Koh Phi Phi Tour

I will be honest, I am not a fan of Phi Phi and I do not really like organised tours, but when you have family here, you have to do the touristy thing. Nick had never been to Phi Phi (despite living here for 5 years) and his mum and dad were keen to see it. So I said 'What the heck!' and booked us with Lanta Gardenhill Speedboat.

Why did I chose them, simple really, all our trips and tours we recommend we do so because we have experienced it first hand, our customer's have recommended it, or simply no one has complained. We have used Lanta Gardenhill for over 3 years now and never had a complaint.

We were picked up from long beach by one of their speedboats and greeted by the very friendly and charming tour guide, Yu.

Yu, our Tour Guide

After about 30 minutes we arrived at Maya Bay (famous because the film 'The beach' was made here) this beach, I knew from the media and friends, had been hugely damaged by too many tourists. But I was surprised when I arrived, that there were not so many tourists as I thought. Yu briefed us, in excellent English tinged with a slight cockney accent, that there was a safe zones for swimming and where we should not swim etc. He told us we had one hour here and to be back promptly.

Maya Bay

As we hopped off the boat I was shocked, the beaches were pristine, not even a cigarette butt. Then I noticed the signs, No Smoking, No Polystyrene, No Litter. Wow and they were enforcing it and it showed. There was a smoking zone in the jungle gardens, so as dad needed a cigarette, we went there for the last 15minutes. As we returned to the beach, the scene had changed dramatically and there were many thousands of people on the beach and it was definitely time to leave.

Our next stop was Monkey Bay for some snorkeling, Yu again gave an excellent briefing, no stepping on the coral, take a life jacket if you need to and handing out well maintained equipment. One Chinese guy was obviously struggling and nervous and Yu jumped in the water, grabbed a pair of fins and looked after him. The guy was hugely grateful and what could have been a terrifying experience was now fun for him.

We only had 30 minutes here (which was plenty of time) because the crew were constantly ensuring we got to see every location before the masses turned up. Next stop Bamboo Island. Wow this island is truly beautiful with stunning sandy beaches and blue,blue waters. We had 2 hours here and lunch was again served by the staff, who set up a table on the beach, with rubbish bags for the waste, and Yu acting as Chef with his apron and Chef's hat on!

Of course the food was delicious, Penang chicken, fried vegetables, Chicken drumsticks. Rice and fruit. Not spicy, so ideal for the mixture of guests, but there was some Prik Naam Bla if you wanted to spice it up.

Our last stop of the day was Tonsai Beach (the main area on Phi Phi), which is full to the brim with people, but by this time, we had had such a great day we just wanted to chill in a beach bar with a beer, or a glass of wine in my case.

Tonsai Bay

This is probably the longest blog post I have ever written, but I wanted to express our gratitude to Lanta Gardenhill for their great tour, great service and great staff and I wanted to hold my hand up and say 'I was wrong!' This is definitely a tour I will be recommending to my guests and maybe tourism will not destroy Phi Phi. The message is getting through, Thai tour guides are giving excellent safety and conservation advice. The Marine Park are communicating the right messages and people, of all nationalities are heeding it. I was impressed really impressed.

Us with Yu at the end of a very enjoyable day!

Thank you Lanta Gardenhill for changing my mind!

If you are wanting to do this tour or any other on the island, whilst you stay with us, please ask myself, Nick, Gin (our Hotel Manager) or Dtom (our Hotel Receptionist) for good honest advice.

Mellisa