Things to do in Koh Lipe
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Koh Lipe
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Season opens around mid-October: boats restart, Langkawi ferries resume, Adang waterfalls still flow, prices below peak.
Peak season: driest weather, calmest seas and clearest snorkelling, with highest prices and rooms selling out.
Hot but still good: calm seas, thinner crowds, serious heat and sun, Songkran in mid-April.
Monsoon, roughly mid-May to mid-October: Langkawi ferries stop, many businesses close, seas rough and boats unreliable.
What's on
- Loy Rua (Pla Juk) Chao Leh boat-floating festival Full moon, late October or early November
Three-day Chao Leh festival setting a decorated offering boat adrift. Also held around the late May or early June full moon, in closed season.
- Songkran 13 to 15 April
Thai New Year water festival on Walking Street, fun and busy with transport pressure.
Best things to do in Koh Lipe
Sunrise Beach
The best all-round beach on Lipe, calm early, good swimming, and reef close offshore facing Koh Adang.
Pattaya Beach
The arrival beach and evening beach, a wide soft crescent that is loveliest once the day boats leave.
Sunset Beach
The small, quiet west coast cove where the island gathers for sunset, with snorkelling off the rocks.
North Point Beach
The pale turquoise sand spit at the north tip of Sunrise Beach, the best lazy swimming day on Lipe.
Koh Lipe Walking Street
The island spine from Pattaya Beach to Sunrise Beach, lined with restaurants, bars, dive shops and stalls.
Chao Ley Village
The living Urak Lawoi village near Sunrise Beach, home of the island's original Chao Leh inhabitants.
Koh Usen
A tiny islet off Sunrise Beach reached by kayak, with coral and reef fish in calm morning water.
Koh Hin Ngam
An island with no sand, only smooth black stones polished by the sea, visited on snorkelling tours.
Where to stay in Koh Lipe
Sunrise Beach
swimming, snorkelling and calm
The best beach to sleep on, with most mid-range and splurge stays and the reef off the sand.
Pattaya Beach and Walking Street
arrival ease, food and nightlife
Step off the boat into the island centre, with the widest dinner choice and the budget bases.
Sunset Beach
quiet and the evening view
The least developed beach, best for sunset, with fewer facilities and a walk to dinner.
Think twice about
- Pattaya Beach pier and Walking Street entrance strip
Boats, bars and foot traffic run late here. It is not unsafe, but the same money buys quiet a few hundred metres away.
Best restaurants in Koh Lipe
On The Rocks Restaurant at Serendipity
Seafood and cocktails on the rocks below Serendipity, the island's best sunset special dinner.
Elephant Cafe & Bar
The Walking Street all-rounder, Thai and western food, vegetarian choice, cocktails and live music.
Capriccio
A small, careful Italian kitchen near Walking Street, the pasta and pizza pick for a calm dinner.
La Luna Italian Restaurant & Accommodation
The island's other proven Italian table, relaxed and group-friendly, with rooms on site.
THE BOX - Restaurant
Spanish-leaning small plates in a calm, designed room near Walking Street, strong for vegetarians.
King Crab Restaurant
A busy Walking Street seafood grill, whole fish and crab cooked Thai style and priced before cooking.
Cafe Lipe
A small, bookish daytime beach cafe near Pattaya Beach, known for massaman curry and slow lunches.
Papaya Mom Restaurant Koh Lipe
The cheap Thai favourite on Walking Street, fiery papaya salad, tom yum and fast, honest cooking.
Best bars in Koh Lipe
Zodiac See Sun Beach Bar Koh Lipe
The best beach bar on Lipe, on North Point sand with cocktails, house music and a nightly fire show.
Maya Bar
The liveliest late bar on Lipe, strong cocktails and electronic music on scheduled party nights.
OMG! Sports Bar & Restaurant
The island sports bar on Walking Street, live matches, pool, games and cheaper beers than beach bars.
Outdoor things to do in Koh Lipe
Koh Lipe Snorkelling Tour Program A and B
The classic shared longtail routes to Jabang, Hin Ngam, Yang and Rawi, the essential boat day from Lipe.
Adang Sea Divers
SSI diving by speedboat from Sunrise Beach, small groups and flexible one to four dive days.
Koh Lipe Castaway Divers
Small PADI centre diving from longtail boats at Castaway Resort, four divers per guide at most.
Forra Diving
Long-established dive operation for courses, fun dives and seasonal liveaboards to far southern sites.
Koh Adang
The wild, mountainous neighbour island, 15 minutes by taxi boat, with empty beaches and great snorkelling.
Chado Cliff Viewpoint
Three rocky viewpoints above Adang, the top one giving the postcard view down over tiny Koh Lipe.
Pirate Waterfall
A jungle walk to a waterfall and pools on Adang, flowing best early in the season after the rains.
Jabang Dive Site
A current-fed pinnacle covered in multi-coloured soft coral, the most distinctive snorkel stop near Lipe.
Best hotels in Koh Lipe
Irene Pool Villa Resort, Koh Lipe
Private pool villas on Sunrise Beach, the closest Lipe comes to luxury and its clear top end stay.
Serendipity Beach Resort Koh Lipe
Hillside villas with the best elevated sea views on Lipe, above a small cove at south Sunrise Beach.
Ten Moons Lipe Resort
A small, calm boutique resort on a sheltered swimming beach, and the best value splurge on the island.
Idyllic Concept Resort
The most resort-like stay on Lipe, with pool, spa and beachfront restaurant on south Sunrise Beach.
Castaway Resort Koh Lipe
Beloved two-storey wooden bungalows on Sunrise Beach, with bar, yoga and the Castaway dive centre.
Wapi Resort Koh Lipe
A friendly, reliable beach resort on Sunrise Beach at honest mid-range prices, good for longer stays.
Ananya Lipe Resort
A modern larger resort with a big pool near Pattaya Beach, built for families and easy arrivals.
Bloom Cafe & Hostel
The social budget base on Walking Street, dorms and simple rooms above a cafe in the island centre.
Is Koh Lipe expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | THB 1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | THB 4,500 a person |
| Splurge | THB 11,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Koh Lipe Snorkelling Tour Program A and B: a few days ahead
- Adang Sea Divers: a few days ahead
- Koh Lipe Castaway Divers: a few days ahead
- Forra Diving: a few days ahead
- Irene Pool Villa Resort, Koh Lipe: months ahead
- Serendipity Beach Resort Koh Lipe: weeks ahead
- Ten Moons Lipe Resort: months ahead
- Idyllic Concept Resort: weeks ahead
- Book rooms, ferries and dive courses weeks to months ahead for December to February.
- Book On The Rocks and the Italian dinners a day or more ahead in peak season.
- Keep one spare day for a weather reshuffle on any boat plan.
Is Koh Lipe safe?
- Jellyfish risk, including box jellyfish, rises in monsoon months and after heavy rain: swim in daylight in calm conditions.
- Currents at Jabang, around Koh Usen and off Sunset Beach point catch confident swimmers: wear a life vest to snorkel.
- There is no hospital on the island: serious cases go by speedboat to the mainland, weather permitting, so insure for evacuation and diving.
Koh Lipe travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Agree the total price before any seafood sold by weight is cooked.
- Do not build a fixed itinerary on monsoon boats between mid-May and mid-October.
- Keep your national park ticket for the whole stay or you may pay the fee again.
Getting around Koh Lipe: public transport and more
- Walk everywhere: the island takes about 45 minutes end to end and has no cars for visitors.
- Motorcycle sidecar taxis run at a flat fare, commonly 100 THB per ride, and taxi longtails move you between beaches.
- Hat Yai to Pak Bara Pier is 1.5 to 2 hours by van, then about 1.5 hours by speedboat to Pattaya Beach.
- Langkawi ferries run in season only, about 90 minutes, and are an international crossing with island immigration on arrival.
Who Koh Lipe suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Koh Lipe your trip
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