Blog of Kim Loon

“You may like to take a cruise to Phi Phi Islands, if you have not planned anythings for your stay in Phuket.”

That was the suggestion from the person who fetch us from the Airport to the hotel in Phuket. Since we had made no plans for our stay in Phuket, we took up the Phi Phi Cruise package.

There were two types of Phi Phi Cruise package provided by the Phi Phi Cruiser, the normal one at 1,500 Baht per person and the VIP one at 1,800 Baht per person. The VIP one included “Under Sea Aquarium at Coral Bay”. We took up the VIP ones.


The following morning at 7.00am, while we were finishing our breakfast, the transport reached our hotel to pick us up. The journey to the jetty took about 40 minutes. They did not inform us that the VIP package included reserved seats in the air-conditioned cabin at the upper deck. Of course, we were delighted by it. And once we sat down, we were served with a croissant, some biscuit and a coffee.

When we embarked the ship, it was drizzling. Fortunately, soon after the ship slipped off, the rain stopped. This allow us to go round the decks and did some exploring, taking pictures of the sun, the sea and the islands. This was the time when some of the passengers took off the shirt, and enjoyed the sun tan. And this was the time when we realized that we forgot to get sun block lotion. We bought a bottle of lotion at the shop on broad.

The scenery just got better as we approached the Phi Phi Islands. The beauty was beyond my vocabulary of description.

The ship first stopped at Ko Phi Phi Don to allow the over stayers to disembarked. After a brief wait, the ship moved on. It first circled Ko Phi Phi Leh. We were enjoying the view from the sun deck. There were loud speakers announcements to introduce to us the spots along the route.

We passed by a number of bays around Ko Phi Phi Leh. Unfortunately, the ship was too big to get real close to the beautiful beaches. We even saw a cave when they harvest bird’s nest.

After the sight seeing around Ko Phi Phi Leh, we headed back to Ko Phi Phi Don. We stopped at a distance from the island where we transferred to a smaller ship. This ship took us to Coral Bay. At there, it was the venue for the snorkeling. The snorkeling gear was provided for us.

As part of the VIP package, we were transferred to another ship. This was the Under Sea Aquarium ship. We put our things at the upper deck, and undress to our swimming wear. The guide led us to the undersea aquarium. Now we are inside a giant fish tank. The guide provided us bread to feed the fishes in the tank. The fishes were about the size of my palm. This was an interesting experience to have so many fishes to swim around me.

After a while, we decided to try out snorkeling. We put on our snorkeling gear and life jacket, and into the sea we went. Unfortunately, my wife was not a swimmer. So we only stayed in the sea for a short while, despite there were instructors to guide us.

Soon, we got dressed to head for Ko Phi Phi Don. We just slipped our shorts and T-shirts. We had a wet butt situation.

This was a requirement to pay 20 Baht to enter Ko Phi Phi Don and it was a separate charge. As part of the VIP package, we only paid to the guide and she would purchase the tickets for us. While the rest were busy queuing to buy the ticket, the guide led us straight to Phi Phi Hotel, where we had our lunch.

The lunch was great. There were tom yam soup, stream rice, fish, chicken, vegetables and others. We did not worry about not enough food. Along the course, the waitress would top up the food. Now we could forget about finishing the food. There was free flow of drinks available as well.

After lunch, we had about slight more than an hour of free time. We headed first to the beach. We just had a short walk at the beach, then we walked around the village, looking at the shops.

Before, we knew it, it was time for us to get back to the ship for our journey back.

I was wondering, was it because it was raining or was it because we had a tiring day. We slept our journey back.

We did not plan anything, and did not expect anything, but this trip was a surprising trip for us. At such a price, we had a cruise to the Phi Phi Islands. I would say, it was almost an all-inclusive package, including the transport to and fro the hotel, snacks and lunch. The only addition cost would be the 20 Baht into Ko Phi Phi Don and our shopping items.

The additional 300 baht to get the VIP package was well spent as well. We had more spacious seats and personalized service. During the snorkeling, the guide was there to help us take pictures.

It would be better if we were given more time at Ko Phi Phi Don. We had managed our time, so that we can explore more both the beach and village shops.

If I do go to Phuket again, I may arrange to spend an evening a Ko Phi Phi Don.