Koh Lipe Travel Guide – Visit Koh Lipe – Budget Travel In Thailand

Visit Koh Lipe, Thailand to experience sandy beaches and turquoise clear waters. It is the last Thai island stop before Malaysia.

Koh Lipe is where we said goodbye to Thailand for the second time after another truly wonderful experience. Our second visit to Thailand had lasted just one month but it felt much quicker. This is probably because we were hopping from one island to the next with no comprehension of such mundane concepts such as time or schedules.

However, we did know that we had to be in Koh Lipe for a certain date as we had already booked a boat to take us on to Malaysia (so we could show our exit plans to the customs people who never checked them anyway).

We had booked four nights in Koh Lipe, which we were beginning to regret once we discovered that it would be very expensive. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to spend our last few days in Thailand relaxing and not spending money by not visiting bars, right?

WHERE TO STAY IN KOH LIPE | FOOD AND DRINK IN KOH LIPE | THINGS TO DO IN KOH LIPE

How To Get To Koh Lipe

We took the speedboat from Koh Mook; a journey of approximately two hours. We booked our tickets with ‘Mr Yong’ (map) which is located right next to the pier in Koh Mook. He had the best price we saw on the island. His price included pick-up from our hotel to the pier and our boat ticket. The boat was on time and it was a relatively smooth ride.

National Park Admission Fee

We arrived at Koh Lipe Pattaya Beach where we were immediately asked to pay 200 Baht admission fee for the National Park. We had already paid this in Koh Mook when we were on our snorkeling trip. We had not been told about this before our snorkeling trip and when we paid the money, we were not told anything about the validity of the ticket. It turned out that we should have kept the tickets as they were valid for five days. Annoyingly, we had to pay again. Not a great start to our time on the island.

Refund! Hurrah!

As we were walking away from the beach looking for our accommodation, I suddenly discovered the tickets from the previous day! Damn! We decided to go back and explain what had happened but didn’t really expect much luck, especially when we couldn’t even find the stall! However, we did spot one guy who had been there when we reluctantly paid again and he took us to a desk where we explained we already had tickets. The guy checked both sets of tickets, gave a sudden look of understanding and then gave us our money back, without question.

Top Tip: keep your tickets on your person at all times as you can be asked to show it at any point and will be asked to pay again if you do not have it.

Where To Stay In Koh Lipe

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL ACCOMMODATION IN KOH LIPE!

These are some of the best budget hostels in Koh Lipe, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I found Agoda to be much better than booking.com in Southeast Asia. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Family Song Koh Lipe
• Sangchan Hostel
• Bayview Sunset
• Baan Kasirin Resort
• Forra Dive Resort Pattaya Beach
• Raya Resort
• Forra Dive Resort Sunrise
• Castaway Resort Koh Lipe

Family Song

Our budget dictated our choice of accommodation and we were, yet again, staying in bamboo bungalows, this time at a resort called ‘Family Song’ (map).

We were welcomed by the manager who gave us the rundown of the properties and expectations. Some people online have not appreciated his forwardness and he does reply with great sarcasm to bad reviews, but we had no problem with him and found him friendly enough. He explained that we could borrow the beach mats and snorkeling gear for free and was more than happy when I asked if I could swap some books (“take as many as you want”).

The bungalows were very similar in layout to the ones we had visited in most of the islands but these were better quality. The mosquito net was in much better condition, the beds were comfy and the bathroom was the best we’d had in some time. There are about a dozen bungalows and a lot of people spent a lot of time just relaxing on their balcony, either in the hammock or the comfortable, Thai-style floor mats.

Overall, we had a great stay here. We were a bit concerned at first as the surrounding area is a bit of a mess and we noticed a rubbish recycling place nearby. But there were no bad smells coming from the rubbish tip and, in the other direction, we were only a couple of minutes from the beach.

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We paid £62.36 for 4 nights.

Click here to stay at ‘Family Song’.

Food And Drink In Koh Lipe

Having had advance warning about how relatively expensive Koh Lipe is, we were expecting to go way over-budget here. The reality was not that bad. Yes, beer is generally more expensive but there are still places to find good prices. The same applies to the restuarants in Koh Lipe. We ate the best food we’d had on all the Thai islands here.

Art Bar By Baracuda

Perhaps the most quirky bar in Koh Lipe, Art Bar is covered in some great art and frequented by lots of cats. There was evidence of live solo music about to happen but we left before it took place. The food is good here and they play great music. Map.

Cafe Tropical

Cafe Tropical has a bit of a hipster vibe but it serves good coffee and we enjoyed a nice, healthy breakfast. It offers a nice, airy environment on the main walking street. It’s a little bit pricey but it was a nice treat. Map.

EDIT: Cafe Tropical has now moved to the Elephant Bar (see below).

Corner Bar

Situated on the walking street, this is a simple bar with decent happy hour prices and good music (not reggae, for a change)! Beer is 80 Baht for a small bottle. They seem to stay open later than most other bars. There is no WiFi. Map.

Elephant Koh Lipe

Elephant Koh Lipe is a popular bar with local musicians taking requests from the customers. It is a nice, friendly place but a small Chang will cost you 100 Baht. Map.

Panburi Somtam

Slightly away from the main tourist drag is this local Thai restaurant offering the usual dishes. Whilst the menu is not too adventurous, the food is fantastic. We enjoyed a great tofu panang and chicken massaman and it was one of the best meals we had on the island. Map.

Rasta Bar

Not to be confused with ‘Reggae Bar’, this place is away from the main tourist trail, though only a ten minute walk. Offering a ‘happy’ menu, we instead enjoyed a couple of cold beers whilst listening to some interesting Thai folk music which the barman quickly turned off and played some terribly predictable reggae instead. Map.

Red And Yellow Food

Not sure of the name of this place, but there are at least two on the walking street, offering supposedly cheap food. Although I was a little confused by my ham, cheese and bacon burger that seemed to arrive without a burger! Joanna’s seemed much better value. 100 baht for a burger doesn’t seem the cheapest to me. Especially when it comes without a burger!

Reggae Bar Koh Lipe

Reggae Bar Koh Lipe is a cool, beach bar offering great views over the sea. The music is what you’d expect and there are also fire performers in the evening. Small beers are 90 baht, which is actually not expensive in Koh Lipe, given its great location. Map.

Rock Stones Bar

Despite the name, this is more of a reggae bar setup (complete with happy menu) though they were playing trance when I visited. It has a laidback atmosphere and  extremely comfortable seating areas. Large beers cost 120 Baht which was the cheapest on the island. Map.

Wan Wan Mookata (Thai Steamboat)

A five minute walk from the main tourist trail is this no-frills Thai restaurant. It is in an area that is mainly frequented by locals, but the prices are no lower than in the tourist area. However, the food is excellent. This was the best food we had in our month in the Thailand islands. You must go here! Map.

Things To Do In Koh Lipe

Koh Lipe is a popular destination for snorkelers and divers and there are many trips available from any of the travel agents on the island. There are also a number of beaches (some easier to find than others).

Klook.com

Pattaya Beach

This is the beach you will be dropped off at and taken away from. It is a white, sandy beach with many bars and restaurants. The walking street begins here. The swimming was not great as Joanna spotted sea urchins so be careful! Map.

Sanom Beach

A small beach to the west of Pattaya Beach. You need to walk over a rickety bridge to get there. It may look private but it is not. This beach is much smaller than Pattaya and has some great places to relax in the shade. The water here was so clear and warm and no signs of any sea urchins. Our favourite of all the beaches in Koh Lipe. Map.

Sunrise Beach

Situated, as you’d expect, on the east side of the island, Sunrise Beach has many resorts but is open to everyone. There are a large number of taxi boats on this side of the island meaning the swimming area seemed quite small. Map.

Sunset Beach

As the name suggests, this is the place to watch the sunset, being on the west side of the island. It’s not the most maintained beach on the island. We stayed for only 45 minutes before heading to our favourite beach in the south. Map.

Walking Street Koh Lipe

Starting at Pattaya Beach and taking you right through to the heart of Koh Lipe, you will certainly not miss the walking street. Many bars, restaurants and souvenir shops as well as two 7-elevens (obviously), the walking street livens up after dark, when the lights and music create a vibrant atmosphere. Look out for the fat, lazy 7-eleven dogs! Map.

Is Koh Lipe Worth Visiting?

We arrived on the island of Koh Lipe knowing that it would be more expensive than anywhere in Thailand we had visited. On arrival, we were asked to pay a 200 baht fee. We then went up the wrong road to find our bungalow, only to then find it amongst what could only be described as a building site. Nearby was a rubbish recycling centre and more building work. We had the feeling this was going to be like Karon beach in Phuket; a holiday resort with no real charm. Visiting the 7-11 and finding items being sold at 150% of the printed price did not change our mood. Let’s say we got off to a poor start.

However, over the next few days, we really warmed to the island. There are some great restaurants and bars in Koh Lipe and the people are friendly. We also found one of our favourite beaches.

You can visit Koh Lipe and not spend silly amounts. As with anywhere, look around for the best prices. Rock Stones bar had the best bar prices and you can find cheaper food away from the main tourist areas.

Koh Lipe is the last stop before Malaysia and, after a shaky start, we really enjoyed our time here.