Do not visit Koh Lipe

After 19 years, I finally returned to Koh Lipe, where I stayed for nearly a month in 2006. At the time, it was one of those super off-the-beaten-path destinations visited by few but the most intrepid travelers, where electricity was only available for a few hours a day, basic bungalows on the beach cost about $2, and there were final The boat of the season.

There's a lot to do here, but that's the point. You hang out on the beach, read a book, go snorkeling, go back to the beach, have a beer at one of the island's beach bars, rotate between five restaurants, and go to bed early.

That’s paradise—and a place where many people are trapped. Days can easily turn into weeks here.

If you asked me what was the highlight of all my travels, I will be my time spent in Koh Lipe. I made incredible friends, hung out, met locals, learned a little Thai, and generally lived the idyllic backpacker life we ​​all dream of.

I have avoided returning to Koh Lipe for years because my memories of my time there were so strong that I didn't want to spoil it. Any revisit would just be an attempt to recreate a magic that cannot be recreated because the special person for it won't be there. I'll chase the ghost of travel. And, since I knew my sleeping paradise had grown so much over the years, I was also too scared to see that it would break my heart.

travel in Thailand tends to be unsustainable. No island can really develop in a good way. It’s all build, build, build.

I don’t want to see my Koh Lipe become like that.

But when I was planning my recent trip to Southeast Asia, it made sense to return to Koh Lipe. I'm heading to Malaysia along the Indian Ocean side of Thailand and I'll pass through it.

And, since I was looking for a lively New Year's Eve venue, it seemed like the best choice. I knew there would be travelers there and there were no other nearby islands available, especially since Koh Lipe has boats to Langkawi which was my next stop.

So, I sucked it up and left.

I regret to report that Koh Lipe has adopted the tourism model of Koh Phi Phi and is now extremely over-exploited.

So unsustainable.

Much of the island is now paved, with old dirt roads turned to concrete for cars and construction trucks. The vast swath of palm trees has now become a high-end resort with a swimming pool (on an island with no natural water source). Construction of more resorts continues apace. Corals around the islands are dying, victims of all the boats, anchors, pollution and overfishing. The beaches are now lined with boats, their exhaust fumes flowing into the sea, leaving a shiny film that you can see when you swim. These restaurants cater to tourists looking for bad western food rather than good Thai food.

The island's boom displaced many locals, who were forced to sell their properties to mainland developers, where most of the island's workforce now comes. They don’t see the benefits of a boom in tourism.

The same goes for Koh Lipe, another victim of the overdevelopment and extraction of limited resources prevalent in Thailand.

I met a lot of people there who loved the island. If this is your first time, I can see why you'd love it. After all, the area is a postcard-perfect place, the water is perfect blue, the beaches are beautiful white, and since you're surrounded by national parks, many tours will take you to some secluded islands.

Also, it’s less developed than Koh Phi Phi, Krabi or Phuket, so I can’t blame first-timers for saying “Wow!”

But when I reflected on the island and its overdevelopment, I came to the same conclusion as Koh Phi Phi: people shouldn't visit.

I'm not against growth, but I'm against growth. It is not sustainably managed, and traveling there would only further tax the island's limited resources. You can't put the genie back in the bottle, and no local is going to say “sure, I'll stay broke so you can have an idealized vision of the world”.

But this is not the solution.

And, there are so many other well-managed islands to visit (Ko Lanta, Koh Jun Mu, and Koh Mu, to name just three nearby islands) that I think you should skip Koh Lipe.

Visiting there will only make things worse.

I say it with pain because it is such a beautiful place and my initial visit had a huge impact on my life. But if we want to be good stewards and travelers, sometimes you just have to say enough is enough.

Koh Lipe is a place where enough is enough.

Go somewhere else with better management.

Because your choices do make a difference.

By the time consumers realized this, elephant riding disappeared in Thailand. Ecolodges thrive because of consumers. Consumers and locals alike are talking about overtourism.

Maybe if enough people start doing something, Koh Lipe will change.

I doubt it, but one can have hope.

But, at least, it won't cause a problem if you don't go.