Long stretches of white-sand beaches, crystal clear water, chill atmosphere, great snorkelling...The list could go on forever. All these things I had heard prior to coming here and all things I expected from this tiny little island of Koh Lipe. Our last stop on Thai islands. Situated quite a bit down south from the most popular Thai islands, it has been said that Lipe is one of the best kept secrets. Whilst this may or may not be true, we at least found what we were looking for: The perfect place to end our island hopping. And although the island itself is small, it's part of the Tarutao National Marine Park and surrounded by many bigger, untouched islands. These, plus its proximity to the Malaysian border, all contribute to its good location.
The arrival to Lipe was pretty different from the other islands as it didn't have a passenger pier and the ferry dropped us off on a floating harbour bit further off the shore. The luggage then was transferred into a long-tail boat which then brought us to the Pattaya Beach where we got off the boat and literally waded through the knee-high water. As easy-going arrival as the general vibe of this whole place! The island really has only three main beaches and one "main" pedestrian road that connects two of the beaches. It's all very walkable and the stroll from one end to another is only a good 10-15 minutes. The beach where the ferry operates is not so attractive during the day but in the night the restaurants spread out their tables across the sand and it transforms into this lively beach dining milieu. Along with this beach, the main strip gets very bustling during the evening hours and there's everything from cheap manicures to reggae bars to choose from.
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| Somewhere along the Sunrise beach... |
