Sawasdee Krub! I am here once again. Well, it has been very hot these days and the perfect destination for the weather like this can't be anywhere but the sea. So let's pack and go there! This time, I will take you to Ko Lipe. Ko Lipe is very well-known and everyone want to go there for once, I am no exception. I have read through many travel reviews about this island and really want to experience it myself one day. Therefore, I study about Ko Lipe a lot and look for someone to join and share the fuel cost to get there from Bangkok. The trip will be from 4 - 7 April. Moreover, my budget is always limited and it is set at 5,000 THB per person for this trip of 4 days and 3 nights. Let's see if this will be enough and if you are ready, let's go!

All photos here are taken by Nikon D3100 as always and by my new toy, GoPro HERO 4 Silver that I bought for this trip especially. Therefore, I also have some underwater photos for you to see. I bought this GoPro Camera not even a week before this trip gets started. As a result, I am not good at it yet though.

I am going to pick up 2 of my friends and my girlfriend from Seri Thai before having our trip started officially. Our trip begins from Bangkok and we leave Bangkok around 6.30 PM on Friday 3rd. We need to leave early because we are driving to Ko Lipe due to our limited budget. It is going to be more than 900-kilometer journey for us and we want to drive slowly as we have reserved a ferry to Ko Lipe at 10.30 AM tomorrow. Some of you might just take a flight which is of course much faster.

This is the car used on this trip. It is a little low car and actually it is the one that always travel with me. I am trying to go all over Thailand with it. We are going to drive at night so we need to be extra careful, and you should do the same when driving at night. The road to the southern part of Thailand was in a pretty bad condition last year. My car's choke was broken when I traveled to Trang and Krabi. Well, it seems to me that this is happening again this time although the road is much better now. hahaha There are also some constructions going on along the way. We drive through Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Thung Song District, then turn right to Trang. We have arrived in Trang around 5 AM. We guess it would be good to take a nap a bit so we park our car inside PTT Gas Station Kantang Branch. We will go to have breakfast with one of my friend who is a local here later.

We woke up almost 7 AM. We are going to freshen up a bit before going to Godam Restaurant in Kantang for breakfast. Our plan is to go to Kantang Train Station after that. Kantang Train Station is the last terminal of the Southern-Andaman train railroad.

I get separated from my friend after that and thanks to him for the breakfast treat. We save some money. hahaha

Our trip continues for another roughly 100 kilometers to La-ngu District. This route is not difficult and it takes about more than one hour a bit to get to Pakbara Pier. In addition, for those who are worried about the gas station; please don't be. There are many of them along the way including LPG Gas Station. My car uses LPG gas and can run for about 200 kilometers for 1 full tank.

We are here at Pakbara Pier. I have reserved a ferry with this Lipe Ferry Company. It costs 1,100 THB per person for round trip on weekends. The one that I reserved also includes a quick visit to Ko Tarutao and Koh Khai.

I will leave my car here. The parking fee is 100 THB per day. The ferry company will arrange someone to come and pick up the car to designated parking lot. It is very safe and common to do here. Then it is time to stock up some food and snacks such as instant noodle, canned fish, instant food, and so on in order to save up our money.

This is the ferry that will take us to Ko Lipe. It offers such a smooth ride with air conditioner so we will have a good nap on it. The ferry departs around 10.45 AM before arriving at our first stop, Ko Tarutao around noon. This is just a 15-minute stopover to enjoy the island and take photos. The admission fee is 40 THB per person. Please take good care of this admission pass because with it you won't need to pay again when snorkeling in other islands. Take a very good care and don't forget to keep it with you!!! I am very aware of this but I fail. I forget it in one of my bag on the 2nd day of snorkeling because I change my bag. hahaha So I need to pay again for 40 THB.

The sunlight is very strong so we couldn't stay out long but it is very beautiful here with white sandy beach.

The next stop is Koh Khai. Lover's Gate on this island is famous for a couple to walk through. It is believed that your love will last forever if you do so. I have heard about this for a long time so once we arrive, we don't hesitate to speed up to complete this mission right away because we have limited time here. Guess what! We 4 are the only people who have made it. Others were busy taking photos all around and they miss it. hahaha We should be happy, right?

You might see a lot of photos with this GoPro stick in this review because I am very excited to use my new toy. I still have a lot to learn as well. I don't know much about the angle yet.

Once it is about time that the ferryboat will depart the island, you will hear the horns.

Once you arrive at the main pier, you need to be transferred to your destination by a long-tail boat. To go to Ko Lipe is 70 THB per person but we are going to Koh Adang for our first night and it is 100 THB per person. We are going to stay overnight in tents in Koh Adang. It is chaotic with so many tourists at the main pier when we arrive. We try to go and buy the transfer ticket quickly so we can get out of here first. I bet they need to wait for a long while to get the transfer to Ko Lipe. Luckily that there is a boat heading to Sunrise Beach at that time so we can come along to Koh Adang right away since they are not far from each other.

The water is super crystal clear, very beautiful. And please note that all photos in this review are original without any edits.

The stop at Sunrise Beach is done so there are only us on the boat now. The next stop will be ours.

Let's do some welfie!

We have finally arrived at Koh Adang which is around 2 PM. We don't hesitate to make the arrangement with the National Park officer for the camping area. My boy and I work on the tents while the girls are going to buy steamed white rice because the kitchen here close at 2 PM.

If you need to rent a tent from the National Park Office, it is 230 THB per tent per night. We have brought our own so we need to pay only 30 THB per person. The sleeping set is 50 THB per set.

The atmosphere in the camping area.

It is very shady here.

The tents are successfully up. Then we have our first meal on Koh Adang. It is rice with canned fish. We have saved more money again. It can be considered as a taste of life too.

We will rest for a while after eating before going to hike to Pha-Chado viewpoint for a panoramic view of Ko Lipe.

We hike to Pha-Chado around 3 PM. The sunlight is still very strong. Even though the trail is not steep, we feel so tired.

I guess we just ate so the food hasn't digested well yet. We have many quick stops along the way. However, 2 of my friends give up. They will go back down first. My girlfriend and I want to make it there so we just keep going.

We have ended up at the second viewpoint. We can't really go further to the top. We feel like we might pass out if we continue. hahaha It has been 50 minutes and we don't know how further we need to go to reach the top. Anyway, the view from this second viewpoint is not bad though.

My girlfriend wants to be sexy a little bit. hahaha We have rested here for a while but our hearts keep beating so hard. I guess we are very tired. The view of Ko Lipe in front of us is breathtaking. We will see you tomorrow, Ko Lipe.

We feel very hot after walking back down so we think it is a good time to jump into to water. It is around 5 PM now and the sunlight is not strong anymore. The underwater photo is well taken by GoPro camera.

This is the beach in front of Koh Adang.

Our dinner today is at the restaurant of the National Park. We have rice with omelet and instant noodle. It is very delicious and costs only 60 THB in total. We have planned to sleep right after dinner but we can't because it is still very hot inside the tents. We then lie down on a mat until almost 10 PM before moving into the tents. I have learned later that I fall asleep right away but my girlfriend can't sleep until 2 AM. Those who are addicted to comfortable bed might find it difficult sleeping in a tent.

We woke up around 6 AM on the next day to welcome the first sunlight of the day.

After that we sleep again until 8 AM. We have an appointment with a boat for snorkeling at Koh Nok at 9 AM today. We get changed, unroll the tents, and have breakfast. Our breakfast is pretty much the same. We have rice with canned fish and instant food. We have bought a lunch box to bring along from the National Park Restaurant as well. Lunch box is about 90 - 120 THB and it comes in a big portion. Then we are ready to depart. Today, we are going to do snorkeling in the outer area of Ko Lipe. The private boat costs 2,500 THB for outer area and 2,000 THB for inner area on the weekends. On the other hands, it is 2,000 THB for outer area and 1,500 THB for inner area on the weekdays. The weekends are more expensive because there is a lot of tourists and we agree on that. We reserve this boat through the National Park Office. We guess we have picked the right choice of having a private boat because we don't have to be worried about our belonging when snorkeling.

Our model.

Another model is here.

The outer area for snorkeling is pretty far. It is about 1 hour to get here. The first stop is this Koh Hin Sorn which is for us to take photos only.

It is interestingly beautiful as its name. Then we leave to our first snorkeling spot, Rong Nam Hin Sorn. We end up snorkeling here for not long because there are so many people and the current is pretty strong. We can't really see anything. So we have decided to move to the next spot right away. Actually, I can't remember all places that we have been to but what I remember are Ko Phai, Ko Rokroy, and Ko Monkey.

I can't remember them all because I am very excited with this plentiful underwater world. If you are ready, let's go and explore the underwater world in Lipe with us!

This is called "Fire Coral" if I am not mistake.

Can you spot the clownfish?

It is amazingly beautiful as you can see.

Then we are here at Ko Monkey.

You are quite heavy!!!

It has been a wonderful snorkeling trip and it is time to go back. We all don't have much energy left anymore.

We are going to stay at Moonlight Bungalow tonight. It is located in Pattaya Beach and about 100-meter far from the Walking Street.

The room rate range from 800 - 1,500 THB according to the season and it is 1,000 THB per night during this period of time. The room comes with electric fan but it is still very hot during the daytime. It is fine in overall though.

Bungalow is located one by one as shown in the photo above and it is not crowded here.

They even have a hammock here but please be aware of the mosquitoes at night. We arrive here around 4 PM and we will go out again at 5 PM for the Walking Street and the sunset at Mountain Resort.

We have been wandering around and just realized that we are far from the Mountain Resort now and the sun is almost gone. So we guess we need to save this mission for tomorrow and let's continue walking through the Walking Street and look for something to eat.

My girlfriend already has a tan line even it is just the first day here. The sunlight is very strong, the sunscreen can't totally protect you.

We are going to have dinner in a simple restaurant. It is just rice with one kind of food for each of us. The prices range from 120 - 150 THB. We then have Roti as our dessert.

We are walking by the beach after dinner while sipping a can of beer that we have brought from the mainland. We need to buy only some ice which is 20 THB per pack.

Then we stop to watch this fire show before going back to the bungalow to sleep early.

The second day has ended and we will sleep so tight because it has been a long day. We woke up again around 8 AM and we are going for breakfast in a restaurant on the Walking Street. Luckily, we have found a restaurant offering food at a cheap price. It costs 70 - 80 THB per dish. We also ordered lunch box from here to eat on the boat later.

The first stop is at Koh Hin Ngam. Our feet are burning because we don't have our shoes on. The admission fee to the island is 40 THB per person but if you have the admission pass from Ko Tarutao, you don't need to pay again. Unfortunately, I have changed my bag and my pass is in that bag so I need to pay again. hahaha

Then we are heading to Koh Yang, Koh Ravi, Koh Adang, and Rong Nam Jabang respectively.

Our lunch is at Koh Ravi. There is a restaurant here so we have ordered Papaya Salad and Pepsi. Papaya Salad is 80 THB and soft drink is 30 THB a can.

We walk around and take some photos on Koh Ravi after lunch.

It is after 1 PM that we are back for more snorkeling at Koh Adang and Rong Nam Jabang.

Rong Nam Jabang has a very strong current today. It is still difficult for us to snorkel even we hold the rope and the water is not clear. This is the photo of the famous 7-color coral I have got.

We are here not long due to the reason mentioned earlier. We don't want to walk much today so we ask the boatman to drop us at Mountain Resort directly. We have arrived at Mountain Resort after 3 PM so we just chill here waiting for the sunset.

Oh no! I have no more battery on my camera so this is my last photo before the sunset. Everybody is very tired now so our plan is to go back to our bungalow taking a shower and go out for dinner. Our dinner is back at the restaurant that we had breakfast earlier today. We have ordered Tom Yum, Omelet, and Spicy Glass Noodle Salad. It is the best meal on this trip so far. hahaha We spend 570 THB for this dinner which is very reasonable. If you enter the Walking Street from Pattaya Beach, keep walking for about 100 meters, this restaurant will be on your right-hand side. There is a Roti stall in front of the restaurant.

It is our last night here so we treasure our time by the beach to the maximum. 3 Days have gone so fast. I want to stay here a bit longer but I kind of miss my family too. hahaha Then we go back to sleep because we will take the first boat in the morning at 9 AM in order to arrive back in Bangkok not to late. And it happens that we leave our bungalow around 8.30 AM on this new day.

Goodbye Ko Lipe! If we have a chance, we will be back.

Once we have arrived back on the mainland, we walk around the pier taking photos for a bit before going to pick up our car.

And we also take more photos with the car around the pier. It is 11 AM so we will have lunch in Trang before stopping over at Ratchaprapa Dam on our way back. It is about 60 kilometers from the main road to Ratchaprapa Dam.

We have arrived at Ratchaprapa Dam around 4 PM. It is beautiful so I guess I need to find my time to come back and stay overnight at the raft house here. We stop for a break and take some photos.

We leave the dam at 5 PM and it will be the direct journey to Bangkok straight ahead. It will still be more than 700-kilometer trip anyway. We stop once again at Khun Sarai's Restaurant in Chumphon for dinner around 8 PM. We have a break for about 1 hour because I am a bit tired as well. I have arrived home after dropping off all of my companions at 3 AM. This is such a super long drive. hahaha Well, after looking back on this whole trip; I would say it is totally worth it. I kind of know where to go next already as well. hahaha

Expenses Summary

LPG Gas and Petroleum for more than 2,100-kilometer journey, LPG Gas is 2,400 THB and Petroleum is 800 THB. It is 800 THB per person. There are still some petroleum left too.

Round Trip Ferry to and from Ko Lipe is 1,100 THB per person.

Parking fee is 300 THB.

Private boat for snorkeling trip for 2 days 4,500 THB which mean 1,125 THB per person.

Bungalow 2 rooms for 2 nights are 4,000 THB which mean 1,000 THB each.

The rest are snacks expenses, miscellaneous expenses, transfer boat, and meals.

All in all, it is about 5,300 - 5,500 THB per person on this trip.

Last but not least, those who would like to travel to Ko Lipe need to prepare some extra money please because there are number of expenses that you might not be aware of. As you can see that we have spent quite a lot as well even we tried to save a lot especially those who like to live like a king. However, you will find everything on Ko Lipe very worth visiting and you won't be disappointed for sure. You might even learn that one trip to Ko Lipe is never be enough.

I will see you again on a new budget journey. My girlfriend and I will take you to travel through Thailand. hahaha

Lastly, I would like to end this trip with this photo and I will see you again on next trip. Where will I go next with this Toyota Vios, please stay tuned!

Remark: I actually have more than 1,000 photos from this trip. If you would like to see more of them and also look through my other travel reviews please go here. https://www.facebook.com/boy.attapon.7