BRITTNISS: T R A V E L // koh phi phi

Where I stayed: Phi Phi Phu Chalet https://goo.gl/1eCtyM

just like most islands, people here are on island time. we were told that getting from phuket to koh phi phi would be a boat ride about half an hour long; and sure enough, it was an two hours later. whatever the tour people tell you, at a minimum add on another 30-45 minutes to consider from getting to point a to point b. i did not anticipate how miserable this boat ride would be.

first, you hand off your bag where they pile everyone else's bag onto - it has never been so imperative to put distinguishing on your bag otherwise it will take you forever to find it. secondly, there's not enough shade on the boat, people are literally laying on the deck in the baking sun. i was fortunate to pick a spot ride in the shade and i can definitely tell you that i would not want to be sitting anywhere near the unshaded area. all that to say - bring sunscreen and a wide brim hat. also if you're traveling in the middle of the day, it would be wise to bring food and snacks.

@brittnissx3 // boat ride to koh phi phi

we knew we had finally arrived nearby when we saw other islands. everyone had finally gotten up to walk around to see us arriving to the port.

@brittnissx3 // arriving to koh phi phi

@bearahlee // port at koh phi phi

once you arrive to koh phi phi you will have to pay an entry fee (the real name of the fee is escaping me and i will update this if i remember!) and from what i recall it was equivalent to $10 usd. from there, water taxis are waiting for you to take you to your chalets. our chalet ended up being at the northeast part of the island so it took us about 15 minutes to get from our port to our chalet. it was low tide so they had to stop the water taxi aways from the beach and we unloaded from there.

the location was so surreal and the water so clear. these pictures will not do this place justice.

@bearahlee // walking to the beach

@bearahlee // walking from the beach to the chalet

@brittnissx3 // sunset at dinner

there were local places to eat and it was one of those things where we were pretty baked from the boat ride that we didn't want to trek to find local locations to eat. i also stupidly thought that i wasn't going to get bit to find that the mosquitoes loved my feet. always keep your bug spray no kids.

the only way to get around the island is water taxis. or at least to see everything the most efficiently is getting around by water taxis. we ended up buying the tour through the chalet. it cost approximately $60.50 usd per person which came with lunch and our fare around the island and guaranteeing we'd make it back on time for our ferry to krabi. i think it's worth it - there may be other options that are cheaper so ensure to do your research.

@brittnissx3 // map of locations

we stopped at bamboo island, phak nam bay, pileh lagoon, loh samah bay and maya bay. we did drive by monkey beach and viking cave. the poor monkey appears to be stranded alone and feels in humane to leave it there for tourist viewing.

otherwise, all of the locations are so breathtaking. i have to say that visiting these places should be on a bucket list. the photos and videos can only capture so much of this beauty.