Koh Lipe is one of the most famous and popular islands in the Thai Andaman Sea. It's not as well known as the major tourist destinations such as Phuket or Koh Samui, but it's often associated with mass tourism.
Koh Lipe is very small compared to these two islands, which makes the island look very crowded. Especially in the main season there are supposedly many people on the island. I've never been there in high season, but I can already imagine.
That's why I chose May for a visit. The main season is already over in May and the rainy season is about to begin. Unfortunately, the first 2 days were a bit rainy, but the rest of the time on Koh Lipe was wonderfully sunny. And best of all: no sign of mass tourism! Many resorts were closed and the island was not crowded at all. It was really nice!
Sunrise Beach and Pattaya Beach
Sunrise Beach and Pattaya Beach are the island's 2 main beaches. And I think the most beautiful ones, too! Especially the long Sunrise Beach on the east coast is an absolutely paradise-like stretch of beach. At the northern end of the beach is the famous sandbar of Koh Lipe, which is often seen in photos (unfortunately, during my visit it was not visible, which is probably due to the season - currents, tides, I have no idea 😄).
Sunrise Beach
Sunrise Beach with Koh Adang in the background
There are also some lovely beach bars on Koh Lipe
The Pattaya Beach showed us all its beauty on the 3rd day in pure sunshine. Dreamlike turquoise water and soft sand. To my surprise, again with very few tourists on site.
Pattaya Beach
But Koh Lipe has a few more beaches to offer. Some of them are even - one can hardly believe it - totally lonely. A beach, which I also liked very much, was the Sunset Beach. There were just a few visitors and only at sunset some more people came. Unfortunately, so did the mosquitoes and hence it was not really enjoyable watching the sunset.
Sunset Beach
Sanom Beach
Conclusion: Koh Lipe was absolutely gorgeous! I don't know what it looks like in peak season, but I would definitely visit the island in low season. Accommodations are also cheaper at this time and you get rooms almost everywhere.