Island hopping in Thailand

As I lay floating in the crystal clear, blue sea, sun in my face staring up at the white, fluffy clouds above through my sunglasses, I knew we had reached south Thailand ☺️ 

We were starting our tour from Malaysia and finishing in north Thailand so we island hopped from south to north: Ko Lipe to Ko Lanta to Phi Phi to Phuket

Ferry info and dates: we hadn’t realised that the ferries don’t start their proper schedule until middle November so be sure to check schedules before you travel! I was so confused before we arrived as to where to go in order but once you arrive it’s very easy to book onward travel and we found it much cheaper to do this as we went along rather than a package that covers you from start to finish. We also loved the flexibility as there were islands we visited that we liked to stay longer at more so than others. If we had more time in Thailand I would have certainly squeezed in even more islands that were en route that I didn’t even know existed when planning the initial itinerary such as Ko muk and Ko NGai which lay in between Lipe and Lanta. So definitely my advice would be to pick a start point and then book as you travel 😉

Ko Lipe:

Ko lipe was our first experience of Thailand and was everything we had ever imagined the beaches here to be. Simply beautiful. “The Maldives of Thailand”. It was love at first sight! We arrived by speedboat from langkowi to the jetty before transferring to long boat to reach the shore at Pattaya beach. As I jumped off the boat my feet sunk into the white fluffy sand it felt like I imagined heavens clouds to feel round my toes! 

It is a tiny island accessible by foot easily with 3 main beaches; Pattaya which is where you will arrive and so the busiest beach but still very beautiful and amazing for snorkelling, sunrise beach which is fab for catching the sunrise and sunset beach which is great for catching the sunset! perfect!

Although the island is small, the Main Street ‘walking street’ is full of great bars (we loved Elephant as anyone can join in the local band which G jumped at!) and places to eat ranging in prices to suit all budgets. We actually found the island fine for a backpacker budget and managed to get a really beautiful beach hut on Pattaya beach serving great food and drinks for less than £10 a night!
Ko lanta:

Ko Lanta has many day trips offering snorkelling and diving opportunities at the nearby beautiful uninhabited islands. We spent our time however solely on the island enjoying the many beaches all along the west coast, sea fishing (well G did) and trekking around the beautiful rivers, waterfalls and caves. 

We found that hiring a scooter from the pier you arrive at was a great way to fully explore the island and leave none of its beauty untouched. As the coastline is only on the west, so too are many bars and eaterys overlooking the sea and beaches with incredible sunset views.

Phi phi islands:

Phi phi don is Thailand south islands party island and although we were a little sceptical before we arrived about its reputation, we actually loved the bars which were very lively but without being too messy… even if G did join in the fire dancing!

Besides the drinking, we spent our time kayaking around the coastline which we rented for a couple of hours and snorkelling off the coast where we saw so many fishes and beautiful coves.

Day trips again are available offering boats around the islands and lots of good diving. Maya beach on phi phi lay which made phi phi famous is the highlight of the tours though sadly 90s Leo is now long gone and the beach is no longer a secluded secret. 

The hike up to the viewpoint is definitely worth the effort but if you plan to venture down the other side to explore the islands other prettier and quieter coastline, please be aware it is a bit of a tricky path so best to wear trainers and not really possible to attempt after sunset so time your return. You can catch a long boat taxi back but it was 1500 baht for the boat or 250baht per person if more than 4 of you.

Phuket:

Phuket or Krabi?! The only reason we could make a definite choice between the two was that our next adventure was in khao sok national park in south Thailand so with Phuket being closer to the park and easy to reach by bus from the town , it was the obvious last stop in our island hopping trip. 

Phuket being a much larger island meant we didn’t get to see it it all but again we hired a bike and gave it a good go! We stayed in Phuket town which we really enjoyed. It has many quirky bars and cafes such as the cat cafe which is full of cats for you to stroke while you sip tea! We were lucky to catch the Sunday street food market on Walking street too which was fabulous and delicious.

We also managed to tour the south and west coastline visiting the many beautiful beaches and coves. Phuket is a very popular destination so most of the coastline is busy with some parts resembling that of the UKs, but hidden between the big resorts are some real gems great again for snorkelling straight off the beach with crystal clear waters.

Visa: just a reminder that if you do arrive in Thailand over land or sea then you will only be granted a free 15 day visa on arrival as oppose to the 30 day visa you would get if arriving by plane. Having said that, we some how got stamped a full 30 days entry in our passport without request so you may get lucky too!

I would love to hear about the islands you have visited or plan to see as no doubt we will be back again for a little longer hopefully! ❤️