Hotels in Ko Lipe

After staying in Ko Lipe I finally understood why it has been referred to as the Maldives of Thailand. The water is the clearest I have seen so far. The sights and sounds underwater are breath taking. However, if you aren't an avid snorkeller/diver, 2 nights would be sufficient on this little island. Being a small island, there aren't many things of interest nor night life available. The immigration process in Ko Lipe was disorganised and a pain (literally), really wish they would do something about it. Also, the heat on the island is no joke, it literally burns up your skin. But taking regular dips in the sea is sufficient to soothe your burning skin. However, I do wish they did spend some more efforts in cleaning up the gunk on the shore and in the water. There is little regard for cleanliness, the boats are often docked in a haphazard manner on the shore which could be dangerous for snorkelers who tend to stay close to the shore. During the snorkelling trip, we were brought to an area that had very very strong currents. Mind you, it was really extremely strong which took strong swimmers by surprise. We had to hang on to our dear lives on the ropes that were strung across the boats. Little wonder what would have happened if the rope snapped under the weight of 20 odd people hanging to it. The boat man joked that if we let go off the rope, we would find ourselves in Indonesia. Overall, it was time well spent on a gorgeous island. The scenery is breath-taking. This island is a must visit before it gets overly crowded. Ditch all inhibitions and pick this island for a vacay.

It was just a 3 day stay, but the immigration process took so long upon arrival that we waited for nearly 2 hours and our departure time was 10am, that we had to be at the immigration early in the morning. So basically we had only one full day to enjoy Ko Lipe which we did by going to Pattaya Beach in the morning then took a taxi to Sunrise Beach. It is easy to get around Ko Lipe as taxis are everywhere. One of our favorite places to go is Walking Street, buying souvenirs at B Freak where I got cool bracelets. There is a place that sells fried chicken, 'roti with banana' and as a Muslim traveller, halal foods are easy to get.

First time I've entered a country by wading up the beach to immigration (no customs). Small and stunningly beautiful. Get around easily on foot, but taxis are only 50bht pp anywhere, handy if lost or have luggage. My places were:- Lipe camping for basic, friendly, laid back value. Walking st:-God and Yves at Mellowmango, great fun and best WiFi on island, Roman's live music at the Elephant, seafood BBQ buffet - amazing good all u can eat for < a tenner ,sorry 490bht. If you dive, or want to, go see Helen +team at Satun dive, if u don't, go there just for the beach bar!

Beautiful beaches and far from the mainland. Ok places to get far away from the crowd. A quieter local village to see more real thai life on the north side. I hated the admission fee of 200 baht plus 50 baht transfer to a long boat. Those guys already get plenty of business. Overall, it cost me over 1000 baht to get from satun to koh lipe (70 baht minivan to ling ngu 100 baht motorbike to pier 650 for speed boat 20 pier fee 200 admission and 50 for long boat transfer). That's my only gripe.

Busy Island with a main walking street connecting 1 side to the other . Plenty of places to stay . Great seafood , friendly locals . The Pakbara beach gets very busy with a lot of traffic with boats arriving with more tourists. Sunrise beach much quieter and calmer bu the docking pier moves here off season so bare this in mind. The Island has something for everyone but a quiet time is becoming more and more difficult to find as the island is becoming over crowded . Beaches are clean but there are a lot of long boats moored . The best restaurants are on the beaches and on some of the quieter streets . No cars is fantastic.

Koh Lipe is great for swimming, snorkelling and diving or just to relax. Forget about this island if you do not like the sea, sand and sun. Also, forget about shopping except for some souvenirs. Food and drinks can be quite expensive because most items are transported from the mainland. Pooh's restaurant is my favorite and the bar is an awesome place to hangout. Almost every place on the island is within walking distance. You just need to be a little adventurous to discover this tiny gem.