Phi Phi and Phuket
This trip was extremely special for personal reasons- celebrating two of my closest friends’ life milestones (bachelorette and landmark ‘entering a new decade’ birthday).
We all had a fairly hectic year with work and personal commitments. So, this was planned as a ‘mellow but hardcore’ trip (a phrase coined while bantering about our vacation), where we definitely wanted to let our hair down to celebrate the two important occasions, but also go back to our corporate lives feeling rejuvenated and relaxed. Clearly, that did not pan out and we barely slept in the whole trip! But we also didn’t feel stressed or burnt out. Perhaps the vacation happy hormones are true after all!
We tried to maximise our limited time and managed to squeeze in a lot of activities. So, if you are pressed for time definitely bookmark this itinerary. Also, highly recommend visiting Krabi in the off season as you will face lesser crowds, get better stay options and in general experience a more relaxing atmosphere.
TRIP ITINERARY
4days 4nights
Phi Phi – 3 Days
Phuket – 1 Day
PHI PHI
Krabi province is famous for many stunning islands. For this trip we set up a base in Phi Phi in the Krabi province and went island hopping from here. Phi Phi main island is fairly small and is a car free zone which makes it great for walking around.
We stayed right near the pier since we had very limited days and wanted to reduce our commute time to maximize food, bars, and location hopping. We got a great deal for an excellent stay a couple of minutes walking from the pier with a stunning sea view from our room balcony!
PLACES TO STAY
Our stay
Extremely convenient location and a large room with a terrace and a sea view balcony. The hotel also has an easy access to the beach.
Bonus factor, we did not see a single person in the pool in our 3 days stay so essentially had a private pool to ourselves!
Couple of cons- dated interiors and very mediocre food.
More mid-budget options near
Ton Sai pier
Long Beach
Phak Nam Bay
EATING HIGHLIGHTS
Since we had a limited time a lot of our meals were on the go and not particularly well thought. We did however find a couple of gems in Phi Phi with great food!
Khun Niyom – Our absolute favourite little food nook on the main Phi Phi island (Ko Phi Phi Don). A tiny non-descript place with the most delicious Thai food. They might have some non-Thai dishes on the menu, would not recommend trying those. But all the Thai dishes from the popular ones to even simple Thai style steamed fish, everything was delicious! Highly recommended!
Chill Lay Bar & Restaurant – Another hidden gem which you might miss since it’s not on the main street and quite non frill. Great food and vibe to just relax and have a chilled drink. They also give you a sheet of paper to write a message or draw something on, which is then displayed across the roof and the walls of the restaurant.
BARS
The streets are lined with bars and pubs
Few of the bars we visited:
ACTIVITIES AROUND
We booked a speed boat island hopping snorkelling day trip locally, a day before. Again, non-peak season helped us in getting many available options. We chose a group tour which covered 4-5 nearby islands and had a pitstop for looking at bioluminescent underwater plankton. Snorkelling equipment is provided, we were however carrying our own.
Near our hotel at Loh Dalum beach there was a no fuss and extremely affordable kayak rental place which was a serene and a picturesque way to spend an afternoon. However, would not recommend this for people who are completely new to kayaking since there are no instructors and questionable safety measures. You are just provided with the equipment and life jackets but are pretty much on your own. Since we all had fair amount of prior kayaking experience, we decided to go ahead with the rental.
There is also a famous hike with 3 viewpoints providing a great vantage point to admire the beauty of Phi Phi Don. We unfortunately didn’t have the time (read will) to do the hike in this trip.
PHUKET
We took a ferry from Ton Sai Pier to Phuket. The journey is about 2 hours. Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. We had only one night in the city so certainly couldn’t do justice to the place and plan to visit again sometime in the future.
Our bachelorette night out was planned for Phuket, so we wanted to stay closer to the nightlife options.
Few areas to consider for a stay in Phuket:
Patong – Busy area with nightlife
Karon – More relaxed but close enough to Patong if you are keen to see the nightlife
Kata – Beautiful beach with a more relaxed nightlife option
PLACES TO STAY
Our stay
Patong Signature Boutique Hotel
Excellent location and a stunning room with a small cute sea view balcony. The hotel has a beautiful rooftop swimming pool which was unfortunately under maintenance when we visited.
The hotel is also in a quieter area but walking distance from the famous party location- Bangla Road.
Another option in Patong
NOTE: This trip was pre-covid in September 2019