Phi Phi Islands
Six islands in Krabi province inside Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, led by Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh.
Two main islands in a Krabi national park, not Phuket
The Phi Phi Islands are a group of six islands in the Andaman Sea, administered as part of Krabi province. They are not in Phuket or Phang Nga, although both are listed by TAT as nearby; TAT also places the islands inside Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, with two large islands, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh, and four smaller ones. Phi Phi Don is the largest and most populated island. Its main village, Ton Sai, sits on a low sandy isthmus between two limestone ridges, with Ton Sai Bay on one side and Loh Dalum Bay on the other. Phi Phi Leh, the second-largest island, is uninhabited. A ring of steep limestone hills encloses two shallow bays there, Maya Bay and Loh Samah, and a large inlet called Pi Ley opens on its coast. The remaining islands are mostly limestone rocks. The landscape is limestone cliffs and caves, white-sand beaches and coral reefs. TAT notes that Phi Phi Leh and Maya Bay were the filming location of The Beach, released in 2000, and the film is the reason many travellers know the name. The islands also carry a more sombre history: the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated much of Phi Phi Don's inhabited area. Because there is no weather station on the islands themselves, the figures below come from nearby Andaman-coast stations.
Explore Phi Phi Islands on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What Phi Phi Islands is for
The two main islands offer different things: Phi Phi Don is the island with a village and bays, Phi Phi Leh is the island of cliffs and enclosed bays.
Phi Phi Don
- Ton Sai village lies on a low sandy isthmus between two limestone ridges, with Ton Sai Bay on one side and Loh Dalum Bay on the other.
- TAT names Ao Ton Sai and Ao Lo Dalam as bays on the island.
- Long white-sand beaches and coral reefs are part of the island group's landscape.
Phi Phi Leh
- Maya Bay and Loh Samah are two shallow bays enclosed by a ring of steep limestone hills; Maya Bay has its own page on this site.
- Pi Ley is a large, shallow, fjord-like inlet with a small coral reef at its mouth.
- Viking Cave is on Phi Phi Leh and is the site of an edible bird's-nest harvesting industry.
The film and its place in the islands' story
- Phi Phi Leh and Maya Bay were used for the film The Beach (2000), which TAT mentions on its Phi Phi page.
- The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated much of Phi Phi Don's inhabited area.
Two days, one island each
Phi Phi Don and Ton Sai
Spend the day on Phi Phi Don around Ton Sai village, where the isthmus puts Ton Sai Bay and Loh Dalum Bay within a short walk of one another.
Phi Phi Leh
Phi Phi Leh is the island of the enclosed bays: Maya Bay and Loh Samah, and the Pi Ley inlet. Read the Maya Bay page for what is known about the bay itself.
Arriving & getting around
This section covers where things are; it does not cover boat services.
How the group fits together
- Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh are the two main islands; Ko Mai Phai, Ko Yung, Bida Nok and Bida Nai are smaller and mostly limestone rock.
- The islands are about 42 km from Mueang Krabi. The two figures use different starting points.
- TAT lists Phuket, Phang Nga, Trang, Phatthalung, Ko Lanta and Krabi as nearby destinations.
Rain, heat and timing
There is no TMD station on the Phi Phi Islands. The figures below are 1991-2020 averages from the nearest Andaman-coast stations in the table: Phuket, Phuket Airport, Trang Airport and Ranong. They are an approximation for the wider coast, not a measurement of the islands.
TMD Phuket (48564): February 24.0 is the lowest month; September 350.4 and October 336.0 are the highest. Annual 2,271.5. TMD Trang Airport (48567): February 25.6 is the lowest; August 286.0 and September 287.0 are among the highest. Annual 2,254.0. TMD Phuket Airport (48565): February 32.0 lowest; September 399.2 highest. Annual 2,664.3. TMD Ranong (48532) is wetter: July 706.3, August 771.5 and September 678.8, with an annual total of 4,183.1.
TMD Phuket records 3.4 rainy days in February and 22.7 in October. TMD Trang Airport records 3.4 in February and 21.9 in October.
TMD Phuket: 34.4 in March (highest) and 31.8 in September and October (lowest). TMD Trang Airport: 35.4 in April and 31.3 in December.
TAT's Phi Phi page names November to April. The station tables show February as the lowest-rainfall month at all four nearby stations.
Insider tips
Points that come from the geography and sources.
Practical
- The Phi Phi Islands are in Krabi province. They are often grouped with Phuket in conversation, but TAT's Phang Nga page does not list them and the administrative parent is Krabi.
- Phi Phi Don is the island with a village; Phi Phi Leh is uninhabited.
- Maya Bay is one of two bays enclosed by cliffs on Phi Phi Leh, the other being Loh Samah.
- There is no weather station on the islands; any weather figure for Phi Phi is borrowed from Phuket, Trang or Ranong, and Ranong is far wetter than the others.
Easy day trips
Places close to the Phi Phi Islands
Related to Phi Phi Islands
Journeys that include Phi Phi Islands — each one visits the city as part of its itinerary.
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