Koh Lipe, an underwater view
Koh Lipe is in the South of Thailand, a beautiful island that's only an hours ferry ride from Langkawi, Malaysia or reachable from the mainland Thailand. The ferry from Malaysia only runs in high season though (November to April) otherwise you'll need to take a scenic route to go through immigration. We made Koh Lipe our entrance point into Thailand on our way up the coast. Having booked a small villa on Sunrise beach, we had a wonderful view of the water abundant with longtail boats in front of a nice clean strip of white sand beach.
Sunset Beach, Koh Lipe Thailand
Koh lipe is naturally a beautiful island, and relatively small. The main way to get around is by motorbike or foot, you can walk around the whole island in 20 minutes. There are very few cars (before going there I heard there was none, but while there i saw 3) It seems entirely dedicated to tourism. There are no 7-11's, or ATM's on the island but I did see 3 or 4 SCUBA diving shops, there seemed to be more farang (foreigners) working there then Thai's. While I don't dive myself, I thought this was a great opportunity to go snorkeling.
Finding a local operator to take us was as simple as going for a stroll down "walking street". As long as you don't mind the traditional Thai longtail boat, you can get a full day trip for about $20 USD or so depending on where you decide to go, and if you need to pay a "National Park Fee." We ended up seeing Jabang, Koh Hin Ngam, Koh Rawi, Koh Adang and Koh Yang.
The beach scene that the video ends with is from where we had lunch on Koh Rawi. I only had a few short days here before heading onto another beautiful island in my travels in Thailand. My overall impression of Lipe is that it's a wonderful place that needs a little love. Sadly the island is plagued by garbage. The highlight was the snorkeling in the Andaman, and the quaint "Island life" feel that you don't find in the bigger resort area islands in Thailand. It's quite a distance from the other islands in the south of Thailand, so it really only seems like an option for a longer trip in Thailand or someone who wants a great base to check out Tarutao National Park which is well worth the journey.