Diving and relaxing around Ko Phi Phi

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
8
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
2
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
8
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
5
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
70 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
157th/454
Top 40%
continent
Asia
country
Thailand
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$120 (typically $60 - $180)
Time of year visited
January
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Beaches Islands Jungle
All Tags
Boat trip Cliffs Scuba diving
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

I remember when returning from my first long trip around South East Asia, the place that most stuck in my mind as meeting the expectations of island paradise was Ko Phi Phi.  It had white sand beaches, stunning jungle interiors, coral reefs just off the beach and tall jagged karst hills jutting throughout.  In the middle of all that you had the wonderful Thai people and Thai food, the ease of travelling, plenty of options nearby for world-class diving and, of course, THAT world-famous beach.

 

That experience is still there to be had, but you just need to plan it a bit more to avoid what, unfortunately, has become a bit of a mess in various parts of the town as the development has been allowed to run riot.  The effect is that large parts of the islands won’t give you that island paradise vibe and, also unfortunately, THAT famous beach is sometimes closed to allow it to recover from what has been years of damage.

 

(I decided, frustratingly, to lose most of my photos from my trip, so this is a very short travel entry)

 

So, my key tips for giving yourself the best chance of that paradise vibe are:

#1 Aim for the east coast or Hat Yao area.  It’ll take you longer to get there by speed boat, but once you’re there it’ll be worth it and, to be honest if you’ve chosen the right place, you’ll probably want to stay there and just enjoy for a few days

#2 Make sure to still take one of the day trips to Ko Phi Leh (Ko Phi Phi Don and Koh Phi Phi Lei are the 2 islands that make up Ko Phi Phi).  Whilst THAT beach may be closed, the island itself is still beautiful and untouched by development

#3 Hike the 30mins up to the Phi Phi viewpoint as it will give you unbeatable views around the island and a chance to go for a bit of an explore

#4 Give yourself a day or two for scuba diving.  There are beautiful reefs nearby and the chance for whale sharks in February and March

#5 Include Koh Phi Phi as the centre part of a trip between Phuket and Krabi – Phuket for its beaches and sophisticated restaurants, hotels and partying / lash; Krabi for the kayaking by the impossibly steep karst towers on the beach.  Boats run super regularly from both spots and only take 1.5-2 hours

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other Tropical Beach Experiences around the World

The beaches of the Whitsunday Islands
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Island hopping the Galapagos Islands
⭐⭐⭐

Boracay’s white sand beach
⭐

Zanzibar’s 5 highlights
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Chilling, diving and drinking in Caye Caulker
⭐⭐⭐

A boat trip of the Zapatillas Islands
⭐⭐

Sailing the Komodo Islands in November
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

South Bali – Beach Clubs, Restaurants, Villas and Surf
⭐⭐⭐

Soaking up the Cartagena Old Town
⭐⭐⭐

Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui – mopeds, beaches, ping pong shows and full moon parties
⭐⭐⭐

A few days in Penang for George Town and beaches
⭐⭐

World class beaches in Bocas del Toro
⭐⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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