Koh Lipe is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park and is directly south of the larger islands Ko Adang and Ko Rawi and about 50km from the island of Tarutao. It was settled by a band of sea gypsies originally from Malaysia, known as the 'Chao Lei' people or also known as Urak Lawoi. This island has four main beaches: Sunset beach, Sunrise beach, Karma Beach and Pattaya beach. Accommodation from grass huts to air-conditioned bungalows can be found on these beaches. It is possible to walk around the entire island in little over an hour.

Source: Koh Lipe, Thailand

As the title mentioned, I spent my Labour Day weekend at Koh Lipe (Lipe Island) in Thailand. Never heard of it?

Koh Lipe is a small island in the Southern part of the Thai Andaman Sea and it is very near to our Langkawi island.

Koh Lipe is vastly known among the foreigners (read: Caucasians) and the locals. Malaysians hardly knew about this deserted island and I, for one, had to find out about Koh Lipe from a friend who googled about it.

I know many of you will ask ‘How do you get there?’ or ‘Is there a direct flight to Koh Lipe?’ and so on.

The quickest way from Malaysia is through Langkawi Island, the cheapest via Pak Barra. During the low season, Koh Lipe can only be reached from Pak Barra.

From November until May there are several ferries a day from Langkawi to Koh Lipe. Click here to find out for the ferries time table . However, most ferry companies use a different port on Langkawi Island. I took the boat from Telaga Harbour Park which is about 10-15 min drive from Langkawi International Airport.

The boat ride to Koh Lipe takes less than 1 hour. When you arrive on Koh Lipe you will have to go through the immigration first. The captain of the boat will give you the instructions of what to do and where to wait.

There is no pier on Koh Lipe. Local Chao Ley (Sea Gypsies) will come with their longtail boats to pick you up from the ferry.

They will take you to any beach on the island for 50 Baht (not included in your ferry ticket!). Please do not wear sneakers when you are at this point. You wouldn’t want your shoes to be drenched in salt water upon reaching the shores.

Once you reached the shore, do not stare at the beach first.  Remember to pick up your passports from the immigration counter.

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After we had checked in and showered, we went for a walk to the other side of the island to do a site inspection of Mountain Resort. We went down Walking Street first which had all the usual facilities such as convenience stores, restaurants, Internet cafe and travel agents. I guess you can compare this to Koh Phi Phi but it is a lot less crowded. Someone said it is like Koh Samui 30 years ago. I will post a fuller report when I get home at www.thaitravelblogs.com .

- Posted from my iPhone

Mountain Resort has a very nice & untypical Mussaman Curry

The island is undergoing quiet rapid changes, at least if it continues the way it did in the past 3 years, what’s now the Walking Street was just a dirt road not too long ago, with Poo’s bar as the main spot. I think now is the time to visit Ko Lipe before it turns into yet another of the “same same” islands with all the same shops, etc.

During December/January there are a lot more foreigners than Thai’s, but I’ve never been there in April.

Source: Bundhaya Resort on Koh Lipe « My Thailand (iPhone) Blog by Richard ...

Koh Lipe in Satun

There are many beautiful islands that can be explored in Tarutao National Marine Park in Satun Province. One of the most popular islands to stay on is this one called Koh Lipe. This is Pattaya Beach and they even had a Walking Street. The island has a variety of accommodation from a few hundred to close on 20,000 baht a night. It is a bit like Koh Samet in Rayong but a lot less crowded. Someone said it is like Koh Samui 30 years ago.

Source: Koh Lipe in Satun

The building will also serve as a seminary location where we will instruct locals in ways of avoiding parasite infestation.

We are highly confident that our intentions will be wholly successful since the locals as well as the Koh Lipe Castaway resort staff view our objectives with great gratitude and understand the necessity of our actions.

Text: Clarissa Udvardi