After Phuket, we stopped at Ko Phi Phi on our way to Krabi. We took the ferry and had a pleasant two-hour ride. Even though the island is small, you still might feel like you’re in Phuket because it can get crowded, but at least there are no cars!
The islands were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami where an estimated 2,000 people died and 70% of the buildings were destroyed. Today, you don’t even notice the devastation since it’s been completely rebuilt to the point where it’s now overdeveloped…there’s even a McDonald’s! Sadly, they even removed a tsunami memorial to make way for a new hotel. Now they have another crisis on their hands with a clean water shortage. With that being said, we still had an awesome time there.
Ko Phi Phi has a big party scene. But that doesn’t mean that you should skip the islands if that’s not your thing since there are so many cool things to experience there. Sure the music can get loud at night, but there are plenty of places to stay away from the bars, and you can always wear earplugs. We actually stayed close enough to the bars to hear them, but we didn’t think the music was too loud. And since we’re not morning people, we actually prefer late-night music over morning traffic or roosters waking us up.
There are bars and restaurants all throughout the town so you’ll easily find something you like, but don’t expect much authentic stuff since everything is geared towards tourists. But that’s not always a bad thing since there’s nothing better than grabbing a couple of slices of pizza, probably the biggest slices we’ve ever had, on your way back from the bars. You can even see muay thai fights there. We didn’t want to pay the entrance fee, but we got to see a brutal knockout from the street.
The best place to party is on the beach on the north side of town. There are several bars that line the beach and you can easily walk back and forth between them. At night, all of the bar activities incorporate fire into them, so you’ll see a bunch of fire dancers as well as audience participation activities like jump rope and limbo. This was also the first place where we had buckets of alcohol. It’s basically a plastic sand bucket that comes with liquor, soda, and an energy drink. They aren’t cheap, especially if you want top-shelf liquor, so get them off the beach for a better deal. The beach bars were a good warmup for the Full Moon Party on Ko Phangan later that month, but they didn’t even come close to the craziness of that party.
As with most popular destinations, you’ll have people tell you to skip the Ko Phi Phi since it’s too crowded and has lost its charm, which may be true, but it’s just too amazing to pass up.
