Thai Island in the Andaman Sea near the border with Malaysia. His name was a mix of Thai and Malay language. It is approximately 3.5 km long, 2.5 km wide in the boomerang shape. It is one of the islands that belong to the Tarutao National Park. Just over 20 years ago, there were only a few hundred inhabitants called “marine gypsies”. Their job was mostly fishing, growing of rice or vegetables. Nowadays, some continue, others have entered the tourist industry and offer tourists, for example, souvenirs or boat trips to nearby islands.
The island is now known for the beautiful underwater environment and sandy beaches. The most popular activities are snorkeling and diving. Many divers would like to see the wreck of Yong Hua, which is located at the bottom of the ocean near the west coast. The 50-meter-long boat sank after a fire in 1996. Thanks to all these things, it is very crowded in the high season and without reservation (a long time before) it is not possible to find any accommodation. The onslaught and the high number of tourists, however, greatly destroy the ecology of the island.
Way there
Due to the proximity of the Koh Lipe and Langkawi islands, you can take a direct transfer (in the high season), which lasts approximately 1.5 hours. But we went to the island during the OFF-SEASON so we first waited for an hour-long boat ride from the harbor in Kuah to the mainland to Satun Province in Thailand. Then we went to the immigration department. Then followed an hour-long taxi ride to another port – Pak Bara, and finally the last hour of a boat ride to the island of Koh Lipe. I have to admit we were very lucky with the weather. It was beautiful and sunny.
Island through the eyes of travelers
When we arrived at the Sunrise Beach, the color of the sea and the white sandy beach were enchanting. At first glance, it looked idyllic as in the magazine, but from previous experience, we know that every place has a dark side too… It is a sad story – how such wonderful places are destroyed by tourism. Most people enjoy only a few days of exotic, sea and sun, but the local people live here all the time.
Because the island is small, you don´t need a scooter here. The walk is the best choice. Of course, local people offer you a taxi service, but it is not necessary. At least, you will see how life on the island actually looks (not only around the well-kept resort, beaches, and tourist places).
Non-seasonal holidays
If you are lucky like us, you will enjoy the island off-season much more than in the high season. And the reason?
- You will not have trouble locating on-site accommodation and at a lower price than they offer at booking.com portals
- Prices are much better (of course, the prices are always higher on the islands), but as we were informed, in the high season you will not find the price of food (for lunch or dinner) below 200 THB / per person. For example, the classic Pad Thai with chicken cost 80 THB and although we know that you can buy it for 40 THB on the mainland, the price was still better than 200 THB! (80 THB is about 48 CZK, which is still cheaper than in the Czech Republic)
- Maybe all the shops and restaurants are not open, but it doesn’t matter. There are still enough to fill your belly, satisfy your taste buds with a delicious dessert or a fruit shake. And after then you can still buy some souvenirs too.
- You will enjoy not only empty streets, restaurants, and bars, but above all beaches …. then for a while you feel like you are Tom Hanks in Cast Away movie and you enjoy the beauty of the island yourself or if you arrived like a group, then with your friends. .. it sounds like PARADISE, right?
Even though this island is primarily for a sea-relaxing, sunbathing, snorkeling and diving, you can go to the jungle to the Buddhist temple. I honestly had some respect from this place. I don´t know why, but I did not feel good at all in the neighborhood. So I’m either weird or have some supernatural powers acting on me: D
Our accommodation and area around the resort
In terms of accommodation, we preferred cottages (1 bungalow for 2 people) in the countryside on the west side of the island. There was a Sunset Beach. Observation of sunset was wonderful, the beach seemed beautiful at first glance, but unfortunately I must admit that after a walk on this beach we saw a lot of shards from broken bottles. We were lucky enough because lots of glass wasn´t nearly visible in the sand. Then we tried the sea, but when we swam, we constantly hit the coral, so we decided to stay and enjoy the sea on the edge. The next day (after the guys borrowed diving goggles), they told us that we were lucky because there was a large coral covered with sea urchins. Ouuuu …. I remember that I step on the sea urchin twice in Croatia, where I was with the Sea Horse program. Not anymore!
The only fun on this beach was when we find the palm tree with coconuts. 🙂
Way back
Although we arrived at the island together, we later split into two groups. Our young Robinsons decided to extend their stay. We were a bit afraid of the weather, but eventually, everything was fine.
Originally, we were planning to visit the island of Bali, but as you might know, the Gunung Agung volcano exploded during the holidays and a few days later, on the island of Lombok, there was an earthquake in several waves.
Even if circumstances weren´t good for our visit to Bali Island, a new place for the vacation – Koh Lipe Island – was overwhelmingly surprising!
