Tech Dive Thailand

Koh Lipe is a very small island on the west coast of Thailand near the Malaysian border. It is famous for it’s SCUBA diving, snorkeling and amazing beaches. Koh Lipe is a quiet island, ideal for family holidays and chilling out.

There are 3 main beaches and you will find Davy Jones Locker on Pattaya Beach. This is near ‘walking street’ where you will find most of the island shops and restaurants. The names of the other 2 beaches are Sunset Beach and Sunrise Beach. As you can imagine you get stunning views of the sunsets and sunrises from these beaches and you can easily walk to each of them.

Koh Lipe is on the border of the Tarutao National Park and is directly south of the larger islands Koh Agang and Ko Rawi. The first settlers here were sea gypsies, originally from Malaysia, known as the ‘Chao Lei’ people.

Getting Around Koh Lipe

Koh Lipe is a very small island and you can easily walk around the island. DJL is near walking street so there is no need for motorised transport. However if you want to get from beach to beach quickly, there are taxi boats that can take you around. It is a nice way to see the island and if you have a lot of luggage it is highly recommended since it does get quite hot. A  taxi boat from where to boats come in will cost around 50-100 THB.

Eating & Drinking 

Because there are no big boats that come to the island food and drinkcosts a little more than on the mainland and the gulf islands. However it is still cheaper than many other places in the world. Restaurants offer a large selection of Thai or Malaysian dishes and there are also places which serve western food.

Below is a list of some average prices on the island:

• Water  (1.5L)  30THB
• Thai  Curry with rice 130 THB
• Small bottle of Beer  80THB
• Can of Soda  25THB
• Plate of fresh fruit  70 THB

Travelling to Koh Lipe

The nearest city is Hat Yai which has an airport. There are a few airlines that offer flights from Bangkok costing around 5500 THB. It is important to note that these airlines fly from another airport in Bangkok, Don Meung,  and not Suvarnabhumi which is the main international one.

In high season (November to May) there are several locations from which you can take a ferry or speedboat to Koh Lipe. For instance: Pak Bara, Langkawi, Phi Phi, Ko Lanta, and Trang.

In low season which is May to October the only way to get to Koh Lipe is by speedboat from Pak Bara at around 11:30hrs.

During high season from Langkawi, Malaysia there are two speedboats per day (from November until May): one at 9:45 am and one at 2:30 pm.

Booking can be made online at 12goAsia with instant ticket confirmation.