Maya Bay, Thailand: how to visit the beach from The Beach

What and where is Maya Bay?

The bay behind the film, and why it matters.

Maya Bay sits on the west side of Koh Phi Phi Leh, the smaller and uninhabited of the two main Phi Phi islands, about 4 km south of Phi Phi Don. The island belongs to Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province. Limestone cliffs close the bay on three sides, which is exactly what made it the perfect hidden beach in Danny Boyle's The Beach (2000), starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

The film turned it into one of the most visited beaches in Thailand. Before 2018, thousands of visitors a day arrived on hundreds of boats that anchored directly in the bay, and much of the coral was damaged.

From the 2018 closure to the 2022 reopening

A rare case of a hotspot being closed to let nature come back.

The Department of National Parks closed Maya Bay in June 2018, first for a few months, then indefinitely, as the damage to coral and the beach became obvious. Coral fragments were replanted, and blacktip reef sharks returned to the shallow water.

The bay reopened to visitors on 1 January 2022 with a new model: boats can no longer enter the bay, visitors walk in along a boardwalk from the back of the island, and time and numbers are managed.

Current visitor rules at Maya Bay

What to expect once you land.

• No swimming: you may only wade to about knee depth
• No boats inside the bay: they drop you at a floating jetty in Loh Samah bay
• No drones, smoking or littering in the national park
• No feeding or approaching the sharks

• Walk the boardwalk from Loh Samah to the beach
• Keep to the time slot given by your boat (reported to be about one hour)
• Carry your national park ticket and keep your wristband or receipt

Reports from the reopening mention a daily cap of around 4,000 visitors and visits of about one hour, but the park adjusts these arrangements. My advice: treat numbers as indicative and check the latest national park announcements before you go.

National park entrance fee

Paid on top of your boat ticket.

Annual closure: when is Maya Bay closed?

Plan around the rehabilitation period.

Since the reopening, Maya Bay closes every year during the southwest monsoon for marine rehabilitation. For 2026, the closure was announced from 1 August to 30 September, with reopening expected on 1 October 2026. During this period Phi Phi tours keep running, but they skip the landing at Maya Bay.

How to get to Maya Bay

Every departure point compared.

There is no ferry to Maya Bay: you arrive on a longtail, a speedboat tour or a chartered boat. The closest base is Phi Phi Don, only 20 to 30 minutes away.

Prices are indicative and vary with season, fuel costs and what is included (lunch, snorkelling, transfers). To reach Phi Phi Don itself, see my Phuket to Koh Phi Phi guide.

Best time to visit Maya Bay

Timing makes the difference between calm and chaos.

• Early morning: the first boats from Phi Phi Don arrive before the big Phuket tours
• Late afternoon, near closing time, is another quieter window
• November to April: calmer seas on the Andaman coast
• Avoid 11am to 2pm, when day tours peak

My advice: sleep one night on Phi Phi Don and book a private longtail for sunrise. You pay more than for a shared tour but you get the beach at its quietest.

What to see nearby on Phi Phi Leh

Most tours combine these stops.

Responsible travel tips

Help Maya Bay stay open.

• Choose operators that respect time slots and do not anchor on coral
• Use reef-safe sunscreen, or better, a rash guard
• Take all rubbish back with you
• Stay on the boardwalk and marked paths

Mistakes to avoid

The errors I see most often.

• Planning your trip around Maya Bay in August or September
• Expecting to swim on the beach
• Forgetting cash for the park fee
• Booking the cheapest mass tour and arriving at noon
• Assuming a sea crossing will run on a stormy monsoon day