Koh Phi Phi Tour

“Only the early bird catches the worm” – So we started our tour to Kho Phi Phi at the break of dawn. We reached Phuket after a one hour ride in KLLD’s comfortable minibus. After a biscuit and coffee break, we took off on a speedboat to Koh Phi Phi Leh. Crystal-clear water, here and there a limestone rock sticking up out of the water and a fresh warm see breeze. When we reached the island I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the white sandy beach and the amazing landscape. Everything reminded me of the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio which was shot at this place in 2000. Only this time, Leonardo wasn’t there but we didn’t miss him too much. Together with our guide we discovered the island and came to a wonderful view point from where we enjoyed a panorama of the surroundings. After some hours we continued to the Viking cave, where a specie of bird builds its nests. In China birds nest soups are delicacy and therefore very expensive.

After visiting Koh Phi Phi Don the crew dropped anchor and our tourguide gave us the snorkeling equipment and some instructions. With fins and masks on we jumped in the warm water. Shoals of fish and corals. I had talked to people before who said “you as a diver will be disappointed when snorkeling at Koh Phi Phi” and I have to tell, I saw many beautiful fish and corals and am not disappointed at all. We had perfect visibility and there is nothing to complain about. After the snorkeling trip we headed for a lonely idyllic island where the crew installed a nice buffet for us. Especially the fish curry was very tasty!

After lunch we had free time so I decided to go snorkeling again. Others relaxed at the beach or went for a swim. Later then we left the island and stopped at a riff where we had the chance to snorkel once again. It was just fantastic there. Unfortunately it was already time to go home and we went back all the way to Khao Lak.

If you want to know more about Khao Lak Land Discovery and the tours available visit us on our  website.

Khao Lak Safari- Jungle, Beach and Elephants

For those who are looking for a mix of jungle, beach and elephant trekking look no further- the Khao Lak Safari is exactly the right tour for you. To find out more about this diversified tour, read the article written by our intern Sina:

On my second day of work with Khao Lak Land Discovery I had the chance to get to see more of Khao Lak and its surroundings by joining todays Khao Lak Safari. My colleague Ben, who will be today’s tour guide will teach be about some factors that will lead to a successful tour.

Most important factor? Happy guests that are ready to enjoy a lovely day in the outdoors with us.

So, together with our friendly driver Suriya, Ben and I make our way to the hotels to pick up the customers. With eight smiling faces on board of our bus, we are ready to head to our first stop of the day: 

15 day old turtle hatchlings

The Turtle Nursery in Thap Lamu is definitely worth a visit. 

Here you can see the development of the Green Sea Turtle. The smallest ones are just a few days old, while there are also a few which are already fully grown up to 1 meter. While looking at the turtles, Ben feeds us with plenty of information about the animals and about the Nursery Station. After having seen all the different sized turtles we head on back to the bus, as we still have lots to see and do today.

Bamboo raft through the jungle

Our next stop is the Bamboo Raft Station. On our way, Ben tells us about the importance of rubber export in Thailand and we even stop to have a closer look at one of the trees to see how the collection of latex functions. Once we arrive at the bamboo station, the rafts men already await us and we can hop on the rafts two at a time. The 45 minute ride on the Wang Khiang Koo river anticipates an amazing jungle feeling. We listen to the sounds of birds and cicadas and look out for sleeping snakes in the trees, while the rafter tells us about flora and fauna with a mix of Thai and English. 

Small Sandy Beach

Back on shore again, we have gotten a little bit wet on the ride, it is just the right time to go to the beach to dry in the sun or to get even wetter while having a swim in the beautiful waters of idyllic “Hat Lek” or “Small Sandy Beach”. With the minibus it only takes about ten minutes to reach the entry of Lamru National Park from where we take a short jungle walk down the hill. The sound of the jungle is astonishing and reaches from the shrill chirping of the cicadas, to yelling monkeys and finally, as we get closer to the beach, the breaking of the waves.  Once we arrive there, we realize: We are the only visitors this afternoon. The only other person at the beach is an employee of the National Park, at whose bar some of our guests treat themselves to a fresh coconut. 

After one relaxing hour on the beach, we make our way up to the minibus again, which takes us to the restaurant at Ton Pling waterfall. A delicious Thai lunch is served here, including Massaman Curry (curry with chicken and potatoes), spring rolls, Thai omelet, vegetable soup and of course rice.  After all guests have finished, we treat them to some fresh watermelon for dessert and a cup of coffee before slowly heading to our next and last stop of the day. 

Elephant trekking at Sairung Camp

The elephant trekking is the highlight of the tour for most of our guests… When else do you get the chance to trek through the amazing jungle on a 3 meter tall animal? As big as the elephant might be, it is astonishing to see how gentle they are and how well they can balance their huge feet.  The ride might be a bit shaky at first but you will get used to it very fast and then you can just enjoy the lovely ride, passing by many rubber and palm oil plantations.  After the one hour trek, our guests have the chance to thank their “jungle taxi” by feeding them some bananas or pineapples, before we all head back to the hotels in Khao Lak.

After having dropped off all our customers, I can look back on a great tour: we had perfect weather, an excellent tour guide and most importantly: super happy guests.

Sounds interesting? Find out more about this tour, prices and other Khao Lak tours.

If you want to find out more about us and our other tours, please visit also our Website.

One Day at the stunning Similan Islands

This is a holiday just as you know it from a postcard. At 7 am we got picked up by a minibus at our hotel and drove to a small private harbor for about 20 minutes. Very relaxed, we had the possibility to enjoy a coffee while the tour guide explained to us how to behave on the boat and in the national park. He informed us about ever necessary security details that were important for the day. From the harbor we got on the speedboat which took us through the mangroves right into the Andaman Sea. 

With two engines of 450PS the drive itself was worth getting up early in the morning already. The boat jumped the waves while in front we were able to enjoy the first early sunbeams. However what was coming up was not to expect. Even our tour guide said that we were extremely lucky that day. Right next to our boat, two dolphins were suddenly jumping out of the water. First we saw only those two but after a while of observing the water we realized that there were 6 all together. They followed us for a while and we were able to take great pictures.

Little by little the main land disappeared behind us and all around the boat was simply water. At the horizon the first island was vaguely recognizable but still mystically hidden in fog. As we came closer, the unexpected beauty of this impressive landscape became more visible to us. Right in front of the first amazing granite cliff we made our fist snorkel stop. The minute we stopped the engine a turtle came very close to our boat. After we all got into the water, the turtle followed us and it seemed like she told another turtle to welcome us, too. After a short time in the water we had two turtles that were sniffing us, which were just as curious about us as we were about them. For half an hour we were able to explore the fish world at this spot.

After the first impression we drove into the Donald Duck Bay, which got its name for the cliff formation right at the front, which looks like a duck head. The beach here was unbelievable. Well, if you imagine soft sand and add some white paint to it, you will probably come close to what the sand at this bay is like. The crystal-clear water that runs over the stunning sand adds up to its beauty. However there is not just sand but also granite cliffs. Huge rocks that look like they are put on each other with great care. Exactly this cliff we started to climb. On top of the rocks we had a stunning view across the bay and over the national park with its other islands. From the top it got even more obvious how crystal-clear the water is.

After a very relaxing stay at the beach we went back to the speedboat. We drove to the next island where we had lunch at the honeymoon bay. For lunch we had rice with three different dishes of fish and meat as well as one vegetable and watermelon for dessert. For lunch we sat at wooden tables, under large trees and were therefore well protected from the sun. After lunch we took a walk through the jungle towards the other side of the island. From huge holes at the tree roots we were able to see that the Chicken Crab lives here. Sadly we did not see any however the sizes of the holes were already enough for me.

At the other side of the island we found another beautiful beach. It is no surprise that the Thai princess owns a summer cottage over here. That is also the reason why this beach is called the Princess Bay. In slightly orange colored trees, flying foxes where hanging and protecting themselves from the sun. It was cute to look at, how they were hanging there upside down, stretching themselves once in a while.

After this stay, we continued our tour with the speed boat towards our next snorkel stop. A great amount of different corrals and even more different types of fish species that could not have been any more colorful, were present at this bay. Here again we had the chance to observe another turtle. It is very interesting so see how other fish embrace the turtle and look for its protection. Other guests even saw a moray, a water snake and squid. After that, we stop for another time. Here were many impressive fish species for us to be seen as well. Furthermore I now know who we have to thank for the amazing sand. I was able to observe the parrot fish while he was using the toilet so to say. This fish eats mainly seaweed and corrals and the leftovers are then the impressive sand. Not such a nice thought but even more interesting to observe.

On our way back, the water was very calm and the drive therefore very relaxed. At 5pm we reached back at Khao Lak. It surely was a great day.  

Want to experience the same great trip? For more information on the Similan islands tour, click here.

Charlotte Franke