The aircon in the VIP room was quite cold, and we stepped outside a couple of times. The boy pulled a lot of faces for the camera:

Phi Phi Islands are beautiful, with breathtakingly tall limestone cliffs, large caves and long white beaches. We saw Maya Bay, where "The Beach" was filmed (but didn't go in because the ferry was too big), and we went past the Monkey Beach. The following photos are more of what we saw.
This is Pileh Bay, which our ferry was too large to enter:

Viking Cave, where birds' nests are harvested for the thriving bird's nest soup industry:

The boy pulling more faces for the camera:

A panorama of the view as the ferry was approaching Phi Phi Don Island where we docked (click for larger image):
After the ferry docked at Phi Phi Don, we transferred to a snorkel boat that took us to Coral Bay. The VIP group got on to a barge that was moored in Coral Bay while the other group got ready to snorkel. On the barge, we could go down into the hull, where we could experience the Under Sea World Aquarium, which is apparently the "first and only live aquarium". It's a pretty unique concept - we stood on a wooden frame about 2m under the sea surface, and fish were swimming in and out and all around. We were also given some bread to feed the fish. Our boy was terrified and refused to let go of us the whole time we were in the thigh-deep water, but he loved feeding the fish.
The whole room was cast in a greenish blue hue because we were underwater:

We could also watch the fish swimming in the open water while staying dry in this Under Sea World Aquarium:

We also got to swim and snorkel with the fish in the open water. Super fun, but not easy with a non-swimming 3-year-old!

We then got on the snorkel boat which headed back to Phi Phi Do. Lunch was provided, and the food was pretty good, but my dSLR had just taken a fall as we were stepping into the restaurant, and I was too upset and distracted to take any food photos. There was time to explore the island, but we headed straight back for the boat so that the boy could get his nap. It was a fun day, but we spent so much time travelling. The live aquarium alone was worth the small extra we paid to get the VIP package.
You just reminded me to post my Phi Phi island tour.
ReplyDeleteGlad that my post helped :) Looking forward to reading your Phi Phi experience on your blog..
ReplyDeleteHi! You've clicked lovely pictures.. Im actually visiting phuket in the second week of Feb. Im thinking of a full day trip to the phi phi islands.. I'm on a tight budget and just want to know how much did you land up spending for the day trip (excluding shopping ofcourse, haha) Just wanted to know the extra charges for snorkeling.. and other stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Kanchan.
Hi there Kanchan Parikh,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I booked the VIP tour which cost THB2,200/person - snorkelling and all the extra perks I mentioned in the post are included. We were taken care of from when we got picked up in the morning until we got dropped off in the late afternoon, and we didn't need to spend extra money to buy food or drinks (we got biscuits, tea/coffee and fruits as well as lunch during the tour).
I hope this helps :)
Hello...
ReplyDeleteGreat post . M planning to go phi phi in February . Can i have name of the Tour agent which organised this tour. Would be great if you also let me know how did you book this tour
Thanks in Advance.
Hi readtoexplore, the tour company I booked with is called Easy Day Thailand. I booked the tours online at their website, and it was a fairly easy and painless process. I hope this helps :)
ReplyDeleteAlways love the beaches of Thailand though I’ve not been to Phi Phi yet~~..
ReplyDeletethanx for sharing the nice pics :D
Very nice photo & nice trip!!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to take a trip to Phuket with us next time :)
I am glad that the blog owner has chosen a very interesting matter in order to spread huge knowledge among people...I would like to congratulate for this hard work to the blog owner and would like to be part of his blog by submitting comments
ReplyDeleteGood to know about your phi phi tours island.
ReplyDelete