An island first settled by sea gypsies, later corrupted from a Malay name

Koh Lipe's own name is a Thai corruption of the original Malay "Pulau Nipis" — thin island — a reminder that this small, four-square-kilometre spot on the border of Tarutao National Marine Park has always sat at a genuine cultural crossroads. It was first settled by the Urak Lawoi, Malayic-speaking sea gypsies known in Thai as chao leh, whose descendants still form part of the island's roughly 800 permanent residents today — the largest settlement in the wider Adang archipelago.

Three beaches, three personalities

Koh Lipe packs a genuine variety of character into its small size. Pattaya Beach is the liveliest area, lined with beachfront hotels, restaurants and the island's Walking Street — the natural choice if convenience and evening energy matter most. Sunrise Beach, the island's second-longest stretch, is widely considered its most scenic, home to several of Lipe's best resorts and a genuinely peaceful atmosphere, particularly toward its northern end where it merges into North Point Beach. Sunset Beach, smaller and quieter still, suits travellers who want distance from both the crowds and the boats.

A quarter of the world's tropical fish, in one small stretch of sea

The calm, clear water around Koh Lipe supports an estimated twenty-five percent of the world's tropical fish species, making it one of the more genuinely rewarding places in Thailand to simply swim out from the beach with a mask and see what's there. That richness is precisely why the surrounding waters carry national-park protection, and why a 2018 ban on plastic and styrofoam containers across the whole Tarutao Islands National Park has been enforced with real seriousness — a small but meaningful sign of how much the marine environment here is actually valued rather than just marketed.

A Malay island name worn down by Thai pronunciation, a settlement of sea gypsies who arrived long before tourism existed, and a quarter of the world's tropical fish species in one small stretch of water — Koh Lipe earns its reputation as one of the Andaman's genuine hidden gems, right up until the Walking Street crowds arrive each evening.

Tarutao and Koh Adang: the wilder side of the park

Koh Lipe sits on the edge of a far larger protected area. Koh Tarutao itself, fifty kilometres north and the park's namesake, has been an ASEAN Heritage Park since 1982 and remains genuinely undeveloped — jungle trails, empty beaches and a real sense of wilderness that Koh Lipe's own growing tourist strip has started to lose. Closer by, Koh Adang rises to 690 metres and still hosts two small Urak Lawoi villages under national-park protection, their history including a forced 1980s relocation that some islanders resisted at the time. Trails through Adang's jungle forest lead to a rare black sand beach on the island's northern coast, reachable only by longtail boat.

Who this weekend is for

This route suits snorkellers and divers above almost anyone else, along with travellers drawn specifically to a slower, more remote corner of the Thai Andaman than Krabi's own well-trodden Railay and Phi Phi circuit. It particularly rewards those willing to make the extra effort the crossing requires, and pairs naturally with an interest in the Urak Lawoi's own history and the wider Tarutao park's genuine conservation story.

What to look out for

Confirm your route and season carefully — access changes significantly between high season (October to June) and low season, when speedboat from Pak Bara becomes the only option. Respect the national park's plastic and styrofoam ban throughout your visit. If exploring Koh Adang's villages, treat them as genuine homes rather than photo opportunities, given their own complicated recent history with the park authorities.