You must in Phi phi islands and maya beach

You MUST See in Phi Phi Islands

Phi Phi Don

Ton Sai Bay
This island is the largest of the 6 Phi Phi islands and consists of two main sections. It is on Ton Sai where the original inhabitants settled and is now the home of the main accommodation area. Phi Phi Don is quite stunning and has earned the title of one of the most fantastic islands in the world. Nowadays though, with development, the beaches have paid the price and so they're not quite as spectacular as they were in the days of yesteryear. The landscape however, can never be ruined.

• Viewpoint - walk up to the Viewpoint (admission 20 baht), 186 m above sea level (a very steep walk of between 10-25 minutes, depending on fitness), to get a breathtaking view of the entire island - particularly at dawn or sunset (bring a torch). You will be surprised at how narrow the sand strip is between the two main parts of the island. If health or lack of time prevents you from reaching the viewpoint, you can check out a view almost as spectacular from Banana Bar, Phi Phi's only rooftop bar. The great thing is, you can enjoy a tropical cocktail while you drink up the view!

• Monkey Beach - accessible on foot or by renting a canoe, or be lazy and charter a longtail boat. Be careful as the monkeys can sometimes be aggressive. Some tourists reports bite attacks and local hospital's number one note is about vaccination against monkey rabies. (Note: you should not feed wildlife)

• Fireshow - there are several highly skilled and entertaining fireshows held nightly in several venues on the island, including at Carlito's, Apache Bar, Hippies, Carpe Diem, and The Tia and Millie Sunflower Bar on Lohdalum.

• Tsunami Memorial Garden - by the Tia and Millie Sunflower Bar; a beautiful place for quiet contemplation and paying one's respects to the victims of the recent tragedy.

• Yao Beach Yao Beach, just south of Ton Sai, offers visitors some fantastic views, scenery and coral reefs for snorkelling and scuba diving. This small place is packed out however, with places to stay and so some people do complain that the vicinity has been rather over developed. You can get there either by walking from Ton Sai or taking a long-tail boat.

• Lanti Beach Next door to Yao Beach, Lanti Beach is very similar in many regards with its great scenery and coral reefs. You can get there on foot.

• Hin Khao Beach This beach is extremely quiet and can only be reached on foot.

• Ton Sai Bay Ao Ton Sai is where most of the action is; be it restaurants, bars, hotels or guest houses. Most tourists stay at Ton Sai Bay because of the convenience. Even though it isn’t the most beautiful place on Phi Phi, it is still impressive.

• Laem Tong Laem Thong, located at the very north of the island offers visitors a lovely quiet beach with exhilarating scenery. Accommodation on Laem Thong is aimed at higher spending tourists.

Phi Phi Leh

The second largest of the Phi Phi Islands is extremely beautiful, and pristine, but is uninhabited because it is a national park.

• Phaya Naak Cave Cave with prehistoric paintings and edible-nest swiftlets that can be partially visited.

• Maya Bay Maya Bay has arguably Phi Phi's most fantastic beach and was the location for the movie The Beach (Leonardo DiCaprio) in 1998. The bay also has hard coral and colourful reef fishes which makes it a favourite spot for tour snorkellers and first-time divers. There is also a jump spot (~20 m) in one of the creeks behind the beach, and some climbing is possible on the cliff just next to it. You can take a longtail boat to Maya Beach for about 1,500 baht for the whole boat for half a day. It is recommended you arrive at Maya Bay before 08:00, when the place can still be enjoyed in solitude. From 09:00 on, hoards of speedboats with tourists on package tours arrive from Phuket. Another thing to think about when coming to Maya Bay is the time of year. During the high season (Oct-May) you will feel like you are at Disneyland, but during the off season it could be slightly better. Note: Park Rangers have begun enforcement of a National Park entry fee of 200 baht/person, though if you are travelling in a tour group, they will typically include it in the price of your trip. The park police will only attempt to charge you for the "park entrance fee" if you turn up on a longtail boat. The mid-afternoon trip (15:00) is better: you get to catch the sunset as you leave Maya Beach (you can't see the sunset on the beach).

• Lohsamah Bay Another bay situated on the west coast of the island, and has a U shape form with a large rock in the middle. There is a very small beach and small caves at the end of a very narrow gorge. There is also a hole in the rock accessible from the water only that leads in the gorge behind Maya Bay beach. It is a very short stroll to go from Lohsama Bay to Maya Bay this way, but be careful depending on the tide and waves, going through the hole can be a bit challenging depending on the level of fitness and could liaise to injuries on the rocks below the surface.

Other islands

• Yung Island This island just north of Phi Phi Don has a rocky beach and some coral.

• Pai Island (Bamboo Island') Not far from Yung Island is Pai Island. On the northern and eastern sides of the island are sandy beaches. At low tide the coral is very close to the surface which makes it quite difficult for snorkelling.

You MUST Do in Phi Phi Islands

Diving

Even though the island was struck badly by the tsunami in 2004, the dive sites were almost unaffected and divers are coming back in flocks.

• Ko Bida Nok Besides an abundance of pretty coral, this island is home to plentiful marine life including: leopard sharks, turtles and moray eels. This island is popular with divers.

• Ko Bida Nai Just up from Bida Nok is Bida Nai. Like its sister island, it is a good place for diving with good chance of black tip reef sharks sighting.

• Shark Point (Hin Bida) Shark Point is a marine sanctuary with a reef that comprises of three pinnacles. The largest of which actually breaks the surface appearing as a barren rock outcropping. The reef is home to a delightful abundance of tropical, colorful soft corals and vibrant sea fans that decorate the limestone pinnacles.

• Garang Heng Garang Heng is a small submerged reef just east of Phi Phi Le. It offers healthy reef with anemones, soft corals and abundance of leopard sharks.

• Wang Long This site is well known for its underwater cave systems and is only recommended for experienced divers. The caves tunnel into the rock face in two places and open out into a larger cave where surfacing is possible.

• King Cruiser Wreck A popular site off Ko Phi Phi and Phuket is King Cruiser which claim remnants of a passenger ship which sunk in 1997 after it hit the Anemone reef.

• Anemone reef The Anemone reef is in itself a unique dive site between Koh Phi Phi and Phuket with a massive limestone pinnacle which soars 30 metres from the seabed to just 4 metres beneath the surface. The site is well-known for its abundance of sea anemones that cling to every surface while attracting enormous schools of fish. Different types of fish to be seen include: tropicals, snappers, groupers and colorful clown fish, along with larger game-fish like tuna and barracuda as well as the occasional leopard shark.

• Shark Point Phuket Another submerged reef very close to Anemone reef and often dived together with Anemone Reef and King Cruiser Wreck as part of a 3 dives package from Koh Phi Phi.

• Hin Dot These submerged pinnacles, often called Chimney Rock, are located just to the south of Phi Phi Don. The formation drops to a depth of 30 metres and has several coral shelves for exploration upon your gradual ascent. Nurse sharks can occasionally be found here.

• Loh Samah Bay The bay is popular for night-time divers. It has a sandy bottom with oysters and clams and patches of brain coral for nocturnal reef critters to hide amongst. There is a spectacular 15 m deep canyon just wide enough for single file swimming on the eastern side.

• Hin Pae This is a relatively shallow dive site: 10 to 15 m deep. Its shallow depth offers excellent snorkelling. Its soft and hard coral provide shelter for a rich variety of coral fish. Crabs, lobsters, angelfish, groupers, snappers and surgeon fish are also residents of this area.

• Hin Daeng and Hin Muang From Ko Phi Phi, it is also possible to go diving to Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, world-class diving sites, for around 5,500 baht, see Diving in Thailand.

• Dive shops There are many dive shops in Ton Sai bay, Phi Phi within walking distance of each other, they can organize all diving and accommodation also. Prices are regulated, so expect to pay the same everywhere. A discovery course for beginners is 3,400 baht including two one-hour dives. A PADI open water course is 13,800 baht, with SSI being 900 baht less. There are a few different trips offered by Phi Phi dive operators, the typical trip is a two tank local dive within the Phi Phi Marine park which will run about 2500 baht, 2000 baht if you bring your own gear. They also do 2-3 tank trips to the King Cruiser wreck with your follow up dives at both Shark Point and Anemone Reef, this trip usually runs between 3,500-4,300 baht depending on the number of dives you do. Further away, Hin Daeng has some of the steepest drops in Thailand (60+ m) as well as being the place you are most likely to see manta rays and whale sharks, and can be a great dive trip, but it only runs if sea conditions are good. Out of the main town there are another couple of dive shops on Long Beach. Check out DiveThailand.com web for more information, or the original UK ran Long Beach Divers web both are located on Long Beach.

Other Activities

• Snorkelling - there are two rocks within swimming distance of Long Beach known as "Shark Point" where harmless blacktip reef sharks can be seen. The Adventure Club web dive shop runs "Shark Watch" snorkelling trips to Shark Point that guarantee a sighting of sharks. Many dive schools take snorkellers on their dive boats, but expect to see only a hint of the underwater marvel visible to scuba divers. The snorkelling off Bamboo and Mosquito Islands is quite good although the reefs are a long way below you at high tide. For an excellent chance to see sharks, visit Paradise Diving web on Long Beach who will point you in the right direction of the Black Tip reef shark's habitat metres from the sandy shore. Paradise Diving is at The Paradise Resort in the middle of Long Beach.

• Yoga Classes - There are excellent yoga classes on offer daily. Keira of Keiritas Yoga web offers classes on Carlito Bars roof-top and in Banyan Villa Gym for people of all levels and experience.

• Rock Climbing - there are opportunities for rock climbing on Ko Phi Phi, and a few climbing shops (e.g., web) to rent equipment, find a guide, or take lessons. While not as famous as Rai Leh beach, nor with as many routes, the climbing is on similar limestone cliffs, and similarly beautiful. The climbing here also tends to be less crowded than at Rai Leh. There are about four walls that are used with some frequency. A half day of climbing (3-4 climbs) is 1,000 baht/person, 1-day (2,000 baht) to 3-day (5,500 baht). Courses are also available for various skill levels.

• Kayaking Phi Phi with its dramatic scenery is an ideal location for kayaking. You can either go it alone or with an organized package. Kayaks can be hired either per hour or per day.

• Cliff Jumping Cliff jumping is fairly new to Ton Sai Bay. There are cliffs from 6 to 16 m that are ideal for cliff jumping due to the depth of water below. Organized tours can be found at Ton Sai, that this is dangerous and can cause injury to people including ear ruptures, and muscle/back injuries.

• Spa

• • Spa at Zevola Resort & Spa
  • Spa at Phi Phi Island Village, Beach Resort & Spa
  • Spa at PP Princess Diving & Spa Resort

• Bird Watching The best time of the year for bird watching has to be from Jan to Apr. Many rare birds are to be seen there: gurneys, finfoots, bigwinged brown kingfishers, egrets, bitterns, herons and more.

• Sailing & Cruising Krabi has plenty of anchorages, usually deserted and all so beautiful. There are many charter sailing boats available and some even offer "join-in" day trips for two or more people. Phi Phi offers a variety of ways for sailing and cruising. Longtails can be hired for sunset tours and island excursions, they can be found on any beach. The Original P.P. Sunset Tour is a big boat with plenty of space for snorkelling and viewing the sunsets. Get information about them at The White.

For a great adventure...visit DragonHeart. Daily sunset and snorkel tours. Tour Phi Phi Leh and cruise into the sunset. Climbing, slacklining, weddings and more! Find them at The Deaf Gecko on Nice Beach. See web or email mail.

• Fishing Wannabe fishers can catch the likes of marlin, sailfish barracuda, and tuna.

• Camping Camping in Maya Bay is possible. See web or email [mail.

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