51 islands, one marine park, and the clearest water in Thailand’s far south

Koh Lipe: Longtail Boat Snorkeling Trip Program A

The best-reviewed boat trip in the whole park, with well over six hundred reviews. A longtail takes a small group round the reefs west and north of Lipe — soft corals, clownfish, parrotfish and a beach stop or two — and brings you back in time for sunset. This is the one to book if you only do one trip.

• Four or five snorkel stops around Koh Adang and Koh Rawi
• Classic wooden longtail boat with a local crew
• Mask, snorkel and life jacket included

Koh Lipe: Half-Day Snorkeling (Morning/Afternoon/Sunset)

A shorter, cheaper way onto the reefs, rated 4.7 by well over a hundred and fifty travellers. Pick the morning for the calmest water or the 14:30 departure to finish the day watching the sun go down over the Adang–Rawi islands.

• Choose a 09:00, 13:30 or 14:30 departure
• The late slot ends with sunset from the boat
• Several reef stops close to Lipe

Koh Lipe: Private Longtail Boat Island Hopping with Snorkel

The same islands as the group trips, but on your schedule: leave early to beat the other boats, linger at the reef you like and skip what you do not. Priced per boat, so it is excellent value for a couple or a small family.

• Your own boat and boatman — no fixed timetable
• Choose a 4, 5 or 7-hour route
• Stop longer where the snorkelling is best

Koh Lipe: 7 Island Snorkeling Trip by Longtail Boat w/ Lunch

The long version of the classic trip: more islands, more reef and a picnic lunch on the sand. It typically takes in Koh Rawi, the stone beach of Koh Hin Ngam and the reefs around Adang — a full day in the heart of the marine park.

• Seven islands and reef stops in one day
• Lunch on a beach inside the national park
• Hidden coves and a viewpoint hike on the full route

Koh Lipe Golden Odyssey: The Ultimate 8-Island Sunset Escape

A full day that saves the best for last: after a long island-hopping loop with several snorkel stops, the boat waits off the north tip of Lipe for the sunset. A newer listing, but with strong early reviews.

• Eight islands, reef stops and a black-stone beach
• Picnic lunch included
• Ends with sunset off Lipe’s north point

Koh Lipe: Try Scuba Diving One-day Experience

The easiest way to breathe underwater for the first time. After a briefing and a practice session, an instructor takes you on shallow dives among the coral gardens of the marine park. Perfect reviews so far.

• No certification or experience needed
• Theory and skills with a certified instructor
• Shallow ocean dives in the marine park

One-Way Van and Speedboat Ticket Hat Yai Airport to Koh Lipe

The simplest way to reach Lipe if you fly into Hat Yai: a van meets you at the airport and drops you at Pak Bara in time for the speedboat. More than eighty reviews and a 4.6 rating. Check the last van departure against your flight time before you book.

• Minivan from the airport to Pak Bara pier
• Speedboat from Pak Bara to Koh Lipe
• One ticket, one booking, connections timed

Pattaya Beach, Koh Lipe

Lipe’s arrival beach and its liveliest bay

The long, crescent-shaped bay on Lipe’s south coast, where most boats from Pak Bara and Langkawi arrive. Soft white sand, calm water in the high season, beachfront restaurants and bars — and, just offshore, a reef good enough for snorkelling straight from the sand.

Sunrise Beach, Koh Lipe

Longtails, a sandbar and the view to Koh Adang

Lipe’s east-facing beach, running north to a white sandbar that points across the channel at the jungle-covered peaks of Koh Adang. It is where the longtail boats gather, where the Urak Lawoi village begins, and — as the name suggests — the place to be at dawn.

Koh Adang

Jungle peaks and the Chado Cliff viewpoint

The big, mountainous island just north of Lipe, almost entirely covered in rainforest. From the national park station at Laem Son a steep trail climbs to Chado Cliff, the famous viewpoint over Lipe and the islands; there are also forest trails, a small waterfall and quiet beaches.

Koh Rawi

Wild beaches and reefs west of Adang

The second-largest island of the Adang–Rawi group, forested, uninhabited apart from a ranger post and fringed with sandbars and coral. Most snorkelling trips stop at its beaches and the reefs off its shores, including the lovely Hat Sai Khao.

Koh Khai

The famous stone arch

A tiny island between Koh Tarutao and Koh Lipe, known for its natural rock arch standing in clear water beside a strip of white sand. It is one of the most photographed spots in southern Thailand, and a nesting beach for sea turtles.

Koh Tarutao

The wild former prison island

The park’s largest island: 26 kilometres of rainforest, mangroves, limestone cliffs and long, empty beaches. In the 1930s and 40s it was a penal colony for criminals and political prisoners; today it is a quiet national park with bungalows, a mangrove river and some of the emptiest sand in Thailand.