Thailand Guide
Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
Hat Yao (Long Beach)
With its deluxe sand and large reefs packed with polychromatic marine life just 20m offshore, HAT YAO (Long Beach) is considered the best of Phi Phi's main beaches, but it's lined with hotels so gets very busy. For food you've only got hotel restaurants, but there's also the beachside Buddha Bar, which has fireshows and keeps serving till about 2am. The tiny bays to either side, within ten minutes' walk of Hat Yao are much quieter.
Longtail boats do the ten-minute shuttle between Hat Yao and Ton Sai (B100 per person, or B150 after dark), but at low tide it's also possible to walk between the two in half an hour, via the coast in front of Bay View Resort on Laem Hin and then via Viking. The island's single road follows an inland route to The Beach from The Rock junction in the village, passing the post-tsunami housing project and Water Hill reservoir en route; it's a hot, hilly and unshaded forty-minute walk.