Koh Lipe: The Thai Island You’ve Never Heard of

For our first island in Thailand, we decided to go to Koh Lipe. This gorgeous place is Thailand’s most southern island located in the Andaman Sea. It offers clear turquoise waters, incredible snorkeling and diving, and a less touristy experience than other popular Thai islands. In fact, some go so far as to call it “the Maldives” of southeast Asia. So, why isn’t this island more well-known? For one, it’s hard to get to.

Matt and I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Hatyai, the closest airport in Thailand, to get to Koh Lipe. From there, we had to drive about two hours to a port town on the water known as Pak Bara. Most people usually stay there overnight due to limited boat departure times. Then, we caught a two hour choppy boat ride to the island itself (the weather was rough this day; a few people threw up along the way.) All in all, it takes about 24 hours to reach your destination. If you’re coming all the way from the U.S., you’d travel for two days before actually stepping foot on its white sand. It’s for this reason that Matt and I decided to go there. After all, if we skipped the island now, when would we ever have enough free time again to visit?

Granted, I have not yet been to the Maldives, but once we arrived, I understood how the island earned its nickname. I’d never seen such vibrant water and white sand. We gave ourselves five whole days to relax, swim, and recalibrate from traveling. We came during the off season (July,) which had its pros and cons. A major plus was how much space we had on the beach and at our hotel. We stayed at the Bundhaya Resort and scored a room with a view thanks to the lack of bookings. I would swim in the ocean with nobody else in sight. However, it was very quiet and the nightlife was subdued. There were also storms almost every night. They never hit the island directly; we mostly experienced random rainfall. At dinner, we enjoyed watching lightning strike through the pitch black sky as the storms passed by (but never over) the island.

One day, we rented a clear kayak and paddled a short distance to a tiny island — or, more accurately, patch of sand — off the beach. As soon as our feet stepped into the water, rainbow parrotfish and striptailed damselfish began to nibble at our toes. We then threw on our snorkel gear and marveled at the colorful fish we were able to observe thanks to the water clarity. This ended up being one of my favorite memories of our whole trip.

Koh Lipe is probably most known for snorkeling and scuba diving (Matt renewed his scuba license here) but the small island offers other fun activities. They have a famous sand strip known as Sunset Beach where, you guessed it, you can watch vibrant sunsets as they set below the water. Pattaya Beach was another one of our favorites for its privacy and warm, calm waves.

There is a main downtown area known as Walking Street filled with restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops. I finally tried authentic mango sticky rice for the first time and it was as heavenly as it sounds. This would be the first of dozens over the course of the next three weeks (oops.) We also drank smoothies every day and fruity cocktails every night. We justified all this with airtight logic that sugar doesn’t count when on vacation.

Altogether, we spent our time mostly swimming in the water and sipping on mango juices. Koh Lipe felt special because I knew I’d likely never come back here. Usually when I travel, I visit places that are common for someone to visit many times, like Italy. This backpacking trip instead focused on areas and places I may never see again in my lifetime, which allowed me to be more in the moment and cherish each day.

Then again, if I do ever find myself in a position to make it back to Koh Lipe, I absolutely would. This time around though, we ended our stay with another choppy (and intense!) boat ride back to mainland Thailand. From there, it was time for another city: Chiang Mai.

Rianna and Matt’s must-dos in Koh Lipe:

• Walking Street
• Sunset Beach
• Pattaya Beach
• Bulow Beach
• Adang Island (You can reach it by kayak.)
• Sunset boat ride (We didn’t do this one but it looked epic.)
• Snorkeling and scuba diving