Phuket or Koh Phi Phi, which is better?

Phuket and Koh Phi are two popular islands in the Andaman Sea, South Thailand. Phuket is known for its mix of everything including beaches, nightlife, shops, and cultural attractions. Koh Phi Phi is known for its stunning white sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, and vibrant nightlife scene.

In this article, I will compare Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, based on their location, accommodations, beaches, nightlife, shopping, food, and cultural & historical attractions.

I stayed in both Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, so I will try to share the best possible comparison from my first-hand experiences. Keep reading to find out whether it is better to stay in Phuket or Koh Phi Phi.

Is it better to visit Phuket or Koh Phi Phi?

Generally speaking, Phuket is better than Koh Phi Phi if you want everything in one place, including beaches, tourist amenities, shopping, nightlife, and cultural attractions.

Koh Phi Phi is better than Phuket if you want picture-postcard beaches with fine white sand, crystal clear water, and stunning limestone cliffs scenery. Koh Phi is also a popular destination for backpackers and party goers. But it does have quiet beaches for those who want a more relaxing holiday.

If you want to be easily accessible, Phuket is also a better choice. You can reach this island by airplane, car, and boats. Getting to Koh Phi Phi can only be done by boats.

Phuket and Koh Phi are located only 1.5 hours boat ride away, so if you have time you can visit both places. Most visitors choose to stay in Phuket for its accessibility and amenities, then take day trips to Phi Phi island.

I visited Phuket and Koh Phi Phi as a part of an island hopping tour on the Adanman sea. I stayed in Phuket for a week and Koh Phi Phi for 3 days. My journey was Ao Nang/ Railay, Koh Lanta, Koh Lipe, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Yao Yai, then ended at Phuket.

My recommend hotels in Phuket:

My recommended hotel in Koh Phi Phi:

Luxury: SAii Phi Phi Island Village
Mid-range: Phi Phi CoCo Beach Resort
Budget: Phi Phi Villa Resort

Location & How to Get There

Both Phuket and Koh Phi Phi are located on the Andanman Sea, South Thailand. Koh Phi Phi is located around 40km west of Phuket. It takes around 1-2 hours by boat ride to travel between the two islands.

Phuket is easier accessible than Koh Phi Phi because it has an international airport, a bridge connecting with mainland Thailand. You can get to Phuket by airplane, car, and boats. Koh Phi Phi is only accessible by boats from nearby islands.

Beaches

Both islands have beautiful beaches, but I personally find the beaches in Koh Phi Phi are more stunning. Koh Phi Phi boasts picture-postcard beaches with fine white sand, crystal-clear water and stunning scenery with the limestone cliffs.

Some of the best beaches in Koh Phi Phi are Long beach, Nui Beach, Laem Tong Beach, Loh Ba Kao Bay, and Loh Lana Bay. The beaches in the main town such as Tonsai Beach and Loh Dalum Beach are also beautiful and popular places for parties and watching the sunset.

One of the best beaches in Thailand is probably the Maya Bay, in Koh Phi Phi island. You’re not allowed to swim in the bay, but admiring its crystal-clear water and iconic scenery still makes it worth a visit.

The beaches in Phuket are still beautiful, just less dramatic than Koh Phi Phi. The island has a wide range of beaches with different atmospheres. There are busy beaches as well as quiet ones.

Top beaches in Phuket are Patong Beach, Kata Beach, Karon Beach, Surin, Freedom, Nai Thon, Mai Khao, and Nai Harn Beach. Most famous beaches on Phuket are well equipped with umbrellas, sunbeds, restaurants and bars.

The beaches on both islands are great for swimming, sunbathing, and watching the sunset. The watersports are a bit different on Koh Phi Phi and Phuket.

Phuket has a wider range of watersports activities and is packed with mainstream water sports such as jet skiing, surfing, parasailing, kayaking, SUP boarding, snorkeling, and diving. Popular watersport activities in Koh Phi Phi are snorkeling, diving, kayaking, and SUP boarding.

Accommodations

Both Phuket and Koh Phi Phi have a wide range of accommodations for all budgets. You can find both backpack hotels, and luxury beachfront resorts on both islands. As the bigger and more developed islands, Phuket has a broader choice of luxury resorts.

Most resorts on Koh Phi Phi sit directly on the beachfront, whereas many resorts in Phuket are set along the beach road, requiring you to cross the road to get to the shore.

Both islands are extremely popular tourist destinations in Thailand, so if you’re planning to visit these islands during the peak season from November to May, make sure to book well in advance. It’s usually hard to find a good and reasonably priced place at the last minute.

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Nightlife

Both islands have good nightlife, but the nightlife in Phuket is more diverse with big beach clubs, go-go bars, and varied entertainment. Koh Phi Phi has many casual bars, beach clubs, loud music, and a backpacker vibe nightlife.

The nightlife hub in Phuket is in Patong and Bangla Road. This area is packed with dozens of bars, clubs, and adult entertainment venues. It’s often crowded, tourist-heavy, open until 2-3 AM. For more laid-back viewing you can check out Kata, Karon, Bang Tao, or Phuket Old Town.

The center of the nightlife in Koh Phi Phi Phi is on Tonsai Village and Loh Dalum beach. There are many bars on the main streets, and beach bars on the beachfront.

Shopping

Phuket is a better island for shopping as it has many modern shopping malls and night markets. In Koh Phi Phi, you can find usual tourist souvenirs at small shops in Tonsai Village. There are T-shirts, swimsuits, hats, beachwear, postcards, jewelry, and keychains,…

Famous shopping malls in Phuket include Jungceylon (Patong) and Central Phuket Festival. You can find mid-range and luxury goods in these malls as well as department stores. These also have good conditioning systems, making them great places to escape from the heat.

For cheaper souvenirs, you can visit local markets such as Phuket Weekend Market (Naka Market), Chillva Market, and Old Town Sunday market. You can find everything from clothes, handicrafts, souvenirs, street food, trendy accessories.

Food

You can find both typical local Thai food and seafood on both islands. There are some fast food chains and restaurants serving international dishes on Koh Phi Phi. Most restaurants and street food stalls in Phi Phi are located on Tonsai Village, Tonsai Beach, and Loh Dalum Beach.

Phuket has a wider range of food options. You can easily find street food at the night markets or fine dining restaurants on the island.

The food scene in Koh Phi Phi is quite touristy, while Phuket has both touristy areas and good places for cheap authentic local food. Phuket Old Town has many local trendy café, heritage shophouse eateries, night markets, Chinese-Thai fusion, and noodle shops.

Some popular Night Markets on Phuket are Phuket Sunday Walking Street Market, Chillva Market, and Naka Weekend Market.

Cultural attractions

Phuket has a great combination of beaches, amenities, and cultural attractions, so if you want to explore one of these things, Phuket is a better place to go.

Phi Phi is mostly known for its natural attractions with beaches, limestone cliffs, and viewpoints. There are no significant cultural attractions on the island.

You can visit the historic Phuket Old Town with old Sino-Portuguese shophouses, colorful streets, cafés, Chinese temples, mosques, and museums. It has a lively walking street market on Sundays. The town is also famous for cheap authentic local food and photo spots.

The island is home to big temples, including Phuket Big budda, and Wat Chalong (Chalong Temple). The Big Buddha has panoramic views over Kata, Karon, and Chalong. It’s great for sunrise or sunset. Wat Chalong has ornate architecture, and peaceful gardens.

Viewpoints and Hiking

Both islands have mountainous terrain, which offers more beautiful viewpoints to explore. In terms of hiking, I prefer to do it in Koh Phi Phi, because the island is small and has many trails connecting all beaches around the island.

Koh Phi Phi has beautiful coastal trails as well as jungle trails, and steep trails to the viewpoints. Within one day I can hike from the main village to Loh Lana Bay, Nui Beach, Laem Tong, and Loh Ba Kao Bay. On another day, I hiked to the viewpoints, Phak Nam Bay, Loh Moo Dee, and Long Beach.

To hike to Phi Phi Viewpoints 1, 2, and 3, you’ll need to climb some steep steps. But the views at the top are truly worth it. You can see the entire village along with Tonsai Bay and Loh Dalum Bay.

Phuket has several beautiful viewpoints and most viewpoints are accessible by scooter. Some of my favorite viewpoints on the island are Promthep, Windmill, Karon, Black Rock, and Monkey Hill Viewpoints. The hike to Monkey Hill Viewpoint is quite chalking with steep parts.

Phuket Big Buddha also has great views of the island. You can drive up to the temple but the road is winding and steep. If you like hiking, you can take the trail from the Karon and Kata area.

Island Hopping

Phuket and Koh Phi Phi are both located on the Andanman Sea, so it’s easy to take boat trips from either islands. Within the region, you can take island hopping tours to James Bond island, Koh Hong islands, Koh Yao Yai/ Noi, Koh Lanta, Railay, or Koh Lipe.

Phuket is a bit closer to the Similand islands, off the coast of Khao Lak. This is a great place for snorkeling and diving. The majority of tourists choose to stay in Phuket then take day trips to Koh Phi Phi and other islands on the Andanman Sea.

Getting Around and Size

Phuket is the largest island of Thailand, around 50km long and 17km wide. Koh Phi Phi main island, Koh Phi Phi Don, is only 7km long and 3km wide.

I rented a scooter to get around Phuket and explore Koh Phi Phi on foot and long tail boats. Visitors are not allowed to use cars and motorbikes on Ko Phi Phi. The island has limited motorbikes and songthaews belonging to local residents and resorts.

The main village of Koh Phi Phi is mainly pedestrian friendly. You can get several motorbike taxis when traveling between Loh Ba Kao Bay and Laem Tong Beach on the north part of the island. I walked all around Koh Phi Phi and took long tail boats to Maya Beach on Koh Phi Phi Leh island.

Phuket is a more developed island, it has plenty of taxis, tuk tuk, songthaews, and riding shared services such as Grab, InDrive, and Bolt. The taxis in Phuket are quite expensive though, often higher than other parts of Thailand.