Long Beach on Phi Phi Don

Long Beach lies on the south coast of Phi Phi Don, a short longtail ride from Tonsai along the shore, and its view is the reason to come: across the water rise the cliffs of Phi Phi Leh, so one frame shows both islands. It is quiet early in the morning, before the island wakes up, and its sand gives a session room to breathe that the village beaches do not.

It suits the session that does not want a climb. A couple can walk the waterline with Phi Phi Leh behind them; a family can start in the village lanes — there are no cars on the island, which makes them easy with children — and finish here after a short boat ride, which children tend to treat as the main event. Paired with the viewpoint at sunrise, it gives you a second, unhurried session at another time of day.

Tonsai village is loud after dark and its lanes stay busy late, so the calm frames here come early in the morning, with a second chance in the late afternoon. Like everywhere on the Andaman side, the season decides the water: from about November to April it is calm and clear; the southwest monsoon, from about May to October, brings swell that can cancel boats at short notice and red flags on the beaches — a red flag means no swimming, literally.