Trip Summary
- Trip length and when did I go? 4 days in August 2014
- How much did it cost me? MYR 500
Trip Breakdown
- Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur ‣ Pak Bara ‣ Koh Lipe
Shared car from Kuala Lumpur to Pak Bara ‣
Speedboat from Pak Bara to Koh Lipe ‣
Sunset at Sunrise Beach ‣
Overnight in Harmony Bed & Bakery
- Day 2 - Koh Lipe
Snorkeling tour around Koh Lipe ‣
- Day 3 - Koh Lipe
Leisure time at Pattaya Beach ‣
- Day 4 - Koh Lipe ‣ Pak Bara ‣ Kuala Lumpur
Itinerary Map (click to see POIs and routes)
Travel Montage
Getting to Pak Bara
- 5.00 am - Drive from Taiping to Bukit Kayu Hitam
- 7.30 am - Stop by in Changlun to do my car insurance - RM 18 or 160 baht
- Advisable to get your car insurance done here as I saw almost no shops who can provide this service after this point
- 8.45 am - Arrival at Wang Kelian immigration checkpoint
- Immigration clearance. Tipping is almost common practice here, so remember to slip a RM 1 note inside your passport before handing it over (you will be hinted at repeatedly if you don't)
- Cross into a different timezone (-1 hour)
- 8.30 am - Depart Wang Prachan border checkpoint to Pak Bara pier. Passed by two towns (Ban Chalung and La-Ngu) along the way
Pak Bara to Koh Lipe by speedboat
- 10.15 am - Arrival at Pak Bara pier
- Bought return ticket for speedboat to Koh Lipe - 1,000 baht (inclusive of 1 night free parking)
- Car parked at designated parking area - 100 baht/day. Parked for 3 nights (total - 200 baht)
- Lunch at a nearby stall - Mixed rice & cha yen (60 baht)
- 11.00 am - Walk to Pak Bara pier. Paid entrance fee - 20 baht
- Departure was postponed due to bad weather
- 11.30 am - Ride speedboat to Koh Lipe
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| Pak Bara. Upon arriving here, there will be runners who will try to help you buy speedboat tickets. You can try and bargain the price with them and some will even try and sweeten the pot a little by offering you free parking. Works with me, make sure you keep the receipt, just in case |
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| Pak Bara pier. Keep in mind you have to pay 20 baht to enter the pier. Yes, only the pier |
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| Waiting for the deckhands to prep our speedboat to Koh Lipe |
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| It started to rain heavily, so the departure was postponed until the rain subsided |
Arrival at Koh Lipe
- 1.00 pm - Arrival at Koh Lipe. The island has no pier, rather a floating platform in the middle of the sea (off the Sunrise beach) where I was dropped off at
- Paid for transfer to shore on a longtail boat (50 baht) and marine conservation fees (20 baht)
- 2.00 pm - Walk and check-in to Harmony Bed & Bakery - 600 baht per night. Staying for 3 nights (total cost - 1,800 baht)
- Quick shower and rest
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| Arriving in Koh Lipe's 'floating jetty'. Hold on, we aren't in Koh Lipe yet |
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| Taking the longtail boat to shore |
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| Harmony Bed & Bakery, the place I stayed in Koh Lipe. Everything is super pricey in Koh Lipe, especially in high season, and that includes accommodation |
Sunrise Beach
- 4.00 pm - Walk around Sunrise Beach. Scenic points along this beach include two islets (Koh Kra and Koh Usen) and a bigger island in the backdrop (Koh Adang)
- 6.00 pm - Sunset viewing at the northern tip of Sunrise Beach. Saw a magnificent sunset, which became the highlight of my trip
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| Sunrise Beach, Koh Lipe. That tiny islet just off the shore is Koh Kra |
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| Walking along Sunrise Beach. Koh Adang can clearly be seen in the distance |
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| Further up north of Sunrise Beach |
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| Watching the sunset from the northern tip of Sunrise Beach |
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| This sunset became the highlight of my trip, and was my best travel moment of 2014 |
Koh Lipe Walking Street
- 7.30 pm - Walk around Koh Lipe Walking Street. Despite it being low season, there are still a fair amount of establishments opened during this time
- Paid for a snorkeling day trip the next day - 600 baht (Had to privately charter a tour as group tours were hard to come by during low season. Shared cost with two other travelers)
- Dinner at a seaside restaurant (Bungroon Halal Food) at Pattaya Beach - Seafood fried rice (80 baht) and mango smoothie (50 baht)
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| Koh Lipe Walking Street |
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| Another part of Koh Lipe Walking Street. This was where I bought my snorkeling day trip package from |
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| Koh Lipe has some really fancy restaurants, the majority of them serve seafood and are really overpriced. Too bad quite a number of them are closed during low season |
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| Just a pub this side of Koh Lipe Walking Street |
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| Bungroon Halal Food at Pattaya Beach. The food wasn't too bad, at least there was a live band to keep the night interesting |
Getting ready for snorkeling trip
- 7.00 am - Wake up
- Short stroll along Sunrise Beach, hoping to see a beautiful sunrise, unfortunately it was a rather overcast day
- Breakfast at a stall nearby my hotel - Porridge (45 baht)
- 8.30 am - Walk to rendezvous point in Koh Lipe Walking Street to wait for pickup
- 9.00 am - Ride longtail boat to our first stop, Koh Hin Ngam
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| Had breakfast at this shop in front of the hotel I stayed |
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| Delicious Thai congee. So delicious I had the same thing for breakfast over the next few days |
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| Had some delicious Thai cakes bought from the the shop next door, reasonably priced |
Koh Hin Ngam
- 10.00 am - Arrival at Koh Hin Ngam
- This island is unique, in a sense that its shores are filled with smooth, polished black stones. It is said that if you stack the stones high enough and make a wish, good fortune will come to you.
- It's believed that a curse will befall anyone who steals the stones from the island. Truth or plain superstition? I decided to try my luck and took a few stones as souvenirs. Weeks later, I got into an accident. Coincidence? :)
- 11.00 am - Ride longtail boat to Koh Adang
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| On the way to Koh Hin Ngam on longtail boat |
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Spotted this peculiar islet on the way to Koh Hin Ngam
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| Do what everyone does in Koh Hin Ngam. Stack your own cairn. If you manage to stack it high enough and make a wish, good fortune will come to you |
Koh Adang
- 11.30 am - Arrival at first snorkeling site off Koh Adang
- 12.00 pm - Stopover at Koh Adang for lunch and a bit of leisure. There weren't many tourists around (likely due to low season), so we had the whole place to ourselves. Lazed around under the shade of lush fir trees dotting the island and swam for a bit. Our longtail boat driver was gracious enough to give us two hours here
- 2.00 pm - Ride longtail boat back to Koh Lipe
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| Back to Koh Lipe |
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| Stopover at Koh Adang for some leisure time |
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| Beautiful stretch of beach in Koh Adang. From here, Koh Lipe can be seen in the far distance |
Koh Kra & Back to Koh Lipe
- 2.30 pm - Stopover at Koh Kra, our second snorkeling site just off Sunrise Beach
- Plenty of pristine corals and abundant marine life here, I really liked this site more than the first snorkeling site (off Koh Adang)
- 3.30 pm - Conclude trip by riding longtail boat back to Sunrise Beach
- 4.00 pm - Head back to hotel for quick shower and relaxation
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| The shallows off Koh Lipe are so crystal clear that you'd think this was a swimming pool |
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| The snorkeling site off Koh Kra |
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| Took a picture of the corals while snorkeling |
Sunset Beach
- 5.00 pm - Walk to Sunset Beach, a small beach located on the northwestern side of the Koh Lipe
- 6.00 pm - Arrival at Sunset Beach. The sunset views was a bit of a letdown this time around, especially after factoring in how long it took to get here from Walking Street. Felt that there are better, more accessible places in Koh Lipe to view sunsets (Sunrise Beach for example)
- 7.00 pm - Walk back to Koh Lipe Walking Street
- Dinner - Barbequed chicken (50 baht)
- Walk to Pattaya beach to do some stargazing but there weren't that many stars in the sky
- 11.00 pm - Watched an interesting fire show before heading back to the hotel to rest for the next day
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| Disappointing sunset at Sunset Beach |
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| Watching a fireshow at Pattaya Beach |
Pattaya Beach
- 9.00 am - Wake up a bit late as the aim of the day is just to relax and unwind
- Breakfast at the same nearby stall - Porridge (45 baht) & some thai cakes (50 baht)
- 10.00 am - Walk to Pattaya beach. Spent most of my day here swimming and lazing around
- Kayaking would've been nice, but renting a kayak is rather pricey in my opinion (roughly 600 baht for a day's rent)
- 3.00 pm - Stop by the tour agent's office to reserve my seating for the 9 am speedboat back to Pak Bara the next day (there are two time slots for departure - 9 am and 11 am). Remember to reserve your timeslot at least a day or two in advance to avoid seating problems later on
- 4.00 pm - Head back to hotel for quick shower and a nap
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| Pattaya Beach, Koh Lipe |
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| Another part of Pattaya Beach |
Last evening at Koh Lipe Walking Street
- 7.00 pm - Last minute shopping at Koh Lipe Walking Street for souvenirs
- Dinner - Tom yum goong (250 baht) and somtam (80 baht) with rice. Pricey!
- Went for Thai massage - 300 baht (for 1 hour). Somewhat regretted telling the lady to go hard on me :(
- 10.00 pm - Walked around for the last time before heading back to the hotel
Koh Lipe to Pak Bara
- 7.00 am - Wake up and breakfast at a nearby stall - Porridge (45 baht)
- 8.00 am - Pack up and hotel check-out. Pickup at hotel to Sunrise Beach (arranged by hotel)
- Transfer to floating pier on longtail boat - 50 baht
- 9.00 am - Ride speedboat back to Pak Bara
- 10.30 am - Arrival back in Pak Bara pier
- 11.00 am - Drive back to Taiping, Malaysia
How much?
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What for?
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THB
1,800
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Accommodation
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THB 1,800
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Accommodation
in Koh Lipe (3 nights)
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THB
1,740
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Ground Cost
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THB 1,000
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Ferry
from Pak Bara to Koh Lipe (return)
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THB 40
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Entrance
fees – Pak Bara pier & Koh Lipe
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THB 100
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Transfer
from floating pier to Koh Lipe (two way)
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THB 600
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Island
hopping & snorkeling tour package
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THB
1,370
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Misc
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THB 710
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Food
& drinks
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THB 660
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Miscellaneous
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THB
4910
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Total
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How much did it cost me?
- In local currency: THB 4,910
- Conversion rate (at the time): MYR 1 = THB 10
- After conversion: MYR 490 (for 4 days)
Good day.
ReplyDeleteIf I could ask what the dates of your travel to koh lipe? Looking to solo trip on early November, but pricing for accommodation alone is quite hefty.
Wondering if you have any idea there's backpackers style <RM100 per night accommodation.
Thanks and your blog is really informative as well as easy to understand.
Hi miaomiao,
DeleteI went during low season, around August last year, when accommodation prices are at their absolute lows.
Didn't find any dorms while I was there but the island's undergoing rapid development. I'd imagine things would've have changed over the years.
You can refer to this, I found this site to be pretty accurate in terms of the pricing: http://www.travelfish.org/accommodation/thailand/southern_thailand/satun/ko_lipe/all
The only downside to this is that you may have to walk in, which is something I wouldn't advise doing during high season. Hope this helps :)
I will be going to Koh Lipe in April. Yeah yeah! Sounds exciting. Did u do any snorkelling there? I will be going from langkawi to koh lipe. what's the best beach to visit or island to visit?
ReplyDeleteHi Michael,
DeleteYes, I did some snorkeling during my visit there and it was fantastic.
1) Koh Lipe has only three beaches - Sunrise, Sunset and Pattaya beach. If I were to pick one, Sunrise Beach is definitely gets my vote. Snorkeling, swimming, playing by the beach, sunsets, this beach has it all.
2) Best island? Koh Adang. You can climb to the top of the hill on the island to get a nice view of Koh Lipe.
Hope this answers your questions.
When I reach pakbara jetty they ask for 250baht per person to enter the marine reservation area and 50 baht long tail buat to Koh lipe, then when I reach kohlipe they ask for 50 baht taxi again to my hotel.I stayed in bayview sunrise beach resort it was so far from everything and the taxi cost 50 baht per person everytime.. so it's not quite a happy memory for me in Koh lipe
ReplyDelete:O sorry to hear about that olivia
DeleteHi Gaeria,
ReplyDeleteI plan to drive from Wang Kelian to Pak Bara? How is the road.. izzit only 1 lane road, izzit mountain road like cameron highland? Hope you can help me on this, thanks in advance
Hi,
DeleteNo worries, the road from wang kelian to pak bara is straight and wide and in good condition
I will be at Lipe tomorrow, cant wait to explore the place.. yearrggghhh!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Qaqa,
DeleteEnjoy your trip!
I just came back from Koh Lipe and everything was too expensive. Planning to go during the low season but was told that it's not quite possible to go out to the sea. Is this true? You seemed to have managed to go snorkelling successfully in Aug. Was the sea rough? In fact, in the last few days, the sea was not very gentle and we had a ddificult time snorkelling in the middle of the sea ... and this was during the peak season! But snorkelling along the shores was fine.
ReplyDeleteHi June,
DeleteWhen I went, the weather was quite beautiful. During low season, it's a bit difficult to get groups for island hopping though
Hi there, do you know when is the perfect time to visit kot lipe? I'm planning to go there mid Nov (17th or 18th perhaps) but I'm not sure about the weather. Would it be monsoon during the time?
ReplyDeleteNovember is an okay time to go, it's thr start of pwak season and weather should be fine. Though it is kinda unpredictable nowadays
Deletegreat blog post. enough info for me to start planning for my trip
ReplyDeleteHow safe is the Carpark? I'm planning a trip with my Ford Ranger..😁
ReplyDelete