For those in search of the virginal version of paradise, Phi Phi Island is the place — or rather was the place some 15 years ago. Of course, Phi Phi soon lost its virginity as more and more people discovered it. All the same, it cannot be denied that Phi Phi is an outright gorgeous island. Some of the pristine feeling has been retained by the fact that there are barely any motor-driven vehicles or buildings with more than one floor.
Maybe some will get the image of being in a movie when arriving on Phi Phi. That is almost the case as the Hollywood blockbuster The Beach from 2000, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was shot on Phi Phi Island — though not on Koh Phi Phi Don, where most people stay, but actually on Koh Phi Phi Leh, where staying overnight is not allowed. Consequently, Phi Phi Island is in fact no less than two islands, both belonging to the Hat Noppharat Thara—Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park.
Nightlife, Lovely Beaches and the Tsunami
In the main village of the island, Ban Ton Sai, there is an exuberant nightlife together several hotels, guesthouses and restaurants. To some extent, parts of Phi Phi could in fact be labeled a ‘party island’ — however, not nearly to the same extent as Koh Phangan. There are a number of lovely (and often uncrowded) beaches on Phi Phi, most notably Laem Thong, Had Yao (Long Beach) and Maya Beach on Koh Phi Phi Leh.
Also Phi Phi was brutally hit by the late 2004 tsunami, destroying some 70 per cent of the buildings on the island and killing more than 3,000 people. As on the even more devastatingly hit Khao Lak, Phi Phi is now part of the National Disaster Warning Center. 
