open sea, enjoy the warm breeze and bright stars without thinking about anything else.

Here and now

This atmosphere is very well conveyed, you are instantly infected by it and are already wandering along the beach with a slight smile, as if on a high. You smile at the tourists you meet, just like you. I don’t want to think about anything bad, I don’t want to do anything. During our entire time in Ko Lipe, we did not do any work or blog, but simply relaxed; we did not have enough strength for anything else.

Walking Street

The first place everyone comes to when visiting Koh Lipe is Walking Street. The street stretches across the entire island from Pattaya Beach and almost to the opposite Sunrise Beach. On the first day, you may get the wrong impression that the whole island looks like this street - cafes, massage parlors and shops. But that's not true.

Walking Street is the most lively and cheerful street in Koh Lipe, I don’t even know what we would do if this street didn’t exist. All shops and inexpensive cafes are concentrated here. The rest of the restaurants and bars are located on the beach, and we didn’t see any shops in other parts of the island at all. Here you can buy souvenirs and shop a little, order transfers to other regions of Thailand and Malaysia, and also find inexpensive overnight accommodation.

Where can I order a transfer from the airport?

We use the service - KiwiTaxi
We ordered a taxi online and paid by card. We were met at the airport with a sign with our name on it. We were taken to the hotel in a comfortable car. You've already talked about your experience In this article.

What distinguishes Walking Street in Koh Lipe from its counterpart in Pattaya is that there are no prostitutes, lady fights, go-go bars or other debauchery here. I’m sure that you can find entertainment here if you look hard enough or ask one of the locals, but there’s nothing like that in the open.

Welcome to Koh Lipe


Walking Street during the day


Poohs bar Ko Lipe Island


Bar-cinema


Branded T-shirts with Koh Lipe inscription (250 baht)

Negative aspects of Koh Lipe

A large number of boats on all beaches

The island cannot be called paradise. There are no bounty beaches on Ko Lipe. The beaches are good, of course, but not heavenly. There are many boats on all beaches. They create inconvenience with their noise, pollute the water, and also pose a danger if swimming outside fenced areas.

Boat parking at Pattaya Beach


Longtail boats in the lagoon at Karma Beach

Low tides

At lunchtime the tide begins to ebb on all beaches. At low tide it becomes very shallow, and stones appear at the bottom that were previously at depth. On our first day we went snorkeling and were very disappointed. But when they came 2 days later in the morning, they couldn’t believe their eyes, how different everything looked here in the morning. The main thing is to go to the sea in the first half of the day. Low tides begin in the afternoon and swimming at this time will not be so pleasant.

Low tide at Sunrise beach. Knee depth


Evening low tide on Pattaya beach

High housing prices

Housing prices are approximately 2 times higher. The cheapest options are tents at campsites for 500 baht per night. Average rooms in guest rooms with a fan - 1000 baht, average hotels offering rooms with air conditioning and hot water - from 1500 baht. These are the prices for accommodation here during the season from November to March. In the low season, the price tag is lower, but who needs to go to Koh Lipe during the rainy season, when the sea waves are stronger and the sky is cloudy.

Most hotels in Koh Lipe are built in the form of bungalows. There are so many options right on the beach. But if you booked a hotel not on the beach, don’t worry, you can walk to the sea from the center of the island in 5-10 minutes.

Accommodation in Koh Lipe (2000 baht per night)


Bungalow on the beach (7000 baht per night)

Inflated prices for products

Well, as if we understand that this is an island, everything here is imported, but for some reason on other islands of Thailand, such as Koh Lanta, Koh Chang and even Koh Lan, prices are not inflated. And here most products cost exactly 2 times more than on the mainland. Especially at 7-Eleven. But the prices in the cafe do not differ from ordinary tourist restaurants in other Thai resorts.

7-eleven on Walking street Koh Lipe

Motorbikes and tuk-tuks

Their presence and movement along all pedestrian streets is very infuriating. Wherever you go, every minute someone will be driving behind or in front, and you need to move away, dodge, and then breathe in dust and exhaust fumes. It is impossible to move normally along Walking Street during the day; mopeds are constantly driving back and forth. It is especially annoying when a tuk-tuker on a motorcycle with a sidecar is driving along a narrow street, as it takes up the entire width of the street. It’s good that at least from 6 pm they are prohibited from driving Volking and they don’t go to the beach.

I remember that motorcyclists on yet another “paradise” beach in Sri Lanka caused us such irritation before.

Garbage and general filthiness

This circumstance surprised me most on the first day. Koh Lipe is part of Tarutao National Park; everyone pays 200 baht to enter the island. But then why did the locals ruin their island so much? This is a national park, is there really no control at all? The fact that tourists litter, a bull is thrown somewhere or a bottle is left - these are all little things. It is the locals who cause the greatest harm to the island, that is, the Thais and Burmese themselves who live here.

Ko Lipe is no longer the same (c)

Such landscapes are everywhere, you just need to move 20 meters away from Walking Street. You don’t have to go far to see all this garbage, devastation, and abandoned building materials. It’s not tourists who litter the island like this, as you understand, but the Thais themselves. Or the Burmese, for whom this is the norm, but then why don’t the Thais do anything?

I'm loving your NATIONAL PARK


The motto of the residents of Ko Lipe is: where I live, I live there!

Garbage and general filth are the biggest disappointment and culture shock on Koh Lipe. Okay, the crap island of Koh Larn near Pattaya, where the situation is exactly the same, but at least it’s not a national park. I don’t know if any of the tourists paid attention to this, but I have never seen such “national parks” before. The park must maintain and preserve pristine nature as much as possible. I really hope that such horror will never happen in the Similan Islands National Park, although the prerequisites already exist.

Garbage barge on Ko Lipe

And this is how they remove garbage from the island. Well done, of course, for removing it, although not all of it, but why is a garbage barge being placed in the very center of one of the best beaches? And it stands here not for 5 minutes, but for several days until it is full. It is moored exactly 50 meters from the bungalow of the Lipe Power Beach Resort. How great it is for the guests of this hotel to go out onto the porch early in the morning, admiring the sea, and take a deep breath of the fresh garbage smell...

The island of Koh Lipe is located in the south of Thailand, on the border of the territorial waters of Thailand and Malaysia.
There are several options for getting to Koh Lipe

1) Any airport in Thailand-> Hat Yai (air) -> taxi to Pakbara (1800 baht). Pakbara -> Koh Lipe by high-speed ferry or speedboat 3 times a day.

For example, from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Hat Yai Lion Air flight at 7:45.
At 9:15 in Hat Yai. Receipt of baggage.
Exit and select a transfer (group by minibus or individual by taxi) to Pakbara. Travel time 1:30.
Pakbara: buying speedboat tickets 11:30 to Koh Lipe (450 baht) + 20 baht fi pier.
Travel time to Koh Lipe is 1:30.
Disembarkation either directly onto the shore or onto a floating platform (depending on the tide).
If disembarking on the platform, then +50 baht for delivery ashore by boat at 13:00

2) Malaysia. From the island Langkawi(Langkawi), Malaysia on the ferry Langkawi - Koh Lipe ().
3) Koh Lanta. From Koh Lanta island (Krabi province) by speedboat.
4) Trang. From the pier Hat Yao Pier(Trang) on ​​the yellow high-speed ferry http://www.tigerlinetravel.com/
5) Phuket. From the pier Rassada(Phuket) by high speed ferry with two stops Phi Phi and Hat Yao (Trang):

I described in detail how we got to Koh Lipe from Phuket
Transfer connection: morning (7:15) flight Phuket – Hat Yai + taxi to Pakbara + a speedboat to Koh Lipe allows you to be on Koh Lipe by lunchtime on the same day.

There are several more exotic options, but due to their exotic nature and time-consuming nature, I will not consider them here.
However, option 3 is also not interesting to describe since the transfer is on a speedboat - therefore it is very seasonal and depends on the weather (cancelled if there is a lot of bumpiness).
The most common option: a trip by speedboat or ferry (from November to May) to Koh Lipe from the pier of the village of Pakbara, Satun Province (the nearest airports are Hat Yai and Trang).

What is the village of Pakbara famous for?

It used to be a terrible hole
When I first came to Pakbara, there was not a single hotel in the fishermen's village, except for 4 rooms on the second floor of a grocery store with one toilet in the corridor for everyone. And the ship that brought tourists from Pakbara to Koh Lipe was made of wood and resembled a Spanish galleon of the 15th century (it broke down twice per voyage)

Now you won’t recognize Pakbara: a 7/11 store, ATMs, seafood restaurants (though Muslim ones with menus in Thai)
The port in Pakbar is a building made of stone and glass
It’s a pity I don’t have any photographs of the port of Pakbara-2002 at hand: on the river bank there are sandbags on which 2 boards are thrown

How to get to Pakbara

Airports closest to Pakbara:
– Trang(Trang)
– Hat Yai(Hat Yai)
Trang Airport is slightly closer to Pak Bara than Hat Yai Airport.

For example: you flew to Trang from Bangkok ()
Exit to the arrivals hall and go to the transfer counter (left side of the hall).
A taxi to Pakbara costs 2,200 baht and takes an hour and a half to travel. The price is fixed and written on the board in front of the counter.
If you have high speed ferry tickets Tigerline, then you need to take a taxi to the pier Hat Yao– it’s 50 minutes from Trang airport)

You can team up with someone and split the cost of a taxi.
You can go out onto the main road and try to find a ride or negotiate with a taxi directly.
But the fact remains: a taxi from Trang airport to Pakbara costs 2,200 baht.
Taxi ride from Trang Airport to Pakbara Pier: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Speedboat schedule from Pakbara to Koh Lipe

The schedule varies depending on the season, the weather and the number of tourists going to Koh Lipe.
In general, it is better to clarify the information on the spot.
As of August 2016, the schedule looked like this:

You can see something on the website http://kohlipethailand.com/koh-lipe/transport/boat-timetable/
Speedboats depart from Pakbara at 9:30, 11:30 and 15:30 during low season.
The best option would be to take the first speedboat at 9:30 so that you can be there (in Koh Lipe) at 11-11:30
To do this, you need to arrive in Pakbara the day before leaving for Koh Lipe.

See what flights arrive to Trang or Hat Yai at
Add 20 minutes to collect your luggage and find a taxi.
Add 1.30 for the road to Pakbara and 10 minutes for buying tickets and figure out which speedboat you have time for.

Where to stay in Pakbar

There was a simple hotel near the pier - Best House.
But in August it looked like this, although it was offered by Agoda.

But there is something nearby - Marina Resort and Restaurant.
If you want more comfort, it is better to stay in the city Langu 7 km from Pakbara.
For example, they praise Farmsuk residence and resort or Bara Resort 3 km from the pier (on the right) - not in the booking, but the houses are good.

Updated: Sep 17, 2018

The Adang Archipelago, located in the southern part of the Andaman Sea, near the mainland of Thailand and Malaysia, is often called the “Thai Maldives”, primarily for its snow-white sand. Ko Lipe (Thailand) is the only inhabited island in this archipelago. Tourists come here to enjoy the serenity and tranquility. In addition, the island attracts divers, because many marine inhabitants live off the coast - almost a quarter of all those existing in nature. The island is the southernmost point of Thailand and many tourists are frightened by the question of how to get to Koh Lipe. However, the number of travelers is increasing every year. We have prepared detailed information for those planning a trip to the island.

general information

The island of Koh Lipe in Thailand is located in the southern part of the Andaman Sea and belongs to the Satun province. This is the southernmost point of the country. On a sunny, cloudless day, you can see the coast of Malaysia from the island, namely the Langkawi archipelago, located at a distance of 30 km.

The distance to Phuket is 250 km, to Krabi – about 220 km, and to mainland Thailand – 70 km.

The length of the island is only 3 km, it is easy to get around on foot; there are about 800 indigenous people on Koh Lipe. The main source of income is fishing and tourism.

Interesting fact! The indigenous population belongs to the sea gypsies - immigrants from Malaysia who arrived on the island about a century ago.

On Koh Lipe there is the Tarutao Thematic Marine Park, which was given national status; at the end of the 20th century it was called the second largest in Thailand.

Tourist infrastructure and recreation features

Every year the number of tourists on the island of Koh Lipe in Thailand increases, despite the fact that you can only get here by water. The infrastructure is accordingly developing rapidly - the resort is flourishing and attracting more and more vacationers. The first and main reason why tourists come here are the beaches, where you can enjoy a relaxing holiday or take an exciting dive or snorkel.

Interesting fact! Not far from Koh Lipe there are several uninhabited islands where you can go on an excursion tour or stay in a tent for several days.

Walking Street

The island of Koh Lipe in Thailand boasts a walking street - Walking Street, where there are souvenir shops, a pharmacy, travel agencies, cafes and an exchange office. Prices on the main street of the island are quite high, and the exchange rate is unfavorable, so it is better to stock up on everything you need on the mainland. The local attraction begins at Pattaya Beach and stretches to Sunrise Beach. The signs indicate that the street is open from 6:00 to midnight, but Walking Street does not close; many cafes, restaurants and bars open in the afternoon. Of course, most establishments are empty and close by midnight, but you can still find a few bars that invite tourists.

Relatively recently, there were no bank branches or banks on the island, but today withdrawing money is not difficult. It should be taken into account that you will have to pay a commission to withdraw money, and the exchange rate is unfavorable. Also in some hotels you can pay for your room and services with a plastic card, but a fee is charged for this. At exchange offices you can exchange dollars and the Malaysian currency – ringgit.

Koh Lipe in Thailand has Wi-Fi; Internet access points are available in hotels and Internet cafes.

Most cafes and bars are located on the coastline, the maximum distance to the sea is 200 meters. There are no discos and other entertainment venues, as well as attractions, on the island.

Interesting fact! The maximum distance between beaches on the island is 1 km, so during your vacation you can easily visit them all. A walk from one to the other will take about a quarter of an hour. If you don't like to walk, rent a bike.

Why is it worth getting to Koh Lipe?

1. Seascapes. Already on the way to the island, on the ferry, you can take beautiful photographs.
2. Bright underwater world. There are a lot of fish and marine inhabitants off the coast of the island; even tourists who cannot swim can take beautiful photographs. To do this, you don’t need to wear special equipment, just a mask and snorkel are enough.
3. Large selection of excursion tours. Most of them are on deserted islands; it’s easy to stay here for a few days. There are tours with night swimming, which shimmers with the abundance of plankton, a trip with a barbecue against the backdrop of a sea sunset. The cost of the excursion is about $17-19.
4. Snow-white beaches and clear turquoise water. Despite the fact that getting to the island is not so easy, and Koh Lipe in Thailand has minor drawbacks, the beaches are attractive and allow you to ignore minor inconveniences. Here you can find fabulous sunrises and sunsets, numerous bars offer drinks and delicious treats right on the shore.
5. Large selection of seafood dishes. Every restaurant and bar offers delicious treats from sea creatures you've never even heard of. Some dishes are prepared right in front of tourists.

Good to know! In addition to traditional restaurants, there are buffets on Walking Street; for a certain amount you can try the entire range of dishes. The cost is about $15-17.

It would be wrong to talk only about the positive aspects of the island in Thailand. If you decide to travel and get to Koh Lipe, be prepared for the following unpleasant surprises:

• garbage, the island authorities simply do not have time to remove it;
• boats are the real scourge of the island, they are moored on all the beaches;
• cats and dogs, some of them annoying;
• prices for products are higher than in stores on mainland Thailand.

A natural disadvantage is strong ebbs and flows. During high tide, the shore is under water, there is simply no place left for sunbathing. At low tide, the sea becomes so shallow that only children can swim in the sea.

Interesting fact! The only place on the island where there are no ebbs and flows is the northern edge of Sunrise Beach.

There are no large stores on the island; there are small grocery stores. Be sure to try the pancakes - they are sold in street stalls.

Transport

Getting to the island is not so easy, but on Koh Lipe we can solve the issue of transportation. There are no cars here, there are few bikes, there is no public transport. Travelers are offered several ways to get around the island:

• on foot;
• motorbike taxi;
• bike rental;
• Boats regularly ply between the beaches.

Accommodation on the island

Every year new hotels open on Koh Lipe in Thailand, but during the high tourist season it is not so easy to find available accommodation, so it is better to book a room several months before your trip. Most hotels are built right on the beach, many have the appearance of bungalows, but you can also find a traditional hotel.

During the tourist season, rates for accommodation in a three-star hotel are about 3 thousand baht, and a bungalow can be rented for 1 thousand baht. During the low season, prices are halved.

Hotel features in Koh Lipe (Thailand):

Good to know! In addition to hotels, the island also has a budget accommodation option – tents in campsites. Most of them are located on Sunset Beach.

Find out PRICES or book any accommodation using this form

Beaches of the island

The first and main advantage of Koh Lipe is its beaches, which are considered the best in Thailand. The coastline is better only on the Similan Islands. Several decades ago, the island’s beaches were deserted, but today the situation has changed - infrastructure has appeared, but the exotic nature has been preserved. It is for the sake of the beaches that many tourists decide to go to Koh Lipe. We have made for you a selection of the best places to relax on the island.

Pattaya Beach is located in the south of Koh Lipe and has a long coastline of almost 1.5 km. The shore is covered with white and very fine sand. In sunny weather, the water takes on a turquoise hue, but in the low season, strong waves appear due to the wind, which bring garbage to the shore. The descent into the water is gentle and smooth. Pattaya Beach has strong ebbs and flows, and given the smooth entrance to the sea, it is difficult to find a place to swim.

There is a reef near the shore, so be sure to take your mask and snorkel with you. Unfortunately, there are a lot of boats off the coast, but they moor in an orderly manner, leaving areas for swimming. In the evening there is a fire show on the shore. There are quite a lot of hotels, cafes and restaurants on the first line.

Good to know! There is a tourist office on Pattaya Beach for visitors from Malaysia and mainland Thailand. In addition, there are representative offices of all shipping companies here.

The eastern coast of the island is Sunrise Beach, where the sand is coarse and quite loose, and the descent into the sea is sharp. On the right side there are corals and many different fish.

The coastline stretches for 1.5 km, and the width varies depending on the tides. The widest part is in the northern part, and the narrowest is in the central part.

Good to know! There are no entertainment venues or discos here; by 10 p.m. the shore is empty. To get to Walking Street, you need to pass by the local slums.

There are hotels, cafes and restaurants on the shore; you can purchase an excursion to the mainland of Thailand, to the uninhabited islands of the archipelago and rent a kayak. There are also diving schools.

The only thing that mars your holiday on Sairaz Beach is the chaotically moored boats.

Interesting fact! It is believed that the beach has the most beautiful sunrises, which is why the place is called Sunrise Beach.

Western part of Koh Lipe. This is a small, cozy beach where the most beautiful sunsets are, which is why the beach was named Sunset Beach. The shore is covered with stones, and in some places there are large stones in the water. The sand is coarse, of uneven color - white interspersed with gray and dark colors. The sea is quite shallow, there are fish in the water, but not many of them. This place is calm, uncrowded, and there are many boats in the central part of the beach.

Good to know! The sand is unpleasant to the touch due to shell fragments, so take shoes with you.

On the left side of the bank there is a cafe and sun loungers. There are hotels on the first line. The distance to Walking Street can be covered on foot in a quarter of an hour.

A sheltered, quiet beach, it is often called a secret beach. To get here, you need to go right along Pattaya Beach, get to the wooden bridge and cross it. Not all tourists come to this part of the island, so not everyone knows about the beach.

Good to know! There is only one bungalow built on the shore.

Cross the bridge with caution, it looks fragile, and the creaking boards do not give you confidence. Huge boulders lie under the bridge, and turquoise water splashes quietly.

There is a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere on the shore - some are swimming in the calm sea, some are drinking a cocktail on the shore, and some are taking pictures of the beautiful views.

The beach is perfect for swimming - the water is clean, the sea is calm, the slope is gentle. The seabed is soft, covered with sand, without stones.

Weather and climate, when is the best time to come?

Koh Lipe - an island of two seasons:

• dry – begins in late autumn and lasts until mid-spring;
• rainy - begins in mid-spring and lasts until the second half of autumn.

Today, the island's communication with mainland Thailand remains open throughout the year. Previously, in the summer, during the low season, when the sea was stormy, Koh Lipe was closed and hotel employees went on vacation. In recent years, the climate on the island has been so changeable that even in the low season there is good, sunny and clear weather.

As for the pricing policy in hotels, there are three seasons:

• low – three summer months;
• high season - two autumn months - October and November, two spring months - March and April;
• peak – from December to February.

To get to the island you need:

• come to Trang or Hat Yai;
• get to Pakbara pier;
• purchase a ticket for a boat that goes to Koh Lipe.

There are several ways to get to Trang or Hat Yai.

• by plane;
• by bus – flights depart from the southern bus station, the schedule is from 6-00 to 20-00, the journey takes 13-14 hours, tickets cost about 1000 baht;
• by train - from Bangkok flights depart to Hat Yai, the route takes 13-17 hours, to get to the island on the day of departure from Bangkok, you need to leave no later than 15-30, fare from 400 to 900 baht;
• complex ticket - provides travel by plane, minibus (to the pier) and by boat (to Koh Lipe), flights are provided only in the morning.

Koh Lipe (Thailand) – how to get there on your own from Phuket.

By sea.

During high season, the most convenient way to get to the island is by water. Yellow boats regularly operate between Phuket and Koh Lipe. Departure from Rassada Pier. Tourists spend 4 hours on the road. The fare is about 2100 baht.

The first route is by bus. The algorithm is as follows: take a bus from Phuket to Hat Yai. It is most comfortable to travel on night flight VIP 24. Departure is at 21-45, transport arrives at the destination at 06-00. Then you need to get to the pier and from there by boat to the island - departure at 9-30, and arrival at 11-30.

Another route is by plane. There are direct flights from Phuket to Hat Yai - departure at 7-25, arrival at 8-30. Ticket price is about 1700 baht. You can purchase a transfer online - from the airport to the pier, then to the island. Sales of transfer tickets stop three days before the trip. Travel agencies also sell complex tickets.

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How to get to Koh Lipe in Thailand from Krabi

The only way to get from Krabi (Ao Nang) to the island is through Hat Yai. There is no direct air service, so you can choose the following method:

• by bus;
• mini bass;
• Taxi.

The cost of a comprehensive ticket is about 1200 baht

Prices on the page are for September 2018.

What Koh Lipe (Thailand) lacks in attractions, it more than makes up for with beautiful beaches. To fully enjoy nature and spend your vacation in a bungalow on the seashore, prepare for your trip in advance - choose a hotel, book tickets.

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