Summer Escape: A Journey to Lipe Island

It's officially summer! When it comes to escaping the heat, the first thing that comes to mind is the beach.

But which beach should we choose? The Gulf of Thailand or the Andaman Sea? If you just want to relax by the sea, Hua Hin or Pranburi might be enough.

However, if you want to go diving and see beautiful coral reefs and crystal-clear water, then the Andaman Sea is the way to go. This trip, we met up with friends in Phuket and went island hopping.

We slowly made our way to each island, visiting Koh Mai Thon, Koh Rok, and Koh Haa. We sailed on a yacht, spending every day at sea. But we still weren't satisfied.

Since we had a lot of vacation time, we started looking for a place we hadn't been to before. Suddenly, a place popped into our minds: Lipe Island.

Without hesitation, we booked a flight from Phuket to Hat Yai with Bangkok Airways. We flew on a Saturday morning, and the ticket price was 1,590 baht per person.

It was a propeller plane, and the flight took about an hour. There was only one flight per day in the morning. If you fly on weekdays, the price is slightly cheaper.

We had never been to Hat Yai or Lipe Island before, and neither had our friends. So we decided to use SEALECTION to arrange the tour for us.

We let them handle everything, including airport transfers, ferry tickets to Lipe, accommodation, and a long-tail boat tour with a guide. We paid once, and that was it.

If you want to save money, you can do it yourself. After landing at Hat Yai Airport, take a car to Pak Bara Pier. Buy a ferry ticket to Lipe and book your accommodation online.

There are options ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of baht. You can also hire a long-tail boat tour from the beach. We chose to buy a package because it was easier.

There are two types of boats to Lipe: speedboats and air-conditioned ferries. We chose the speedboat because it stopped at two islands: Koh Tarutao and Koh Khai. Then we went to Lipe. It took a little over two hours, but if you take the ferry, it doesn't stop. It takes two hours to get there.

On the way to Lipe Island, the speedboat stopped at Koh Tarutao for 15 minutes. The atmosphere on the island was peaceful and quiet. The beach was white sand, and the water was crystal clear. The guide who came with us gave us some basic information, saying that this place used to be a prison.

We only had a short time to walk around the island before we had to say goodbye.

The next stop was Khai Island, located between Adang Island and Rawi Island. When we arrived at the island, the tide was high.

If you want to go to the rock arch, you have to wade through the water. I really wanted to wade through the water, but we came by speedboat and they only stopped for a short time.

This is clearly a "quick tour", which is frustrating for people who really want to take pictures. They say that if you take your lover through the rock arch together, you will get married.

I don't know if it's true, but I didn't have a partner to go with. >___< The sand on this island is very white and the sea water is very clear. Luckily, the waves were not very strong today and the sky was very clear.

We finally arrived at Koh Lipe, but we weren't at our final destination yet. The speedboat didn't take us all the way to the shore, it only dropped us off at a floating dock. From there, we had to take a long-tail boat to get to the island.

The journey was quite a hassle, with multiple transfers. We came during a holiday weekend, so we had to wait in a long line to board the boat. We waited so long that we were exhausted.

I forgot to mention that we took the 11:30 AM boat. By the time we arrived at Koh Lipe, it was almost 3 PM. I can't imagine doing a day trip here, it's just not enough time.

But who would visit Koh Lipe for just a day anyway? You have to stay overnight on the island to truly soak up the atmosphere.

We chose to stay at Pattaya Beach, which is the name that locals and tourists have given to the area around Hat Ban Da Ya.

This beach doesn't offer views of the sunrise or sunset, but there are plenty of accommodations, a long beachfront, and many restaurants and entertainment options along the walking street.

No matter which beach you choose to stay on, you're sure to have a relaxing time. When we first saw the island, we couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! This is paradise!"

The sand is incredibly white, and the water is crystal clear. The color of the water is simply stunning. Similan and Koh Tachai don't even come close.

Even though there are accommodations on the island, it's not as crowded as you might think. There are fewer Chinese tourists than expected, and most of the visitors are Thai, Malaysian, and Western.

After arriving at Koh Lipe and checking into our accommodation, we decided to take a quick nap because the weather was unbearably hot. We needed to cool down in the air conditioning before venturing out again.

When we woke up, it was already dusk. Our guide told us that he would take us to watch the sunset at Sunset Beach, which is actually accessible by walking from Pattaya Beach.

However, we decided to hire a taxi... Can you guess what a taxi on the island looks like? It's a motorcycle with a sidecar! So we hopped on and zoomed off.

When we arrived at Sunset Beach, the sun was just setting. The weather was perfect, and the sun looked like a giant red egg. But we were more interested in something else.

The tide was extremely low, revealing a vast expanse of coral reefs. In the photos, it might look like we're standing on the coral,

but that's not the case. The coral was actually right in front of the beach, visible from the shoreline. This is what they call "low tide, coral pops up everywhere!"

However, we had to be very careful not to get too close or step on the coral, as it could break. With coral reefs becoming increasingly scarce, it's important that we all do our part to protect them.

We had a great time enjoying the sunset. That night, we looked for something to eat on the beach in Pattaya. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from. We also saw massage parlors and a walking street.

The prices of food and goods were more expensive than on the mainland. But that's understandable, considering the distance it takes to get there. But what surprised me was that there was a 7-Eleven there too. - -"

The next morning, we woke up early and rushed to the beach. But the tide was low and the sun didn't rise on this beach!!! We walked back to our accommodation to have breakfast.

At nine o'clock, we walked back to the beach again, as the guide had arranged for us to go on a tour of the surrounding islands and go snorkeling on a long-tailed boat.

Normally, they do a tour around the inner islands one day and around the outer islands the next day. But we wanted to do it all in one day, both the outer and inner islands.

Because the weather was good, the waves were not strong, and the sky was very clear, so we were sure to take beautiful pictures. But the beauty came at the cost of the heat. Sunscreen was barely enough.

The special thing about going on a tour with a long-tailed boat is that you can go anywhere you want and stop for snorkeling at any point. Because if it's a speedboat, there are some places you can't go.

And we rented the long-tailed boat for the whole day, so it was just us and our friends, with a guide to take care of us and a boat driver.

Actually, you can rent a boat from the beach yourself, and the boat driver will take you to all the spots. But having a guide is better because they know which angles are the best for photos.

And they know which underwater spots are the coolest, so we don't have to float around looking for them ourselves. They go down and find them first, and then we just follow them and dive down to see them. It's... great.

The first destination we visited that day was Koh Rok Loi (pronounced Koh-Rok-Loy). The guide told us that the tide was low in the morning,

so we should hurry before the tourists arrive. We were able to see the white sandy beach. Even though it's a small island, it's so beautiful.

There's also a viewpoint on top. It's only a short walk up. When you're at the sea and you experience this kind of weather, happiness really overflows.

Especially for those who love taking pictures like us, we were busy running around looking for angles to shoot. We didn't care how hot it was, as long as we got the pictures we wanted. Haha.

This text is already in English and does not require translation.

This text is already in English and does not require translation.

After enjoying the atmosphere on Koh Rok Loi, we headed to Koh Hin Sorn. At Koh Hin Sorn, you can't go up to the island.

You can only circle the boat around to admire the beauty. In the past, we always misunderstood that Hin Sorn was located in Similan Islands, Phang Nga Province.

It's similar to the Sail Rock at Koh Paed, we thought it would be nearby. It turns out that it's in a different location. Who stacked the rocks at Koh Hin Sorn?

The rocks are very large. We circled around once and then came out because the current there was quite strong. At this point, we only came to see the rocks, we didn't go diving.

From Hin Son Island, we headed to Koh Pung. The guide told us that there was something good to see there. Koh Pung is a small island that cannot be climbed.

We could only snorkel and see the coral reefs. There were buoys around the island. If there was a buoy, it meant that we could snorkel and there must be something for us to see.

The guide told us that there were yellow soft corals here. As for Nemo, there was no need to mention it. Wherever there were sea anemones, we could find them.

The coral reefs, tiger cowries, and schools of colorful fish were so clear that we could see them clearly. The underwater world was amazing. We had never seen anything like it before.

We screamed and shouted when we saw strange creatures. We were very excited because this was a channel, so the current must be strong.

We slowly held onto the buoys and snorkeled on the surface. When we looked down, we saw another world. It was so beautiful, but we couldn't swim very well.

So we gave our camera to the guide to take underwater photos for us. We give all the credit for the underwater photos to our awesome guide. The photos were so beautiful!!!

After enjoying a refreshing swim, it's time to refuel with a delicious lunch. We'll stop at Koh Rawi, where there are tables for us to sit and enjoy our meal.

Most people gather here around noon, and there are simple restaurants offering a variety of dishes, such as rice with fried egg, papaya salad, and fried chicken.

However, we don't need to worry about buying food, as our guide has prepared lunch boxes for us. We spend almost two hours on Koh Rawi, waiting for the divers to return.

This gives us a chance to explore the island and take photos with the iconic landmark tree. It's a must-do for any visitor to Koh Rawi.

Every island we visited had white sand beaches and crystal-clear water. However, the texture of the sand varied from soft to rough.

It's safe to say that every island had clean white sand. We must commend the National Park for their excellent management.

The locals and boat drivers also played a crucial role in monitoring and providing information to tourists, such as not littering or stepping on coral.

Honestly, these are things we should already be doing without being told. If we don't work together to protect it, the beauty of the Thai sea will surely disappear.

Now, let's see what other living creatures inhabit Koh Rawi. We found that there were a lot of monkeys on the island.

They would come down to rummage through the trash for food, but they would be chased away by the dogs. There were four dogs on the island that we saw, and they were very friendly with tourists.

Especially when we were eating, they became extra friendly, as they would sit and wait for us to give them food.

As the afternoon wore on, our next destination was Hin Ngam Island. It was very hot on the island, so it is recommended that you wear shoes or your feet will definitely get blisters.

Now on Hin Ngam Island, there are signs warning against stacking rocks. So if you go, please follow the rules.

Anything that is forbidden, don't do it, it's not good. Just go up and take pictures and collect the images, that's enough, right?

We ended our trip at Jabang Channel, a highlight that everyone must visit. We went snorkeling in the middle of the sea, and the current was strong.

As a novice diver, I could only snorkel on the surface, clinging to the buoy as usual. Looking down from the surface, I can tell you that it was incredibly beautiful.

We left our GoPro camera with the guide and asked him to take pictures for us. The guide was amazing; he could do anything.

The soft corals were so colorful and diverse, it was a feast for the eyes. There were also a lot of fish. The highlight of the trip was seeing a lionfish... I couldn't believe it.

I had only seen them in pictures before, and they were beautiful. Seeing one in real life was amazing... I can brag about it to others for a long time.

Our first trip to "Lipe" was amazing. It opened up a whole new world that we had never seen before. We completely forgot about all the other beaches we had been to.

It's a shame we only had a short time on the island, just 3 days and 2 nights. We didn't even get to see everything. We'll definitely have to come back for more.

If you're looking for a place to travel and you love the sea and diving, I can only say that you have to come here. The Thai sea is truly beautiful.