Ko Phi Phi During Covid

[Piece Corp]

This was from a trip in late October 2020.

 

A 45 minute speedboat ride from Phuket, there were 7 or 8 other passengers, all young Thais.

 

 

I booked the Harbour View hotel, just 5 minutes from the pier, on the isthmus with the harbor in front and beach in back, best of both worlds.

 

 

Room was OK, nothing fancy.

 

 

The beach in the rear was picturesque.

 

 

They normally served a breakfast buffet, but only one other room was occupied when I checked in, so I received a set breakfast with as many plates I wanted.  Only one was needed.

 

 

The best thing I liked about the hotel, besides the location, were the two large pools, one between the buildings and a deeper one in back by the beach, 1.7 meters deep.

 

 

The only bar that was open was the Beach Bar, fortunately in front of my hotel, so I spent lots of time there watching ships roll in while sipping mango margaritas.

 

 

You could put your feet into the water and receive a free fish massage.

 

 

Behind the pier was a maze of small streets with shops, nearly everything was closed.

 

 

...except the starving artist.

 

 

There were two seafood restaurants on either side of the pier that seemed to be doing good business, but they received the worst online reviews so I avoided them.  Poor restaurants in good locations can survive if they don't have to rely on repeat business.  Instead, I found a family-run Turkish restaurant, Efe Mediterranean, which even offered a 20% covid discount.  Tasty lamb skewers served on a sizzling platter were just 280 baht.

 

 

The next day I went back for their mushroom pizza, 200 baht.

 

 

For seafood, I went to a hole-in-the-wall place called Ae's Fish BBQ and had fried red snapper for 250.

 

 

I wanted to visit the Viewpoint for some photos, and I found these stairs and thought they would lead the way.

 

 

There were some interesting looking bars but they were all closed.

 

 

It turns out the stairs only led to some backpacker guest houses which were all closed.  Otherwise, here you could get a dorm room for 200.

 

 

...with a shared bathroom

 

 

There were some nice views up there, however.

 

 

Eventually, I located the correct stairs to the viewpoint.

 

 

There was a guesthouse closed, with employees cleaning, and they sold me a bottle of water.  I needed to rest.  They had a nice view.

 

 

...then many more stairs to climb.

 

 

I finally reached Viewpoint #1.  There was a 30 baht entrance fee.

 

 

There was a small park up there.

 

 

Viewpoint #2 was an additional 500 meters up an incline.  The google fitness app should have given me more heart points because I was really exerting myself, I think we need three-dimensional GPS.

 

 

Great view up there.

 

 

You can see my hotel in the middle of this picture.

 

 

Going down was much easier.

 

 

The next day was my two hour ferry ride to Klong Jilad Pier in Krabi for my pick-up to Pimalai Resort on Ko Lanta.

 

 

NEXT: KO LANTA

 

 

[HimBadMan]

22 minutes ago, Piece Corp said:

 

 

 

Oooohhh the Banana Bar. I've spent many nights here "kissing the sky" if you catch my drift ...   such a great place to meet people.

I miss phi phi. Trying to get back there later this month.   

[Ohyesuare]

You sure know how to travel in style and make the most of the lockdowns. I'm jealous even though I'm in Thailand and have the money to do the same, just not the motivation, adventurous spirit like you seem to. Thank you for these posts.

[HimBadMan]

1 hour ago, Ohyesuare said:

You sure know how to travel in style and make the most of the lockdowns. I'm jealous even though I'm in Thailand and have the money to do the same, just not the motivation, adventurous spirit like you seem to. Thank you for these posts.

Dude.   Need to get out there before mass tourism opens up.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to take in some of the islands while there is nobody here..    I just got back from koh tao.  And stunning without tourists

[petehoax]

Koh Phi Phi day trip from Phuket was an absolute highlight for me a few months ago. Absolutely recommended at the moment... I'd never repeat in high-tourism season, but currently it's just incredible! 

[BuakhaoBarry]

Any plans to hit Koh Lipe while it's quiet? Could be a great time to go there.

[Piece Corp]

24 minutes ago, BuakhaoBarry said:

Any plans to hit Koh Lipe while it's quiet? Could be a great time to go there.

I thought Ko Lipe was the best covid tourist destination because it had the most shops and restaurants open.  Ao Nang was the worst.

 

[jaynewcastle]

Nice to see a Phi Phi review on here.

 

How long did you spend on the island, and what did you do & see, apart from visiting the viewpoints ?

[Piece Corp]

Three days. Besides an afternoon climbing to the viewpoint, I just hung out at the Beach Bar sipping Mango margaritas. 

[alexlad]

Nice report! I just visited Phi Phi Island in March and it was much the same, most shops in the village were closed but a good selection of hotels and restaurants open with great deals to be had. I had a really good time and want to return before it gets crowded again.

[jaynewcastle]

Yes, would be great to visit the islands now, before the hordes return. Whilst you can still get away  from the crowds on phi Phi, Ko Lipe was just busy everywhere, as its a much smaller island

 

I'll be having 4/5 days on Phi Phi on my next trip, hopefully in Jan 2022

[Bigwill74]

It looks amazing, I’m tryna schedule a trip for October and am hoping mass tourism is not back by than. I want to see the islands as they once must have been 30 years ago

[jaynewcastle]

22 hours ago, Bigwill74 said:

It looks amazing, I’m tryna schedule a trip for October and am hoping mass tourism is not back by than. I want to see the islands as they once must have been 30 years ago

Unfortunately you won't see Phi Phi as it looked 30 years ago, as virtually everything you see in the OP's pictures has  been built in recent years

Even just 10 years ago Tonsai wasn't as built up as it is now, & the OP's pictures of the huge hotel & shopping arcade development (which I really detest),  has only been built in the last 5 years & now include a McDonalds & Burger King  :(

[Pinoydave]

OMB……. I can’t believe that…… when I went no buildings were allowed above the tops of the trees…… that view was entirely green…….. very very sad

[simson]

Nice impressions of a great island. The rocky landscape and the view of the sea is incredible. There are also very good dive sites on Phi Phi.

Does anyone have experience with the Phuket Sandbox, whether excursions, especially diving, are currently possible and offered?

[eXplosief]

1 hour ago, simson said:

Nice impressions of a great island. The rocky landscape and the view of the sea is incredible. There are also very good dive sites on Phi Phi.

Does anyone have experience with the Phuket Sandbox, whether excursions, especially diving, are currently possible and offered?

I have a friend currently there. He does do a couple of dives. So yes open.

[simson]

13 minutes ago, eXplosief said:

I have a friend currently there. He does do a couple of dives. So yes open.

Thanks for the answer. That sounds good. Let's see if I make the sandbox.

At the moment everything is still very vague.

[petehoax]

about sandbox: 
it is currently NOT possible to do a day trip to koh phi phi if you're in the Phuket sandbox. 

you can do normal day trips (also to some smaller islands close to phuket), but going to phi phi is not allowed. 

to go, you need to be done with sandbox and you need a negative covid test not more than 72 hours old (they might allow antigen test, they might not). so you can for example go on day 8 just after you're done with sandbox, while you still have the valid negative test from day 6. 

the tour company needs the test in advance and you need to book it at least 24 hours before, because they need to send the test to phi phi (respectively to the national park administration) so that you can enter. 

[simson]

4 hours ago, petehoax said:

about sandbox: 
it is currently NOT possible to do a day trip to koh phi phi if you're in the Phuket sandbox. 

you can do normal day trips (also to some smaller islands close to phuket), but going to phi phi is not allowed. 

to go, you need to be done with sandbox and you need a negative covid test not more than 72 hours old (they might allow antigen test, they might not). so you can for example go on day 8 just after you're done with sandbox, while you still have the valid negative test from day 6. 

the tour company needs the test in advance and you need to book it at least 24 hours before, because they need to send the test to phi phi (respectively to the national park administration) so that you can enter. 

Thanks for the answer. That of course limits the whole thing a little. I always thought that when you left the sandbox behind you could move around free. Without a new PCR test or other restrictions.

Such a test is always a risk. Whether real or false positive, both are associated with great annoyance.

[eXplosief]

2 minutes ago, simson said:

Thanks for the answer. That of course limits the whole thing a little. I always thought that when you left the sandbox behind you could move around free. Without a new PCR test or other restrictions.

Such a test is always a risk. Whether real or false positive, both are associated with great annoyance.

Yes you are allowed to leave the sandbox freely after your 7 days. Many provinces/islands have their own entry rules though. 

[vuip977]

On 26/06/2021 at 14:35, Pinoydave said:

OMB……. I can’t believe that…… when I went no buildings were allowed above the tops of the trees…… that view was entirely green…….. very very sad

Indeed.  So much has changed since DiCaprio's visit.

I wonder, where do they flush all the tourist poop?  Does the island have a sewer treatment plant now, or individual septic systems in each hotel?  

[jaynewcastle]

Just thought I'd answer the last question on this thread above, as noticed it when re-reading the thread

 

In Tonsai, there has always been a waste water treatment plant since I first visited in Jan 2012. Its located just along from where I normally stay, JJ Bungalows. No, I've never noticed any smell from it & I have walked past it hundreds of times during the 11 times I've stayed on Phi Phi.

This was being completely rebuilt back in late 2021-early 2022 when I was on Phi Phi for a week in January 2022. They had heavy machiney bringing construction supplies along the only road on the island, from the far end of Long Beach at the southern tip of the island, up to & along the ridge before heading back down into Tonsai.

Fascinating to see the huge trucks & cranes operating along the road & paths designed really for motorbikes & pedestrians, the crew lifting all the overhead wires & cables to allow passage

I assume the work was completed in 2022, and it will have a much higher capacity for treating waste water, than the old one did