Best Beach to Stay on Koh Phi Phi

Despite being quite a small island, choosing where to stay on Koh Phi Phi can lead to vastly different experiences. Do you want to party all night or spend your time in nature? Would you rather be by the best restaurants or the best snorkeling spots?

Koh Phi Phi Don is the only island in the group where you can actually stay. It is the biggest of the Phi Phi islands, in the Andaman Sea.

If you have already started to research the island, it is important to note that you cannot stay near some of its most famous locations. Places like Maya Bay, made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach, and Monkey Beach lie on other islands surrounding Koh Phi Phi Don and can only be accessed by boat during the day. These areas are classed as national parks, so accommodation cannot be built there.

Koh Phi Phi Don itself has a pretty unique shape. Most of the island is uninhabitable because of its mountainous terrain and steep cliff faces. The busiest areas are concentrated on this thin strip of land by the pier, so choosing where you stay will have a big impact on your experience because it is difficult to walk from place to place.

The good news is that, somewhat surprisingly for a smaller island, accommodation is quite affordable, with most hotels costing between 1,500 and 2,500 Thai Baht per night. There are much cheaper options available, but also much more expensive ones if you want a luxurious experience.

Tonsai Beach and Pier

Tonsai Beach and Pier are the closest areas to the pier, meaning you will not have to walk very far once you arrive on the island. Here at Tonsai Pier, you can be in your hotel within five minutes.

This is a really cool area to sit and watch the boats come in. There is a constant stream of ferries, yachts and boats arriving all the time, so you get a really amazing view. The area near the pier is probably the best place on the whole island for restaurants, with amazing seafood restaurants by the pier and more international restaurants a little further inland.

There are also plenty of decent bars here if you want to have a drink. The major drawback is that the beach is not that nice, and you cannot really swim very far because the boats coming in and out make it dangerous. A lot of the area is blocked off for swimming.

That is not the end of the world, though, because Loh Dalum Beach is within a five to ten-minute walk. This area gets pretty busy at night, so if you are the kind of person who likes an early night, it might not be the best area for you. The average price per night is 1,500 Thai Baht.

Loh Dalum Beach

Loh Dalum is the area opposite Tonsai Pier. This is one of the most stunning beaches in Thailand. It has a really unique shape, and the island curves around the beach, so it is a really stunning sight.

Because it is not far away, it has all the advantages of the pier, with great bars and restaurants. There is a lot going on here during the day, including coffee shops, beach bars and water sports. The average price on this beach is about 2,000 Thai Baht, although there are much cheaper options available.

In general, the western side of this beach is much more relaxed. That is where the coffee shops and a couple of beach bars and restaurants are. On the eastern side, though, it is definitely not relaxed. Koh Phi Phi has a reputation as a party island, and here on the eastern side of Loh Dalum Beach it most definitely is. This is where all the clubs and bars are, and they are open pretty much all night, every night.

This is also the area for party hostels. If you want to stay in a party hostel where you can meet lots of people from around the world for a cheap price, this is the place to stay.

Viking Beach

Just about a 15 to 20-minute walk away from the pier is Viking Beach. This is the area where I like to stay. I think it is a really beautiful beach, with the cliff faces in the distance.

It is probably one of the better beaches to watch the sunset, and it is more relaxed, whereas by the pier it gets quite busy. Here you can relax and just sit on the beach all day. That is true for most of the day, if there is one problem with this beach. Some boats like to dock here for day trips, so suddenly, out of nowhere, you might have 200 people turn up. This only lasts for about two hours.

One of the disadvantages of staying here is that there are not a lot of bars and restaurants right on your doorstep. Luckily, it is not too far away. Most bars and restaurants can be reached in a five to ten-minute walk, but there is not a lot right here waiting for you. The average price to stay in this area is about 2,000 Thai Baht.

Long Beach and Shark Point

For the next item on the list, we are moving considerably further away from Tonsai Pier, so you cannot easily walk there and back, and you cannot as easily access the bars and nightclubs. Long Beach is a really beautiful beach and a bit more secluded. A lot of people visit Long Beach as a day trip because it has a completely different vibe to Loh Dalum.

In my opinion, the major advantage of staying here is that you have the best snorkeling spot in Thailand just off the coast, and that is Shark Point. If you stay here, I would wake up early every morning and go snorkeling at Shark Point because you can get there before the boats arrive. Then you will be alone with the blacktip reef sharks that inhabit the area.

There are also some really stunning starfish, eels and tropical fish, and I think personally it is the best snorkeling spot in the whole of Thailand. Even if you do not end up staying here, I would definitely do a boat trip that takes you here to go snorkeling.

Aside from snorkeling, this is just a really cool beach. There is not loads going on, but there are still a handful of coffee shops and bars to enjoy on the beach. If you want to walk to Tonsai Pier, it is about a 30-minute walk, and you will have to walk back, which would not be ideal at night. Otherwise, you have to hop on a longtail boat to get to and from the beach.