The dramatic cliffs of Phi Phi Lai are the first thing that you see as you arrive at Ko Phi Phi on the Phuket ferry. Just 1hr 15 mins from Singapore this is easily doable for a long weekend's diving trip. A 50 min taxi ride and then 1hr 30 by boat from the Phuket pier makes up the whole journey. The hardest part was recovering my bag which had disappeared beneath a huge pile on the ferry. A good reason for boarding late!
Ko Phi Phi is hugely popular, not just with the young and backpackers which I had expected but with tourists of all nations. The Chinese New Year made it more crowded and people clearly had not been put off by the turbulence caused by the Thai elections. Made famous from the film "The Beach" it was also devastated by the 200x tsunami. Now it attracts the young with pounding dance music from the beach bars late into the night.
I chose Phi Phi Scuba from the large number of dive shops on the island. They appeared to have a good set up and I was not disappointed. Dives leave at 7.30 each morning to avoid the day boats coming from Phuket and Krabi. For the closer dive sites you do two dives and are back by 1. Longer trips to Ko Ha and the King Cruiser wreck (3 dives) take all day. There is an impressive amount of marine life - great big shoals of fish - as well as a terrific profusion of soft coral and big anemones on most of the dives. We also see turtles, sea horses, baracuda, and nudibranchs.
Highlight of the diving is Ko Ha - three rocky islets that tower out of the sea about 2 hours south of Phi Phi. The water is clearer, the fish in abundance and there are some fantastic caves and swim throughs. In between dives we climb up a cliff to a cave where we can jump into a pool and then swim under a rock wall to the other side of the island.
The King Cruiser wreck is also impressive although strong currents and average viz when we dive it make it more adventurous. One of our group gets swept away by the current on the surface and we have to get him back! We do spot the biggest grouper I have ever seen through one of the gaps in the hull. Wreck is so big that it hard to get bearings in this viz. I would certainly dive this again to get better feel of the dive.
A bonus to the diving is a morning spent climbing on KPP's impressive cliffs. Check out the slideshow below for more info...