Where To Stay In Koh Lipe Thailand | Which Beach Is Best?

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This decision took me far too long to make! I kept debating back and forth as to which beach in Koh Lipe would be the best to stay on! There are 3 main choices: Pattaya Beach, Sunrise Beach and North Point Beach. Alternatively, there are also accommodation options in land, such as along areas like Walking Street. In this guide I share the pros and cons of each location!

Where To Stay

In all honesty, you can’t really go wrong with whatever beach you decide to stay on, in reality, they are all good!

@englandandeverywhere

A guide to the 3 main beaches in Koh Lipe Thailand🇹🇭 Pattaya, Sunrise and North Point beach! #thailandtravel #kohlipe #kohlipeisland🏝️🇹🇭 #kohlipethailand #kolipe

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Pattaya Beach

• ✅Pros: Conveniently located to Walking Street
• ❌Cons: Can be busy due to ferries, long way from North Point Beach
• 🧳Popular with families and couples

This is where I stayed in the end! I decided the MOST important thing for me, especially visiting in peak season when the temperature was 38c, was that I wanted beachfront accommodation that had beach chairs and some sort of shade/umbrellas.

I found accommodation that was reasonably priced and had everything that I wanted. The Lipe Garden Beach Resort* was located closer to the ‘quieter end’ of Pattaya Beach, away from the ferry docks (there are 2).

My accommodation collected me from the ferry, so I didn’t have to carry my luggage along the beach, good if you have suitcases. I travel with hand luggage only, so I just walked back myself when I checked out.

It had deckchairs and umbrellas, as well as a shaded area under the trees. It was also directly in front of a large roped off swimming area. Long tail boats couldn’t dock in this area, so it gave a big, safe area to swim.

I loved my little bungalow too, which had a hammock on the deck, and breakfast was included in the room rate and was served on the beach.

In a way it was the best of both worlds, because you had a nice beach with crystal clear water, choices of beachfront bars and restaurants (some have fire shows at night too), plus it was then just a short walk away from the start of Walking Street (lots of restaurants, 7Eleven, pharmacies, shops etc).

Outside of the accommodation with private beach fronts, there are a couple of shaded areas where you can sit under trees.

Most accommodation options along Pattaya Beach were more resort style hotels, which were popular with families and couples that had weren’t travelling on a very small budget.

But, if you wanted to go to North Point Beach, the beach that has gone kind of viral on social media, it was a 40 minute walk from Pattaya Beach. This is located at the far end of the island. The are no cars on the island, for the most part it is possible to walk everywhere. However they do have trikes that will take you around.

Looking back, I’m happy with my choice.

Sunrise Beach

• ✅Pros: Beautiful beach
• ❌Cons: Beach sometimes disappears at high tide, service side of the island
• 🧳Popular with budget travellers

This was the other beach that I debated about staying on. In the end I couldn’t quite find accommodation that I was 100% happy with. They either didn’t really have a beach front area, or the cheaper hut style of rooms had lots of complaints about mosquitoes (I get eaten alive).

Because of the amount of accommodation options offering rustic, basic, beach huts, Sunrise Beach felt like it was popular with younger budget travellers/backpackers.

When visiting, it became obvious why many accommodations didn’t have a beach front area. Sometimes at high tide the water did completely cover the beach. A couple of times when I walked up to North Point Beach, I was knee deep in water.

I had looked at staying at Lipe Power Beach Resort*, which has a swimming pool too, or the Castaway Resort*.

I do however think Sunrise Beach looks more scenic than Pattaya Beach, especially at low tide, when the beach is then visible. You can also rent kayaks and paddle out to the nearby islands.

Whereas Pattaya Beach is the ferry side of the island, something to be aware of is that Sunrise Beach is the SERVICE side of the island. This is where all the deliveries come in to. A few times a week this is where the rubbish boat docks, and there are LOADS of long tails docked almost the full length.

There are couple of swimming areas, but most people were swimming between the boats. In the late afternoon/early evening, there were shaded areas to sit under trees.

Although there were lots of accommodation options along Sunrise Beach, I didn’t find there to be a huge choice of places to eat or drink here, there were just a handful of choices. The best bet would be to go back towards Walking Street on in-land for food.

I do wish I had spent a bit more time on Sunrise Beach, but I did find it hard to drag myself away from Pattaya Beach, especially when I knew I had a comfortable chair to sit in!

North Point Beach

• ✅Pros: Looks across to other surrounding islands
• ❌Cons: Expensive accommodation, no shade
• 🧳Popular with couples (accommodation) & viral on social media

Unpopular opinion, North Point Beach wasn’t my favourite. This may have been different if my accommodation was here, BUT they were all extremely expensive. (Private space to sit, sun loungers, umbrellas, shade, facilities, several rooms even have private plunge pools!).

Yes the water is lovely here and you have the backdrop of the other islands, but I found the sand to be quite stoney (it hurt to walk along barefoot after a while), there was ZERO shade, and the only real place to get a drink was at the Zodiac Bar. If you’re happy just laying your towel on a sand bank with lots of other people, go for it.

My opinion may have been different if I was staying on Sunrise Beach. But after the 40 minute walk in 38c from Pattaya Beach and then having no respite from the sun for even a second when I got there, I just found myself not really fussed about making the trek.

It’s also a very popular spot to watch sunset. Get there early if you want a decent space. It’s also a long walk back in the dark…

In-Land (Walking Street etc)

• ✅Pros: ‘Central’ to all beaches, lots of food options nearby
• ❌Cons: Not beachfront!
• 🧳Popular with backpackers

Alternatively, for cheaper accommodation, including hostels with dorm rooms, there are plenty of choices in-land and around Walking Street. By staying central, you are on top of all the food options and ‘equal’ distance from all of the beaches. This area does get quite busy though and of course you then don’t get the ‘private’ beach front areas to make use of.