Backpacking Abroad - Travel info for backpacking in Thailand, Laos, China & Vietnam

What are the Phi Phi Islands on the Andaman Coast like?

Kan, Nov 07, 2005

The Phi Phi Islands are located about 29 miles (48 km) southeast from Phuket and 25 miles (42 km) south from the town of Krabi.  They can be reached by boat in a couple of hours from a variety of locations in south Thailand.  The islands are rugged, with vertical cliffs rising from the sea and jagged shores which conceal protected mini beaches. There are no motor vehicles on the islands at all, everyone gets around on push bikes or by foot.

Temperatures vary from an average high of about 86F (30C) at the end of the rainy season in September and October to almost 100F (37C) at the beginning of the rainy season in April. From November to March the temperature is usually in the upper 80’s and the chance of rain is only slight. Rainy season just means it might rain hard for 30 mins during the day.  The water temperature is constant - about 85F (29C). Day or night, year round the water is warm.

The largest island, Phi Phi Don, is about 5 miles (8 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.5 km) wide. It is shaped like a dumb bell. The island’s mountainous interior means that villages and bungalows are mostly located next to the various beaches.
Phi Phi Le, the smaller of the two main islands, is only 2 miles (3.5) km long and just over half a mile (1 km) wide. It is uninhabited except a few security people who protect some caves on the island. Phi Phi Le has two marvellous beaches: Loh Samah and Maya Bay.

Andrew MacDonald, producer of The Beach (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been quoted as saying that Phi Phi Le’s cliffs are the reason that island was chosen as the setting of the movie; in the book, the beach that the characters are living on is surrounded by the high sea cliffs from the sea.

Rheumy Sven, Jul 07, 2005

That’s the West coast of Southern Thailand - the part the tsunami hit.  I forget which out of Koh Phi Phi Lei and Koh Phi Phi Don was the setting for “The Beach” in the movie version.  They said it was near Koh Phangan in the film, but it was clearly Phi Phi.

Judging from what I saw in “The Beach” and in other things I’ve read, Phi Phi is probably one of the most beautiful beaches in existence - at least the tidal lagoon part.  Supposedly they seriously cleaned it all up for the movie and it’s not nearly so pristine when you visit, but it’s still beautiful. I can also say that while not all of Koh Phangan’s and Koh Samui’s beaches were amazing (there’s at least one muddy bog beach on each isle), enough of them were to keep me around. It’s like living in a Corona commercial every day visually.