• Ko Phi Phi Leh - take a longtail boat and visit Maya Bay - the "secret beach" where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Water directly around the island is sometimes disappointingly murky and not so good for diving. The beach on the other side of the island, across from where the boats land, is slightly nicer. It is highly recommended to arrive at Maya Bay before 8am, when the place can still be enjoyed in solitude. As from 9am hoards of speedboats with tourists on package tours arrive from Phuket. Another thing to think about when coming to Maya Bay is the time of year. During the high season (October - May) you will feel like you are at Disneyland, but during the off season and you shouldn't be surprised if you are one of only two or three small groups on the beach, or even alone. NOTE: Park Rangers have begun enforcement of a National Park entry fee of 200 baht/person, though if you are traveling in a tour group, they will typically include it in the price of your trip.

• Snorkeling - there are two rocks within swimming distance of Long Beach known as 'Shark Point' where harmless blacktip reef sharks can be seen. The Adventure Club dive shop runs 'Shark Watch' snorkeling trips to Shark Point that 'guarantee' a sighting of sharks. Many dive schools take snorkelers on their dive boats, but expect to see only a hint of the underwater marvel visible to scuba divers. The snorkeling off Bamboo and Mosqito Islands is quite good although the reefs are a long way below you at high tide. For an excellent chance to see sharks, visit Paradise Diving on Longbeach who will point you in the right direction of the Black Tip Reef Shark's habitat metres from the sandy shore. Paradise Diving is located on The Paradise Resort in the middle of Longbeach.

• Scuba diving - Even though the island was struck badly by the Tsunami disaster in 2004, the area has recovered impressively and divers are coming back in flocks.

there are many dive shops, and some very good dive locations. Prices are regulated, so expect to pay the same everywhere. Shops on the island do a few different trips. The typical trip offered is a two tank local dive within the Phi Phi Marine park which will run about 2200 baht. They also do 2 -3 tank trips to the King Cruiser wreck with your follow up dives at both Shark Point and Anemone Reef, this trip usually runs between 3200 -3900 depending on the number of dives you do. No diving trip to Phi Phi would be complete if you didn't head down to Hin Daeng. Hin Daeng has some of the stepest drops in Thailand (60m+) as well as being the place you are most likely to see Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. This trip usually runs around 4500 baht. The town centre is crammed with dive shops and is fiercly competitive (They cannot be competitive if prices are 'regulated', remind them the western world carries jail terms for price fixing!). For a more relaxed experience there are several dive shops also available on Longbeach. Check out DiveThailand.comfor more information. (The original UK ran Long Beach Divers are located on the beach opposite the main reef - Feel free to use our hammock!.) Koh Phi Phi Krabi Dive Sites:

• • Anemone Reef
  • Bida Islands
  • Gareng Heng
  • Koh Ha
  • Shark Point-Hin Musang
  • Shark Point-Hin Bida
  • Southern Sites

• Rock Climbing - there are opportunities for rock climbing on Ko Phi Phi, and a few climbing shops to rent equipment, find a guide or take basic lessons. (Spider Monkey can be recommended). While not as famous as Rai Leh beach, nor with as many routes, the climbing is on similar limestone cliffs, and similarly beautiful. The climbing here also tends to be less crowded than at Rai leh. There are about four walls that are used with some frequency.

• Kayaking

Phi Phi with its dramatic scenery is an ideal location for kayaking. You can either go it alone or with an organized package. Kayaks can be hired either per hour or per day.

• Cliff Jumping

Cliff jumping is fairly new to Tonsai Bay. There are cliffs from 6 to 16m that are ideal for cliff jumping due to the depth of water below. Organized tours can be found at Ton Sai.

• Spa

Spas in Hotels/Resorts

• • Spa at Zevola Resort & Spa
  • Spa at Phi Phi Island Village, Beach Resort & Spa
  • Spa at PP Princess Diving & Spa Resort

• Bird Watching

The best time of the year for bird watching has to be from January to April. Many rare birds are to be seen there: Gurneys, Finfoots, Bigwinged Brown Kingfishers, Egrets, Bitterns, Herons and more.

• Sailing & Cruising

Krabi has plenty of anchorages, usually deserted and all so beautiful. There are many charter sailing boats available and some even offer "join-in" day trips for two or more people.

• Fishing

Wanna-be fishers can catch the likes of marlin, sailfish barracuda and tuna.

• Shopping

Most stuff is brought in by boat, so most things are less original and more expensive than on the mainland. However, there are a few shops that manufacture their goods on the island. Prices for commodities vary widely between shops.

D's Books, with two locations on Ko Phi Phi and many others throughout Southern Thailand, is a well respected book store.

Most of the items sold here are either made by local fishermen or they are brought to the island from Phuket town. Rising commercialization and inflow of tourists throughout the year seems to be a big bonus for these locals. Prices told may exactly not be worth the item, but if you are a good talker, you can bargain for a good price.

Viewpoint - walk up to the Viewpoint, 186 metres above sea level (a very steep walk of between 10-25 minutes, depending on fitness), to get a breathtaking view of the entire island - particularly at dawn or sunset (bring a flashlight). You will be surprised at how narrow the sand strip is between the two main parts of the island.

Monkey Beach - accessible on foot or by renting a canoe, or be lazy and charter a longtail boat. Don't forget to take some bananas for the monkeys! Be careful as they can sometimes be aggressive.

Fireshow - there are several highly skilled and entertaining fireshows held nightly in several venues on the island, including at Carlito's, Apache Bar, Hippies, Carpe Diem, and The Tia and Millie Sunflower Bar on Lohdalum.

Tsunami Memorial Garden - by the Tia and Millie Sunflower Bar; a beautiful place for quiet contemplation and paying one's respects to the victims of the recent tragedy.

Phi Phi Don This island is the largest of the 6 Phi Phi islands and consists of two main sections. It is on Ton Sai where the original inhabitants settled and is now the home of the main accommodation area. Phi Phi Don is quite stunning and has earned the title of one of the most fantastic islands in the world. Nowadays though, with development, the beaches have had to pay a cost and so they’re not quite as spectacular as they were in the days of yesteryear. The landscape however, can never be ruined.

Phi Phi Le The second largest of the Phi Phi Islands is extremely beautiful, and pristine, but authorities in charge do not allow visitors to stay overnight. Besides the beach, other attractions include the Phaya Naak Cave with its prehistoric paintings and edible-nest swiftlets.

Yao Beach - Phi Phi Don Yao Beach, just south of Ton Sai, offers visitors some fantastic views, scenery and coral reefs for snorkeling and scuba diving. This small place is packed out however, with places to stay and so some people do complain that the vicinity has been rather over developed. You can get there either by walking from Ton Sai or taking a long-tail boat.

Lanti Beach - Phi Phi Don Next door to Yao Beach, Lanti Beach is very similar in many regards with its great scenery and coral reefs. You can get there on foot.

Hin Khao Beach - Phi Phi Don This beach is extremely quiet and can only be reached on foot.

Ton Sai Bay - Phi Phi Don Ao Ton Sai is where most of the action is; be it restaurants, bars, hotels or guesthouses. Most tourists stay at Ton Sai Bay because of the convenience. Even though it isn’t the most beautiful place on Phi Phi, it is still impressive.

Laem Tong, Phi Phi Don Laem Thong, located at the very north of the island offers visitors and lovely quite beach with exhilarating scenery. Accommodation on Laem Thong is aimed at higher spending tourists.

Yung Island This island just north of Phi Phi Don has a rocky beach and some coral.

Pai Island Not far from Yung Island is Pai Island. On the northern and eastern sides of the island are sandy beaches.

Other Attractions

Ko Pida Nok Besides an abundance of pretty coral, this island is home to plentiful marine life including: leopard sharks, turtles and moray eels. This island is popular with divers.

Ko Pida Nai Just up from Pida Nok is Pida Nai. Like its sister island, it is a good place for diving.

Shark Point (Hin Bida) Shark Point is a marine sanctuary with a reef that comprises of three pinnacles. The largest of which actually breaks the surface appearing as a barren rock outcropping. The reef is home to a delightful abundance of tropical, colorful soft corals and vibrant sea fans that decorate the limestone pinnacles.

Garang Heng Garang Heng is a small submerged reef just east of Phi Phi Le. It offers healthy reef with anemones, soft corals and even sharks.

Maya Bay Maya Bay has arguably Phi Phi’s most fantastic beach and was the location for the movie The Beach (Leonardo DiCaprio) in 1998. The bay also has superb marine life and is a favourite spot for experienced divers.

Wang Long This site is well known for its underwater cave systems and is only recommended for experienced divers. The caves tunnel into the rock face in two places and open out into a larger cave where surfacing is possible.

King Cruiser Wreck A popular and perhaps the best dive site off Ko Phi Phi is King Cruiser which claim remnants of a passenger ship which sunk in 1997 after it hit the Anemone reef. The Anemone reef is in itself a unique dive site with a massive limestone pinnacle which soars 30 meters from the seabed to just 4 meters beneath the surface. The site is well-known for its abundance of sea anemones that cling to every surface while attracting enormous schools of fish. Different types of fish to be seen include: tropicals, snappers, groupers and colorful clown fish, along with larger game-fish like tuna and barracuda as well as the occasional leopard shark.

Hin Dot These submerged pinnacles, often called Chimney Rock, are located just to the south of Phi Phi Don. The formation drops to a depth of 30 meters and has several coral shelves for exploration upon your gradual ascent. Nurse sharks can occasionally be found here.

Lohsamah Bay The bay is popular for night-time divers. It has a sandy bottom with oysters and clams and patches of brain coral for nocturnal reef critters to hide amongst.. There is a spectacular 15 meter deep canyon just wide enough for single file swimming on the eastern side.

Hin Pae This is a relatively shallow dive site - 10 to 15 meters deep. Its shallow depth offers excellent snorkeling. Its soft and hard coral provide shelter for a rich variety of coral fish. Crabs, lobsters, angelfish, groupers, snappers and surgeonfish are also residents of this area.

In general, Southern Thai food is renowned for its spiciness. Much of the cuisine has its origins in Malay, Indonesian and Indian food. Favourite dishes from the south include Indian-style Muslim curry (massaman), rice noodles in fish curry sauce (Khanom Jeen) and chicken birayani.

Food on Ko Phi Phi is extremely varied, given the diminutive size of the island, but is not as spectacular as it generally is in Thailand, because most ingredients have to be brought in by boat from the mainland. Nevertheless there are some restaurants that manage to serve surprisingly tasty food:

• Cosmic - Italian restaurant that deserves the name - has two outlets on the island and serves very good pizza. Aside from the pizza, the Thai food at this restaurant is good and reasonably priced.

• Hibachi - all you can eat Japanese-style buffet near Carlito's Bar. Excellent sushi selection for the price (200 baht). Two outlets very close together. The grilled selections and Thai food on their buffet is not very good.

• Little Britain - If you are looking for a good traditional English breakfast with eggs, Heinz Baked Beans, sausage, bacon, potatoes, mushrooms and black pudding this is the place to go. English tea also comes with your breakfast.

• Mr. Tee's - When you come off the ferry, veer slightly left and you find yourself on an alley covered by tarps, with small Thai restaurants. You'll notice a lot of locals eating in this alley. The first booth on your left is Mr. Tee's. They tend to be forgetful but the food is good, cheap, and spicy!

• Papaya - one of the first restaurants rebuilt after the tsunami. A small green 'shop' restaurant opposite the Reggae Bar and next door to Tiger Bar, run by the enthusiastic and friendly Mr Nod. Don't let the unprepossessing looks of the restaurant put you off - the food here is incredibly good and very good value. Serves authentic Thai food, hot and spicy as it should be, but the staff helpfully allow you to express the spiciness in percentile terms, with 100% being 'Thai spicy'. Among local expats living on the island, this place is known as the place to get good cheap Thai food. If you are looking for a personal sized portion with rice at a cheaper price ask for your food to be "On Rice".

• Sports Bar - For some great English-style meat pies Sports Bar is the place to go. It is also the only place on the island where you can buy a Pint of Chang and get Pitchers of beer.

• Tuk's BBQ - Located next to apache, its basically a street vendor, but it has the absolute best BBQ on the island, with most items costing 30 baht.

As for Ko Phi Phi, reasonable priced and tasty seafood is obviously what most tourists long for when visiting a coastal province like Krabi. In this connection, the wing shell (หอยชักตีน) is Krabi’s famous cuisine and is eaten with a spicy dip. In addition, stirred fried Spotted Babylon (หอยหวาน), which is found in mangrove forests, with chilies and basil is also famous. This cuisine is common in Krabi’s restaurants. Another great Krabi taste is, of course, seafood.

Drinks prices are quite high (cocktails 180 baht). Many bars offer similar entertainment, cabarets and striking fire shows - performed by the same people, advertised by posters and flyers apparently drawn by the same person...

• Apache Bar - a multi-story bar overlooking Ton Sai. And the home of the weekly transvestite shows. Was damaged in a fire in the early parts of 2007 but is now up and running again. Good place for dancing on Saturdays. Get a cheap "bucket" right next to the Apache Bar before entering.

• Beach Bar - located right in the tsunami wastelands and a good choice for those looking to have a quiet drink.

• Carlitos Bar - relaxed drinks on the beach served by amiable waitresses. During the winter months this place is full of Scandinavian party goers. Most of the service staff this time of year is over on extended holiday from Sweden so expect a lot of beautiful tanned blonds to be walking around.

• Hippies Bar - nice but rowdy place at the beach with a lot of fire shows and full/half/quarter moon parties on a weekly basis.

• Carpe Diem - Similar bar next to Hippies - best avoided as the staff have been known to steal from customers and beat them up when they raise a fuss. Local police don't seem to care.

• Reggae Bar - popular place that organizes mock Muay Thai fights most nights. If you are there at the right time you can even join in with the Muay Thai fights. They invite tourist, usually drunk, to get into the ring geared up and to beat on each other for a few rounds for a couple of FREE buckets.

• Rolling Stoned Bar - Great rock music with a live band during high season and at other times of the year. They also have four pool tables and is a one of the more popular bars on the island.

• Tia and Millie Sunflower Bar - on Lohdalum Bay, a nautically-themed beach bar with 'ark' and longtail-bar, pool table and laid-back beach seating. A great place to watch the often spectacular sunsets.

• Tiger Bar - The local expat's hangout. Located next to Papaya Restaurant and Rolling Stoned Bar this small multi level bar is a favorite with the local dive community. The bar typically gives out FREE buckets from 12:00 - 12:15.

• Woodys Bar is basically just a walk up liquor store, but they have a few tables out front. Its close to Apache. The staff are funny and the Beatles are always playing. Nice place to get a 180 baht bucket to walk around on the beach with.