Koh Phi Phi 4/1-4/10 Need recommendations

[ScubaERDoc]

I'm traveling to Koh Phi Phi for the first time for a dive trip with several other divers who have never dove there before. Our group consists of 5 relatively experienced OW and AOW divers and one new diver who will be completing his certification in Phi Phi. We are interested in finding a good Dive OP which does not provide the cattle boat experience. It seems on Tripadvisor that there are several well reviewed ops incuding Phi Phi Divers and Aquanauts. Blue View Divers also caught my eye as they only dive from longtail boats and seem to offer the smaller experience we are looking for.

Has anyone had any experience with these ops which can help us make our decision?

Also looking for recommendations for places to stay. Looking for next to beach and not too far a walk from the center of down. More upscale preferred.

Thanks!

 

[Quero]

Phi Phi has a lot of upscale resorts, but they tend to be away from the village, certainly not walking distance. I think the nicest resort right in the village is Phi Phi Island Cabana.
One with direct beach access is Andaman Beach Resort--a little more mid-range.
If you want to be a bit away from the noise and beach parties maybe you'd like Mama Beach Residence--still walking distance, but in a quieter area.

For dive shops, I'd recommend just walking around the village and stopping in at the shops to ask about their boats, schedules, etc., and to see which one you get a good vibe from. It's very casual there--usually no need to pre-book before arriving on the island. Staff actually stand out on the pathway through the village to offer diving services, so you won't have any trouble finding them!

 

[drbill]

What Quero said. I found my dive op when I was there by stopping at various ones, talking to the staff and deciding based on those conversations. I chose Visa. This was in 2001 before the tsunami hit, so I'm not sure who is operating there now. Had a great time!

 

[stevenl]

Phi Phi has a lot of upscale resorts, but they tend to be away from the village, certainly not walking distance.

I prefer Andaman Legacy, alternative Phi Phi Bay View, the first about 10 minute stroll from the village, the other one about 15 minutes.

For dive op's, check out Phi Phi Island Divers and Barrakuda, IMO the best. Regarding Trip Advisor reviews: be very careful, a lot of them in the area are not from guests but from the operators themselves.

 

[ScubaERDoc]

Thanks for all the recommendations. It certainly seems difficult to pick a place to stay as the ideal location a short walk away from the center has many options on the beach. I'm definitely taking the Tripadvisor reviews with a grain of salt but so many promising places have real bad reviews mixed in. I guess from people that don't understand that staying in a tropical island usually involves bugs and humidity.

Regarding the dive ops, thanks for the recommendations. Has anyone dove recently with Blue View diving? The longboat only diving seems appealing.

Thanks!

 

[Quero]

Yeah, Doc, I've had very happy customers with Blue View fairly recently. And though I've never personally dived with them, I've met them at functions, and they seem like a really nice, approachable, friendly group.

If you plan to dive with them, I'd say pick a place to stay over on that bay (they're on the back side of the island rather than on the main village side). I believe they're affiliated with the PP Viewpoint resort. This isn't really an "upscale" resort, but it's three-star-ish, has a pool and restaurant, and is in a quiet area.

 

[stevenl]

Thanks for all the recommendations. It certainly seems difficult to pick a place to stay as the ideal location a short walk away from the center has many options on the beach. I'm definitely taking the Tripadvisor reviews with a grain of salt but so many promising places have real bad reviews mixed in. I guess from people that don't understand that staying in a tropical island usually involves bugs and humidity.

Regarding the dive ops, thanks for the recommendations. Has anyone dove recently with Blue View diving? The longboat only diving seems appealing.

Thanks!

Even if the island is buzzing it tends to be not too busy on the diving boats. Considering this, the limited range of the longtail boats and the lack of comfort I'd always prefer a bigger boat.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Considering this, the limited range of the longtail boats and the lack of comfort I'd always prefer a bigger boat.

The range of the longtails isn't a big problem on Phi Phi as the dive sites are close by. Comfort can be more of an issue. Be careful to take precautions against the sun...

For your accommodation, make sure you find somewhere quiet. Phi Phi is a small island, and the Loh Dalum area is noisy at night...

 

[stevenl]

The range of the longtails isn't a big problem on Phi Phi as the dive sites are close by. Comfort can be more of an issue. Be careful to take precautions against the sun...

For your accommodation, make sure you find somewhere quiet. Phi Phi is a small island, and the Loh Dalum area is noisy at night...

With 'limited range' I meant that, unless the seas are extremely calm, I would not want to take a longtail to Bida Nok or Nai, or anywhere on Phi Phi Ley for that matter. And that does mean a lot of divesites would be out of range for me, hence my comment.

 

[ScubaERDoc]

Thanks for the insight. We may try a more traditional comfortable dive boat if crowds on the boat is not an issue. Just can't stand being on cattle boats.

Decided to stay for the first 6 nights at P. P. Palm Tree which although in the center of the town is supposed to be nice. I guess this makes it close to many of the dive ops. Does anyone have any specific recs for ops very close to PP PalmTree or should we just walk around and check them out?

Also will be bringing our own gear. I prefer to have the dive ops keep my gear for consecutive days of diving rather than lugging all my stuff around every morning. Are the dive ops usually amenable to this?

Gonna spend the last 2 days in a more far off beach such as Holiday Inn, Zeavola or Outrigger, just to get away from the town for a bit. Any recs on these places? How are the resort dive ops? I assume it'll be too much of a pain to boat back to the main village to dive each morning from these resorts..