Ko Lipe
Encyclopedia
Koh Lipe is an island in the Adang-Rawi Archipelago in the Satun Province
Satun Province
Satun is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Trang, Phatthalung and Songkhla...

 of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

Koh Lipe is a tiny island in the Andaman Sea located 70 km off the southwest coast of Thailand near the Malaysian border. The Thai name is transliterated many different ways into English. The most common names in English are Koh Lipe, Koh Lipeh, Ko Lipey and Ko Lipe. Koh Lipe is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park and is directly south of the larger islands Ko Adang and Ko Rawi and about 50 km from the island of Tarutao. It was settled by a band of sea gypsies originally from Malaysia, known as the 'Chao Lei' people or also known as Urak Lawoi
Urak Lawoi
Urak Lawoi are an ethnic group residing on the islands of Phuket, Phi Phi, Jum, Lanta, Bulon and on Lipe and Adang, in the Adang Archipelago, off the western coast of Thailand...

. This island has four main beaches: Sunset beach, Sunrise beach and Pattaya beach. Accommodation from grass huts to air-conditioned bungalows can be found on these beaches. It is possible to walk around the entire island in little over an hour.

Traveling to Koh Lipe

In high season (November to May) there are several locations from which you can take a ferry or speedboat to Koh Lipe, including: Pak Bara, Langkawi
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border...

, Phi Phi, Ko Lanta
Ko Lanta
- Slogan :Based upon Krabi province, it holds the slogan as of the province i.e.:"The province of coal mines , Fossil shell beach , towering mountains, beautiful streams, an abundance of islands, palm plantations, sandy beaches, wonderful sea world, Emerald of Andaman, and heavenly Phi Phi...

, and Trang
Trang
Trang is the capital of Trang Province, Thailand. The city has a population of 59,637 and covers the whole tambon Thap Thiang of Mueang Trang district....

.

In low season (May to October) the only way to get to Koh Lipe is by speedboat from Pak Bara at around 11:30hrs.

From Langkawi
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border...

, Malaysia there are two speedboats per day (from November until May): one at 9:45 am costing 128 Malaysian Ringit and one at 2:30 pm, costing 118 Malaysian Ringit; alternatively. These boats dock at the south end of Pattaya Beach.

Other ferries are met by longtail boats offering transfers to anywhere on Ko Lipe for an additional 50 baht/person.

Things to do on the island

There are many great sites for scuba diving and snorkeling around Koh Lipe and its neighbouring islands. On Koh Lipe there are many dive shops and resorts that rent out snorkel gear or arrange boat trips.

The calm, clear water makes the Koh Lipe area ideal for snorkeling, with 25% of the world's tropical fish species found in the area. There are large varieties of fish around the coral just just a few meters deep straight off all of the beaches.

People are fast realising that the coral and sea life around Koh Lipe is one of the best in Thailand many dive schools are still setting up to accommodate the large volume of travellers wishing to scuba dive.

Environmental Concerns

Koh Lipe is outside of the Tarutao National Park jurisdiction, and as such is exempt from the laws and legislation that protects the rest of the national park. The island is rapidly growing to meet the demands of increase in tourism, and is facing quite a few issues with rubbish and animal conservation. There are projects currently in place to keep Koh Lipe clean.

External links

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