Koh Lipe

[h90]

Once you are at Hat Yai airport you have basicly two choices on how to get to Pakbara pier.

First choice, you can buy (inside arrival hall) a ticket for a mini bus to take you to Hat Yai city/town and this will drop you off neer the train station, opposite the train station is a mini buss office and from there they will take you to Pakbara.

Second choice, Take a taxi from right outside the arival hall and go straight to the pier, the cars are not marked as taxis but are all nearly brand new, you have to haggle for the price of the 1.5 - 2 hour drive.

When you get to Pakbara dont just jump on the first boat that is going there, ask at all the ticket boothes for the fast ferry, this takes almost half the time of the normal ferry.

Great info Don! The wife and I are flying into Hat Yai at 08:25 on January 2nd. We thought we had to go into town and hook up with the min-bus outfit opposite the station to get to Pak Bara. A taxi direct from the airport sounds like a much better way to go even if it is more expensive. Last year we were waiting at the minibus office until after 10:30 so we ended up on the slow ferry by the time we got to Pak Bara. Any guidelines on what we should expect to pay for a taxi ride to the pier right from the airport?

You can check out some of our pics from last year on Lipe here. We had an absolute blast. Originally we had intended on splitting a month between Lipe and Bulon Leh but we liked Lipe so much we stayed there the whole time. We plan on staying the whole of January there again .

We now also think to come on the 2nd in the morning from BKK.

If we by luck sit in the same airplaine we could share a taxi to save money.

[RoninTech]

We now also think to come on the 2nd in the morning from BKK.

If we by luck sit in the same airplaine we could share a taxi to save money.

Sounds good h90. If we can all fit in one cab with our bags, that would sure save some cash.

[frenchFARANGbkk]

I was on Lipe in Feb and i am going back next monday for 4 days, i guess the italian with the monkey people are talking about is at the 'jumping monkey' bar right next to Lipe resort where i stayed.

The staff at Lipe resort are unfriendly and they are slow, the food takes for ever to arrive if you can get the staffs attention to order in the first place. Lipe resort is very convienient though and the bungalows are clean.

The water is superb for snorkling and you only need to go a few metres from shore to get to the reef. If you hire a boat you can find some great uninhabited islands and more great swimming, diving and snorkling.

I found the beaches very clean and the water crystal clear.

Make sure you take enough cash as there are no ATM machines either.

I'm on an air asia flight from Bangkok on monday morning to Hat Yai then jump in to a car at Hat Yai to go to Pakbara pier in Satun and will be snorkling around Lipe by 2pm.

Cheers and enjoy but dont tell everyone.

Lipe still nice? Any news from there? Thanks!

[h90]

We now also think to come on the 2nd in the morning from BKK.

If we by luck sit in the same airplaine we could share a taxi to save money.

Sounds good h90. If we can all fit in one cab with our bags, that would sure save some cash.

we come on the 3rd :-(

[hUsh]

Went to Koh Lipe from 2nd until the 9th... Had a really great time. I will post reviews and pictures soon (when I've got the time as back to work now)...

h90, how did your trip go? would also like to see pictures/reviews from you...

cheers!

[hUsh]

Koh Lipe (review)

My partner and I spent our new year's holiday in Koh Lipe for about a week. It was really nice with beautiful beaches and clear water.

We stayed at Varin Resort at Pattaya Beach. We got a wooden bungalow with twin size bed, fan, aircon, own bathroom with decent toilet (but no flush-- had to pour water on it). The room was okay, but since its just made of bamboo/wood-you can pretty much hear everything. We paid a reasonable price (I think) of 800 B/night. The bungalows have their own balcony with nice wooden chairs set in a garden. There was wireless internet available in the resort but quite expensive. The staff were quite slow with everything, but some of them were very friendly than I expected. Oh one more thing, no hot shower so quite chilly when taking a shower in the evening!

It was high (peak) season when we got there. I was quite surprised about the number of tourists (mostly Europeans) as most bungalows were full. Pattaya beach was a bit busy, but you can always find a spot to relax as the beach itself is quite wide. The sea water is very clear (altho a bit cool) and is full of nice corals just a few meters from the beach. The only downside was the noisy and sometimes full of long tail boats parked on the beach (as there's no pier in Koh Lipe).

We managed to walk around the whole island in an hour. The other side which is Sunrise Beach was also nice (but Pattaya is nicer) and quieter. The beach on Mountain Resort and the view from there was spectacular.

The nearby islands Koh Rawi and Koh Adang have very nice beaches too... You can rent a long tail boat to go to nearby islands. We rented a long tail boat for 1200 and took us to those islands and other smaller islands nearby also we went fishing. That was a great day! We had our own private beach at Koh Adang.

Snorkelling was superb! My bf said that diving was also good with very rich underwater life.

Most restaurants are okay, but these are the good ones we've tried (must note all of them are more expensive that normal thai restaurants): Monkey Restaurant, Prantalay Rest., and Pooh's Bar (also quite good cocktails), Banana leaf (?) restaurant is good for breakfast, Thai Pancake shop (nice roti!), the restaurant in Varin resort was also not too bad.

All in all, Koh Lipe is nice except for too many long tail boats. I'd like to go there again, but probably not when it's the peak season...

Pattaya Beach

Sunrise beach with Koh Rawi at the background

View from Mountain Resort Restaurant

Nice color and clarity of the water in Koh Lipe

Our private beach at Koh Adang

Koh Rawi

Our new friend who enjoyed his Chang Beer

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Koh Lipe (review)

My partner and I spent our new year's holiday in Koh Lipe for about a week. It was really nice with beautiful beaches and clear water.

We stayed at Varin Resort at Pattaya Beach. We got a wooden bungalow with twin size bed, fan, aircon, own bathroom with decent toilet (but no flush-- had to pour water on it). The room was okay, but since its just made of bamboo/wood-you can pretty much hear everything. We paid a reasonable price (I think) of 800 B/night. The bungalows have their own balcony with nice wooden chairs set in a garden. There was wireless internet available in the resort but quite expensive. The staff were quite slow with everything, but some of them were very friendly than I expected. Oh one more thing, no hot shower so quite chilly when taking a shower in the evening!

It was high (peak) season when we got there. I was quite surprised about the number of tourists (mostly Europeans) as most bungalows were full. Pattaya beach was a bit busy, but you can always find a spot to relax as the beach itself is quite wide. The sea water is very clear (altho a bit cool) and is full of nice corals just a few meters from the beach. The only downside was the noisy and sometimes full of long tail boats parked on the beach (as there's no pier in Koh Lipe).

We managed to walk around the whole island in an hour. The other side which is Sunrise Beach was also nice (but Pattaya is nicer) and quieter. The beach on Mountain Resort and the view from there was spectacular.

The nearby islands Koh Rawi and Koh Adang have very nice beaches too... You can rent a long tail boat to go to nearby islands. We rented a long tail boat for 1200 and took us to those islands and other smaller islands nearby also we went fishing. That was a great day! We had our own private beach at Koh Adang.

Snorkelling was superb! My bf said that diving was also good with very rich underwater life.

Most restaurants are okay, but these are the good ones we've tried (must note all of them are more expensive that normal thai restaurants): Monkey Restaurant, Prantalay Rest., and Pooh's Bar (also quite good cocktails), Banana leaf (?) restaurant is good for breakfast, Thai Pancake shop (nice roti!), the restaurant in Varin resort was also not too bad.

All in all, Koh Lipe is nice except for too many long tail boats. I'd like to go there again, but probably not when it's the peak season...

Pattaya Beach

Sunrise beach with Koh Rawi at the background

View from Mountain Resort Restaurant

Nice color and clarity of the water in Koh Lipe

Our private beach at Koh Adang

Koh Rawi

Our new friend who enjoyed his Chang Beer

Thank you so much for this post !

[h90]

Went to Koh Lipe from 2nd until the 9th... Had a really great time. I will post reviews and pictures soon (when I've got the time as back to work now)...

h90, how did your trip go? would also like to see pictures/reviews from you...

cheers!

just came back from Lipe, I was there from the 3rd till yesterday, so I may have seen you (was in Varin as well).

Will post a review as soon as I have some time. But it will be nearly the same as your review, beside some insides, as my wife did stay all the time with the locals (lovely people). And some sad stories on how it gets more and more commercial without profit for the local people.

[leisurely]

Brillinat. I was wondering where to go for half term. Would it be suitable for children do you think?

[h90]

Brillinat. I was wondering where to go for half term. Would it be suitable for children do you think?

I saw a lot of people with small children. Small children who just learned walking, walked freely arround basically without much attention from their parents, so it looks like all the parents considered it as very safe for children.

one 8 year australian boy didn't want to go back, instead he wanted to stay with the chao lee (actually I wanted exactly the same).

So I would say: very OK for children.

[Plus]

I was there over the New Year and I think it's a pretty forgettable island.

I mean that after a while they all look the same. It's nothing like Koh Phi Phi, of course, but there are plenty of other smallish islands in Thailand.

Lipe still hasn't got 7 elevens and ATMs but apart from that it's losing its charm already. You get shit hole resorts that anashamedly called themselves 5 stars, and Internet everywhere.

Pattaya beach is the "place to be", filled to the brim with boats and tourists. There are other, quiter beaches, of course, but resorts there look like POW camps with rows upon rows of uniform bungaloes of indescript color.

The best part for me was water around the island, and beaches on islands nearby. Some time ago the government moved all the people in the area to Koh Lipe and all the other islands (there must be a dozen of them in the plain view) are still pristine, only day boats go there on short trips.

I stayed at Lipe Resort and I liked it. I don't know how many stars it claims, as their staff still hasn't got uniforms or even shoes yet, but they were fairly efficient in all respects.

Koh Lipe is not a typical backpacker's place, there are families everywhere, including very small children. Lots of Thais, too, and that's what I liked about Lipe resort - they serve Thai style dinners, with a huge bowl of Tom Yam in the middle, enourmous fried fishes, and you can even watch football on UBC.

Good place to go with Thais as they can't stand backpacker food for more than a day.

My review might not sound very nice, but maybe that's the point of it - to keep people away and spare the place.

[frenchFARANGbkk]

When I looked the internet for something complete different, I found "Koh Lipe".

I think I should go there once.

My search on Koh Lipe and diving brought some results but sure not all whats there.

My search on Koh Lipe and hotel brought absolut nothing.

If anyone has links/informations/pics/webpages or whatever on Koh Lipe please let me know.

Hi,

Does anybody know if it's really possible to go to Koh Lipe with the CARGO boat on wednesday? (the ferry only goes there on friday during low season)

And is there any accomodation at Pakbara as I don't want to wake up early to go to the pier?

Thanks a lot!

[Hugh Jarse]

Rats - A teacher on a school trip was once bitten by a rat at the Andaman Resort (corner with the nice beach). The owner laughed when told. I was there.

Noise - Thailand, 'nuff said. There can be someone at any of the bungalows who doesn't give a rat's arse about other people, so noise is always a 'potential' problem. None of the bungalows have any insulation, so noise travels easily and far.

Italian guy - yes, a real prick (and fat a ugly). He used to have a monkey chained to a tree on a short leash. He and his obnoxious friends go out fishing and sells fish to places like the Varin Resort. These fish should be caught and sold by the sea gypsies whose livelihood depends on such things... in my opinion.

My advice is to find a place that has a where you can rent the last bungalow. Sorry, I can't say where as I haven't been there yet this season. I'm sure they'll have another zillion new bungalows built on and island that isn't big enough for half of what's built already. See it while it's still worth visiting.

That italien guy seems to get very famouse, when searching the internet for Koh Lipe I found a couple of discussions and he got mentioned often and not once in a nice way.

Is there any resort which you can recommend or where you made good experiences?

thanks

h90

[frenchFARANGbkk]

When I looked the internet for something complete different, I found "Koh Lipe".

I think I should go there once.

My search on Koh Lipe and diving brought some results but sure not all whats there.

My search on Koh Lipe and hotel brought absolut nothing.

If anyone has links/informations/pics/webpages or whatever on Koh Lipe please let me know.

Hi,

Does anybody know if it's really possible to go to Koh Lipe with the CARGO boat on wednesday? (the ferry only goes there on friday during low season)

And is there any accomodation at Pakbara as I don't want to wake up early to go to the pier?

Thanks a lot!

I got my replies because I went there:

-Many guesthouses at Pakbara

-Cargo leaves Pakbara at 4am on monday, tuesday, or wednesday, so better be there for monday night and wait till the cargo boat leaves.

-No internet during low season as Varin and other resort with satellite connection are closed.

-If you take a boat for you alone it's 6500 thb to go to koh lipe.

[dash]

Langkawi–Koh Lipe-Langkawi Shuttle Service

Daily shuttle service for 2007/8 season will commence on 1 November 2007. Departing from Telaga Harbour Marina, Pantai Kok, Langkawi at 0930hrs and returning from Koh Lipe at 1730hrs.

Journey will take approximately 1hr 15mins depending on weather condition.

One Way Ticket : RM118/Adult & RM98/Child (Single Trip)

Return Ticket : RM228/Adult & RM188/Child (Day & Round Trip)

Onward Journey : Tarutoa, Koh Bulone, Koh Muk, Koh Ngai, Lanta

Krabi and Phi Phi onwards available

Check-in Time at 0830hrs – 1 hour before expected departure

All passengers are required to have valid travel documents, i.e International Passport. Malaysian Immigration clearance are all done here at Telaga Harbour and the Thai's will do theirs on Lipe. All clearance arrangement will be handled by our agent.

Print out and fills the form accordingly. Send the form by email or fax to +604-9592204.

LgkLipeForm.pdf

Edited September 28, 2007 by dash

[songhklasid]

Have just spent a week on koh lee-pae,excellent like patong beach 30 yrs ago,good snorkelling, excellent seafood, varin resort was good, try darya bungalows on beach 700baht, but not advertised,layback relax place ,families welcome. I will return

regards songkhlasid

[SurferDude]

I want to go to Koh Lipe. Nok Air has a flight to Trang leaving at 9am, and then there is a TigerLine Travel boat leaving Trang Port (Hat Yao) at 12:30pm arriving Koh Lipe at 3:00pm. Tigerline Travel said they will pick you up at Trang Airport for an extra 100 baht per person, and you will make the ferry no problem.

However, I am hesitant to spend 2.5 hours on a ferry - long journey.

Instead, I could fly to Hat Yai. It looks like the ferry ride from Pakbara is much shorter - 1.5 hours. But the woman from Tigerline said getting from Hat Yai airport to Pakbara Pier is time-consuming, difficult and expensive.

Anyone have any suggestions on the easiest way to get from Bangkok to Koh Lipe in a single day.

Link: http://www.tigerlinetravel.com/index.php?cat=lineboat

[frenchFARANGbkk]

I want to go to Koh Lipe. Nok Air has a flight to Trang leaving at 9am, and then there is a TigerLine Travel boat leaving Trang Port (Hat Yao) at 12:30pm arriving Koh Lipe at 3:00pm. Tigerline Travel said they will pick you up at Trang Airport for an extra 100 baht per person, and you will make the ferry no problem.

However, I am hesitant to spend 2.5 hours on a ferry - long journey.

Instead, I could fly to Hat Yai. It looks like the ferry ride from Pakbara is much shorter - 1.5 hours. But the woman from Tigerline said getting from Hat Yai airport to Pakbara Pier is time-consuming, difficult and expensive.

Anyone have any suggestions on the easiest way to get from Bangkok to Koh Lipe in a single day.

Link: http://www.tigerlinetravel.com/index.php?cat=lineboat

I always went to Koh Lipe using the Hat Yai way but it can be boring to spend a night in Hat Yai, so I will try the trang way next time.

Hat Yai to Pak Bara takes 2 hours at least (but it's cheap), then 1.5 hours to Koh Lipe by speed boat and 4 hours with slow boat, so it seems better to go from Trang.

Please tell us after you try it.

[RoninTech]

I want to go to Koh Lipe. Nok Air has a flight to Trang leaving at 9am, and then there is a TigerLine Travel boat leaving Trang Port (Hat Yao) at 12:30pm arriving Koh Lipe at 3:00pm. Tigerline Travel said they will pick you up at Trang Airport for an extra 100 baht per person, and you will make the ferry no problem.

However, I am hesitant to spend 2.5 hours on a ferry - long journey.

Instead, I could fly to Hat Yai. It looks like the ferry ride from Pakbara is much shorter - 1.5 hours. But the woman from Tigerline said getting from Hat Yai airport to Pakbara Pier is time-consuming, difficult and expensive.

Anyone have any suggestions on the easiest way to get from Bangkok to Koh Lipe in a single day.

Link: http://www.tigerlinetravel.com/index.php?cat=lineboat

I always went to Koh Lipe using the Hat Yai way but it can be boring to spend a night in Hat Yai, so I will try the trang way next time.

Hat Yai to Pak Bara takes 2 hours at least (but it's cheap), then 1.5 hours to Koh Lipe by speed boat and 4 hours with slow boat, so it seems better to go from Trang.

Please tell us after you try it.

We usually take the first flight from BKK to Hat Yai in the morning. Minivan to Pak Bara and Ferry to Lipe and we are usually in a bungalow by 4pm.

Cheers,

Paul

[kblaze]

Hey guys I am in a bit of a bind as I booked tickets on Air Asias earliest flight to Hat Yai which arrives at 1200. I understand the last speedboat leaves at 1 pm, but that it takes 1.5 hrs at least to get to the port. Is that true? Is there any other way to get there?

[souvenirdeparis]

Reef fish = fish that is part of the ecosystem around a coral reef. Parrot fish are the largish fish who shimmer in bright turqoise and pink, and whom you can hear munching at the corals when you are snorkling.

The sea gypsies on Lipe made Thai national TV two years ago. They were not happy about the situation, realising too late that there was a lot of money to be made off tourism, and now feeling cheated by the Thai and foreign investors who had bought their properties.

Some people I know who have been there say the island is beautiful, but complain about the slow service level and unfriendly nature of the bungalow staff.

But things can change in a few years I guess, no better way to find out than to look yourself.

I spent two winters on Koh Bulon and went to Lipe and Adang 15 years ago ; there were lots of bungalows on Lipe already (I was at Paul's place on the beach)or was it Adang ?? Never mind, my point is the Chao Lay sea gypsies have been pretty well aware of the possibilities of tourism for a long time, they manned the longtails that tourists used to come in; some worked in Langkawi according to the season. But they usually didn't have land papers .There was already money from BKK in Bulon .

One story I remember is the one of the German diving instructor who had probably the first diving resort in these tiny islands and was made to leave at gun point, leaving all his equipment behind .Not by chao lay.

And the familyof the nice Lee resort on Bulon who were harassed (one shot) by

men from Pakbara. So of course the chao lay didn't stand a chanceto keep hold of the islands.

I'd be glad to have news from the people there : Khun Jieb the wonderful cook , Ban Win , Chen, Rosette, Nan, Boat the chao lay fishermen,,Captain Roland who could breathe underwater, Cameron the Canadian married to Deewanna , Zeppo the brave sea farer, Paul the great architect.

Avoid Pakbara, especially its banks.

[MinnieL]

Hi all,

We do love koh Lepi very much. We bought our cheap air tickets from the web. Got a great deal on Air Asia. We are in Chiangmai at the moment and will fly to Hat Yai in 2 days.

We going to take PADI Dive courses there. Looking forward to be in Lepi again.

Edited June 28, 2010 by thaiphoon
URL's removed