Phi Phi Island is an archipelago consisting of several islands: two large ones - Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Lei (Phi Phi Le) and four tiny ones.
The Phi Phi Archipelago is part of the province of Krabi and is located near the coast of Thailand, between the mainland and the island of Phuket.
The Thais themselves pronounce the name "Phi Phi" as "Pi-Pi", in Thai the letter "h" is unpronounceable. But we, out of habit, will call these islands - Phi Phi.
Phi Phi Don Island is the main and only inhabited island of the archipelago, which you can visit yourself by staying on the island for a few days. You can get to the island by boat from Phuket or from Krabi. Hotels on Phi Phi 
The Phi Phi Islands are the most famous, most visited and, perhaps, one of the most beautiful islands of the Andaman Sea. If you are vacationing in Thailand - in the province of Krabi, on the islands of Phuket or Lanta (and other nearby points), then it is definitely worth visiting the islands of Phi Phi.
We visited the islands of Phi Phi with an excursion while staying on the island of Phuket. Also with an excursion you can visit Phi Phi from Krabi.
Our tour was designed for a full day. There are also two-day excursions to Phi Phi + other Andamand islands of Krabi province.
A day trip to the Phi Phi Islands includes
- transfer from (to, on the way back) the hotel to the pier in a comfortable minivan with air conditioning
- departure by speedboat to the bay (beach) Maya Bay, where the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. Swimming, free time
- snorkeling
- sightseeing of the Viking Cave and the Saw Lagoon
- excursion to the monkey beach
- visits to the beach of Phi Phi Don Island with a buffet lunch. Swimming, free time
- visit to Kai Island. Swimming, free time
The price of the tour also includes: insurance, soft drinks and fresh fruit on board the boat, a life jacket, a mask and a snorkel.
The whole tour is accompanied by a guide.
Since this tour is visited daily by a large number of tourists, then, in order to disperse the flow of boats, the route of the tour may change. Someone first visits Phi Phi Le, and after Phi Phi Don, while other boats first go to Phi Phi Don, and after that to Phi Phi Lei. But the essence of the tour does not change from this.
We recommend taking with you: sunscreen and hats; phone, camera. Put on bathing suits and comfortable slates. Optional: sunglasses, beach towel, replaceable shorts and T-shirt, a small amount of money. We didn't need a beach towel, money, or a change of clothes. But a waterproof phone case could come in handy, we drowned our own.
The cost of an excursion from Phuket: from 3 500 - 4 000 baht - adult ticket, from 1 900 - 2 500 bat is for children.
Also from Phuket and Krabi there are excursions to Phi Phi with visits to other islands instead of Kai Island, for example, the islands of Bambu, Myton, Poda, as well as Raile Beach and Phra Nang Cave in the mainland of Krabi. With a two-day excursion, + the mainland of Krabi, Koh Rok, James Bond, Rang Yai, etc.; at the same time, the overnight stay will be on the island of Phi Phi Don or in the mainland of Krabi.
Guests are picked up from hotels in the morning. We were picked up at 07:00 in the morning by a comfortable minivan and brought to the pier.
On the pier, waiting for the rest of our group members to be brought, there was 20 minutes of free time. At this time, you can drink tea, coffee and snack on cookies (free of charge). To get acquainted with the information and buy something at a retail store.
After gathering all the participants, the guide conducted a short, 10-minute briefing. He told about the danger of stepping on a sea urchin and immediately offered to buy additional insurance. No one has seen a single hedgehog during the whole tour, the beaches are clean and sandy.
After that, they distributed pills for seasickness. If you clearly do not suffer from seasickness, then it is better not to drink these pills in advance, in case you never know what, since they also have a hypnotic effect.
For those who wish and for an additional fee, they offered to purchase: a mouthpiece for a breathing tube (if you disdain to use the general ones, which will be distributed for free), rent flippers and buy nuts for monkeys. All this, if desired, you can take with you in advance, if you have one.
Then we go, sit down in a speedboat
We sat on the open bow of the boat. After that, they did not regret the choice at all.
We go, cutting through the waters, for an hour and a half, admiring the seascapes, taking photographs and bouncing on the waves.
The first stop is the main attraction of the Phi Phi Islands
Maya Bay Beach on Phi Phi Le Island became especially popular after the release of the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio. Do you remember such a movie? Where the main character was looking for a heavenly place, which he found right here!
The beach is very beautiful - snow-white soft sand, azure transparent sea and green rocks vertically pointing upwards from the depths of the sea. All this creates an almost perfect picture. But there are so many people on the beach that there is a rush and a crush, and numerous boats moored to the shore do not allow you to fully enjoy all the delights of the scenery. Well, how else, everyone wants to see such a sensational and already legendary place.
A small space is allocated for bathing. And there were so many people bathing that the desire to get into the water immediately disappeared.
We decided not to waste time on jostling and swimming, we had already bought up in Phuket, and went deep into the island.
There is soft white sand and picturesque nature. Under the soft sand, you can feel the hard soil. As the guide explains, during the filming, for the movement of machinery and equipment, this part of the land was concreted. At first, the Thai authorities gave permission for that, and then they backed down and issued a fine.
You can climb to the observation deck between the rocks, take a few photos and see the island, which is visible in the distance.
After walking and 40 minutes of free time, we get back into the boat and go a little further, around the corner, here passes
Masks and tubes are distributed, and for 40 minutes we swim, watching colorful fish, jellyfish and other marine life
Next follows, all near the same island of Phi Phi Le
The Viking Cave is inhabited by sea swifts, outwardly similar to swallows, which is why swifts are also called sea swallows.
In the caves of the island, swifts build nests that consist of seafood and saliva. Locals collect these nests, which contain a lot of vitamins and minerals, and subsequently the nests are used for cooking delicious soups. The main gathering place for swallow nests is the Viking Cave.
We pass near the Pi Leh Lagoon.
This lagoon is famous as "The deepest lagoon in Thailand". The water in the lagoon is saltier than in the sea, there is little hydrogen sulfide in it.
Thais say that the lagoon water contains useful substances that rejuvenate the skin and help to look stunning. That is why the Saw Lagoon is also called the "Rejuvenation Lagoon".
The lagoon is surrounded by high cliffs covered with greenery. We don't know about rejuvenation, but this place looks very picturesque.
Here the guide asks us a riddle: "Why do trees grow so safely on rocks where there is no soil, but only blocks?".
The fact is that the rocks are a limestone monolith, which, like a sponge, absorbs trace elements and useful substances, which is favorable for plant growth.
Next, we move from Phi Phi Lei Island to Phi Phi Don Island
There are monkeys here who are so used to tourists and their treats that they quite drink coca and eat chips. But we do not recommend treating monkeys with such "dishes", it is better to take nuts or bananas with you.
There was a high tide during our excursion, so we could not land on the beach, but we were able to swim up to the monkeys, feed them and see these cute creatures.
Next stop - landing on Phi Phi Don Island (Phi Phi Don)
A buffet lunch was waiting for us on the island in one of the cafes by the beach
After lunch - free time.
You can walk around the nearby surroundings of the island; those who wanted to swim, someone just bought souvenirs.
There are stalls with food and snacks, souvenir shops, cafes and places to relax.
After lunch and free time, we sat down in the boat again and walked along the waves to the last location of our excursion
They give an hour of free time on the island.
A tiny island, on one side of which there is a wide sandy shore with snow-white soft sand, and on the other - a rocky bottom where you can swim with a mask and snorkel, looking at the fish.
The island is so small that you can get around it entirely in 15 minutes, which is what we recommend.
There is a catering area on the island. Here you can have a snack and drink refreshing drinks.
After visiting the island of Kai, we again moored to Phuket, took buses and were near our hotel at about six o'clock in the evening.
The tour is quite rich and interesting. For those who have not been on such excursions and the islands of Phi Phi, it is undoubtedly worth visiting one of the excursions to the islands of Phi Phi and the surrounding area to enjoy the beauty and personally see all the charms and attractions of the Phi Phi archipelago.
All accommodation facilities in Phuket (hotels, villas, houses, apartments), both near beaches and more remotely from those, can be viewed and booked here
All accommodation facilities in Krabi can be viewed and booked here
All accommodation facilities on Phi Phi can be viewed and booked here
