Koh Lipe sits in Satun province inside Tarutao National Park. The island is small enough to walk across in half an hour, yet it has three good beaches: Pattaya Beach where the boats arrive, the quieter Sunrise Beach, and the small, least-crowded Sunset Beach.
What makes it unusual is how close the reefs are — at several points you can swim out from the sand without taking a boat. Full-day snorkelling trips run to the outer zone: Koh Hin Ngam, Koh Rawi and Jabang, a rare purple soft-coral ridge.
November to April is the season to come, when the sea is calm and the ferries run normally. Outside those months some routes stop entirely.