Hi All
I've just booked my flights to bangkok and planned on travelling down to phi phi for a week in Dec - looking to relax on a nice beach for a while and seen Golden Hills Bungalows as somewhere nice and cheap to stay. First of all...the reviews on here don't seem to great for phi phi...is it really that bad??? And has anyone actually stayed at Golden Hills? I'll be travelling alone so keen to know if it's safe and easily accessable in the evening etc.
Help please!!
I've said it before...is it really that bad?...it's worse! Stay in another place and do an island boat tour to see the places local to Phi Phi but the island itself is a dump and in a state of repair.
Really! Blimey!! Ok, any advice on where to stay instead? I want to go somewhere that looks like the postcards! Although I'm going alone so not too remote! Any ideas?
This guy seems to like phi phi and recommends it telling you why. Q&A video interview Pai and Phi Phi
A stay in Phuket would ensure you could do a Phi Phi tour, but for budget and less tourists you should use Ao Nang in Krabi as a stepping stone to many places. Railay beach is nice and only 10 minutes away, although a little quiet. Rock climbing in Railay is a blast though, you'll get a postcard photo!
That's really helpfuul thank you. Ao Nang looks lovely!!
So...any recommendations of where I could stay? Is it safe to stay alone there?
Phi Phi knockers are widespread and give the impression they have never been to the laid back east coast. There are places there as relaxed as any on travellers' dream island like Ngai, Kradan or Kut.
Having said that, the Ton Sai Loh Dulum area of Phi Phi is hardly paradise unless you are a party animal. At the same time, Golden Hills is one of the places in the higher reaches of east Ton Sai which is the area to stay if you want to be close to town.
Maybe nquinlan+ can check my 2 Phi Phi pages in the first link below for more info and pix - I too have a copy of +dom's shot and a before shot - with some pertinant comments about time needed for regrowth of palms.
But sure, valid criticisms of Phi Phi in peak season are high prices for bungalows and/or overcrowding - there are better value, less crowded islands to go to nearby.
Maybe quin can check my pages on Jum and Lanta.