Thailand Guide
Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
Snorkelling off Ko Phi Phi
There's some great snorkelling around Phi Phi's shallow fringing reefs, most rewardingly at strikingly beautiful, uninhabited Ko Mai Pai (Bamboo Island), off Phi Phi Don's northeast coast, where much of the reef lies close to the surface, and at nearby Ko Yung (Mosquito Island), with its spectacular, steep-sided drop. Phi Phi Don has its own worthwhile reefs too, including at west-coast Ao Yongkasem, within kayaking distance of Ao Loh Dalum, but the tranquil waters of Ao Maya (Maya Bay, The Beach beach) on Phi Phi Leh, are more famous, and a lot more crowded.
Outings to these and other reefs are easily arranged as part of an organized tour (B450–800 including equipment) or by hiring your own longtail boatman at the pier (B1500/3000 per boat per half/ full-day), the latter far preferable to the largest tour boats, whose groups of forty-plus trippers inundate the reefs. Overnight camping trips to Bamboo Island or Maya Bay are a neat way of avoiding the big crowds, offering late-afternoon snorkelling and kayaking rounded off with a barbecue on the beach; they usually depart Phi Phi about 4pm and return the next day at 10am, charging B1900.