Ko Phi Phi, Railay en Phuket

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Phuket island is the largest, most famous and most commercial island in Thailand concerning tourism. The old tourist mecca with its golden beaches and high apartment blocks and hotels is nowadays more populated by families and group travel than by individual travelers and has actually lost its place to other places on the Andaman coast. 

Krabi is a relatively small province on the other side of the Andaman Sea. The region around this sea is considered one of the most beautiful in all of Asia. The magical words are sun, sea and beach on a perfect background of Karst mountains and rocks. Rock climbers but also culture sniffers (oddly enough, it still feels authentic Thai here) will get their money's worth here. More inland is the beautiful nature; rocks, caves, waterfalls and pristine jungle are all present in this beautiful province.

The capital Krabi is not special in itself and most travelers and tourists use the city as a hub to visit the rest of the region's nature. Near the very touristy Ao Nang is the perfect beach of Railay which can only be reached by boat. A moon shape bay with high rocks on both sides with green jungle and a zipper of tourist necessities. Further on are the famous Ko Phi Phi islands; a concept by the beautiful fine white beaches, azure water, clear skies and of course the movie The Beach which is largely filmed here.

Phuket island has its own (international) airport located in the north. You are usually at your destination within an hour. A train station is not available and most people will (first) arrive at the bus terminal in Phuket Town when they travel overland - located in the east of the city.

Phuket - Penang (Malaysia) (1997): buses leave from the bus station via the city Hat Yai to the border with Malaysia and then to the Malaysian city "Penang" where you can go to Georgetown.

Krabi is the big hub for its homonymous province. From the out-of-town terminal (about 4 km), buses run to anywhere in the country. You can go to the center of Krabi with a songthiaw but also directly to the harbor of Ao Nang if you want. There are also regular and motorcycle taxis waiting here.

Krabi - Railay (2014): you can take a songthiaw at the bus station of Krabi to first the harbor of Ao Nang - this ride takes about an hour and costs 60 Baht. There are boats (with a minimum of 8 people) from Ao Nang (sometimes from a protected bay-area when the waves are too high) to Railay. The four kilometers by water will be covered in about 20 minutes and will cost 100 Baht per person. If there are very high waves the boats will not go.

Railay - Ko Phi Phi (2014): every day at 09:45 a boat leaves from the east side (Sunrise hotel) to Ko Phi Phi Don (pier) - duration is about 2 hours and the cost is 400 Baht pp You arrive at the pier in the village Ton Sai.

Ko Phi Phi (2014) - Ao Nang: Two boats a day (10:30 and 15:30) go to Krabi, with a sticker you can join Ao Nang in a songthiaw for free. Boat trip 2 hours, songthiaw 1 hour, cost 250 Baht.

Ao Nang - Khao Sok (NP) (2014): of course you can also come here with local bus transport but that would be a long journey (via Krabi, Phang Nga, Takua Pa etc.) which would probably take hours longer and maybe also more expensive. I arranged for a minibus with a tour operator in Ao Nang which runs in 4 hours (10:00 - 13:00) to the park. Costs 500 Baht.

I had a night at restaurant Madame in Ton Sai"- it was an offer menu touted on the plates outside of grilled chicken, fries and garlic bread (160 Baht). I received a tube of mayonnaise. This food was not good - I threw up everything the same night without having eaten and/or drank anything else that afternoon.

I found the chicken but especially the mayo taste strange. On the tour of that day, two German girls were sick of a "springroll" (the cabbage was not good they said) and they too had to throw everything out during the trip. PLEASE NOTE WHAT YOU EAT AT KO PHI PHI.

• Name: Rapala rock wood resort (2014) -Railay

Address: Hat Rai Leh east (east)

Price: 300 Baht (single)

Phone nr. : 07562 2586

Content:

Located on the "cheap" east side of Railay this is probably the best budget option. Because it is not directly on the not so nice smelling "mangrove" beach but only accessible by a steep wooden staircase gives this hostel the feeling as if you "live" above everything and everybody. It has a spacious garden full of bungalows and plants and trees. Most have mattresses on the floor, some with their own toilet and shower and often a small seat (with hammock, chair and table) in front of them.

WIFI is present, as well as good restaurants with pillows and sofas that sells Thai but also Indian dishes. I myself had the cheapest room on the peninsula in a wooden building with five rooms next to each other separated by a bamboo wall. Toilet and shower are outside and it is pretty noisy due to the wooden floor and the thin wicker walls.

• Name: Alena (2014) - Ko Phi Phi Don

Address: Ao Lo Dalam, near Rock Backpacker

Price: 300 Baht (dormitory)

Content:

At the end of the village Toi An this hostel is tucked between many massage parlors, shops and restaurants. Upstairs there seems to be a room for 4 people and downstairs is a very clean large room with about 18 sleeping places. The (hard) beds are half a meter apart and are separated by curtains. There are three toilet shower combinations in the back of the room.

There is free WIFI and lockers but there is not really a common room where you can sit. The receptionists are sitting on a sort of stone terrace outside. The AC is on all day (good) and it is super clean. The showers are warm. The disadvantage is that the ladies walk around the room all day and are not really friendly (too many nasty tourist I guess). Another (big) disadvantage I found the loud sound of people who use the wooden staircase leading to rooms above. There is also no window in the room.

Note that if you are traveling here and it is monsoon time (March to October) it can be very unpleasant. Strong winds, high waves and lots of rain can terribly disturb your "beach paradise". Even though the prices will be a lot lower than they normally are, these are not the beautiful pictures you see in the travel guides or on the internet and can get bored

after a few days (or hours). If you are lucky, the short bright outside with gusts of wind and then make room again through an open cloud sky with sun. But it can also mean that it rains all day long.

TOUR (2014):

A half-day trip (snorkeling) from Ko Phi Phi Don to the beaches and snorkel spots of Ko Phi Phi Leh offered by countless tour operators and bureaus in Ton Sai (Ko Phi Phi Don).

Time: 9:30 - 13:30

Cost: 400 Baht p.p.

You visit:

• Monkey beach
• Viking cave
• Pe-Leh Bay
• Lo Samah Bay
• Maya Bay
• Sunset Point

Included are:

- snorkel mask and flippers, - breakfast and lunch, - life jacket, - water and - fruit. 

Not included are:

- 100 Baht entrance fee for the island.

TIP:

If you book a full day trip around o.a. Ko Phi Phi Ley you will be sent (often) with a big ferry; it can not enter the bay of the Beach and will moor behind it; with kayaks you will be taken to the island, from where you have to walk a bit over the island to reach the famous beach.