Best of Phi-Phi Beaches

The main sandbar on Phi Phi is a beautiful white powder sand beach with crystal clear waters, stunning limestone cliff-lined bays, covered in lush jungle, but it’s days of being a serene paradise are no more. It’s two bays of Ton Sai and Loh Dalam are now high on the tourism radar, lined with shops, restaurants, hotels and bars – famous for hedonistic parties. Great if that’s what you’re looking for, but if you’d like some beautiful, relaxing beaches in paradise without the crowds, here are a few of Phi Phi’s best: Monkey Beach Let’s start with the fact there are two beaches referred to as Monkey Beach. One is a small beach (100m) surrounded by cliffs out from Ton Sai Bay, frequented by hoards of tourist boats ignoring the signs not to feed the monkeys (macaques). To re-iterate…. Don’t feed the monkeys! It’s not the beach we are recommending. The second is a 30-minute kayak northwest out of Lo Dalam Bay; it’s just around the corner of the outcrop on the left-hand side of the bay. It’s a beautiful 300m stretch of white sand and also inhabited by macaques. If you have any food on you, they will try to take it off you whether hidden in a bag or not, so highly recommended that you don’t bring food on the beach - they’ll leave you in peace if you don’t have any. You may get some boats come in here, but generally, it will be a beautiful, peaceful beach to sit and relax with few other tourists in sight. Note: The monkeys are usually fun with people but remember they are wild animals. If you do get bitten by them (it does happen), then you should get to the hospital on the island to get the appropriate rabies shots. Nui Bay A beautiful secluded beach in a little cove, framed by karsts great for climbing, with shallow crystal-clear waters perfect for swimming and snorkelling. You look out on to karts jutting up out of the sea adding to the view, including a Phi Phi landmark, Camel Rock. It’s a tranquil beach with no shops or restaurants around, so bring supplies (and take your trash back). You can kayak here in about 40 minutes from Loh Dalam (200B/hour or 300B/hour for a two person). It will cost a few hundred baht to hire a long-tail boat from Loh Dalam. There is a jungle trail from Loh Lana and Loh Bagao, but it’s steep and challenging. In low-season, the beach doesn’t get cleaned, so can be covered in trash washed ashore. Loh Moo Dee A superb 300m stretch of beach backed by coconut groves with a single Rasta bar, where everything comes at a premium price – so good to bring water and snacks. The snorkelling is great with plenty of fish. It’s nice and quiet until around mid-day when it starts to get busy with day-trippers until around 15:30. It’s a 45-minute walk from Ton Sai - walk along the path towards Long Beach until you reach Phi Phi Beach Resort, then swing left where a trail will take you down to the beach. Or you can hire a long-tail boat for around 200B which gets you here in 15 minutes. Loh Lana Bay A 500m stretch of white sand in a deep cove, with karsts and jungle surrounding it. The water in the bay is quite shallow (2m max), making an expanse of beautifully bright turquoise water, excellent for snorkelling and swimming. There are no resorts or facilities on the beach, but it’s less than a kilometre walk along a path across the island to Loh Bagao, which as restaurants and bars. To get here from Loh Dalam, you can hire a whole long-tail boat for around 1,500B return (20 mins). It’s a 2-hour walk from Ton Sai and can get a bit tricky to navigate your way through the jungle. The trail starts at the Phi Phi Viewpoint. Ao Poh A lovely little bay home to just Ao Poh Bungalows, with a beautiful beach and is perfect for snorkelling. It’s usually tranquil so a great little spot, especially as it’s just a 10-minute walk across the tip of the mainland from Long Beach. It’s about a 40-minute walk from Ton Sai, or you can get a long-tail. Laem Tong Over a kilometre stretch of clean, white sand with four pricey resorts, a few restaurants and a sea gypsy village. The clear waters are great for swimming and snorkelling. It's about a 2-hour walk from Ton Sai, so usually accessed by boat (which may cost a fair bit), it’s great if you want a beautiful, serene paradise with facilities. The two local restaurants (Jasmine and Malee) offer good food and drink at reasonable prices.