The Seashore Is Open! (Phi Phi Leh)
The seashore at Maya Bay is likely one of the most well-known and photogenic locations in Thailand, and it’s the primary factor answerable for bringing vacationers to the Phi Phi islands. In truth, it’s now probably the most well-known white sand seashores on the planet.
Maya Bay is open once more for 2024! It was briefly closed for conservation from August 1 to September 30, but it surely reopened for vacationers on October 1, so now is a good time to plan a go to!
The complete seashore is surrounded by tall limestone cliffs, with clear turquoise water, child sharks swimming round, and sand that’s white as snow. All the things about it appears excellent. Yep, that is paradise!
After all, the fantastic thing about Maya Bay has attracted the vacationer hordes, similar to any of the wonderful locations on the planet, however if you happen to plan your go to proper you may nonetheless benefit from the seashore with out too many individuals.
This journey information will clarify go to Maya Bay in Thailand, what to see there, and know when it’s open or closed!
Day Excursions For Maya Bay
Initially, if you happen to’re on a decent schedule or need to skip the additional steps concerned in arranging your personal journey to Phi Phi island and Maya Bay, GetYourGuide has prearranged day journeys to Phi Phi from Phuket or comparable day journeys from Krabi, full with lodge transfers, boat tickets, island tour, lunch, and similar day return.
These day excursions go to the entire prime sights within the Koh Phi Phi islands, together with Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, and Monkey Bay. Additionally they have personal excursions or semi-private excursions if you happen to want that as an alternative of a shared tour, though the costs are a bit increased until you carry associates.
We’ve used GetYourGuide for plenty of day excursions and actions around the globe, they usually’re nice! Extremely advisable.
Ebook Now: Maya Bay Tour From Phuket / Krabi / Khao Lak / Koh Lanta
The place Is Maya Bay?
Maya Bay is a part of Phi Phi Leh island, which is positioned within the Andaman Sea of Thailand, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Phuket and about the identical distance from Krabi.
There are six Phi Phi islands in complete, with the 2 most important islands being Phi Phi Leh and Phi Phi Don, they usually’re all thought of a part of the Krabi province of Thailand.
The one inhabited island is Phi Phi Don, which has inns, eating places, and all the things else you may want for a brief keep.
How To Get To Maya Bay In Thailand
The one option to attain the Phi Phi islands is by boat from Phuket or Krabi, and you should utilize both a ferry or a speedboat to get there.
There’s no airport in Koh Phi Phi, so the closest place to fly is the worldwide airport in Phuket (HKT) or the one in Krabi (KBV). Each of those have low cost flights from Bangkok. You possibly can store for flights to Thailand on Skyscanner.
There are a bunch of boat firms making the journey to Phi Phi each day from both Phuket or Krabi, they usually often embody free lodge pickup and drop-off. It’s also possible to do the day journey from Koh Lanta, or as far-off as Khao Lak Thailand.
The sluggish ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi Don takes about 2 hours, whereas the quick ferry (speedboat) takes half as lengthy. In case you’re ranging from Krabi as an alternative of Phuket, the boat journey occasions to Phi Phi are about half-hour shorter.
Bear in mind these are simply transfers to the primary island of Phi Phi Don. When you arrive, you’ll want to rearrange a longtail boat journey if you wish to go touring Maya Bay and the opposite sights within the Phi Phi islands. You possibly can organize this on the spot at Ton Sai Seashore in Phi Phi Don, and it’s often fairly simple.
The opposite possibility is reserving a day tour to Phi Phi by speedboat with a Phuket or Krabi-based tour firm. There are shared or personal excursions, they usually go to a lot of the most important sights, together with Maya Bay, in a single full day. This is usually a nice possibility if you happen to’re on a decent schedule or need to skip the trouble.
Visiting Maya Bay: What To Count on
Maya Bay is accessed by touchdown a ship at Loh Samay Bay (on the again aspect of Phi Phi Leh island), after which doing a brief and simple shaded stroll via the jungle to get to the seashore. The stroll is flat and takes about 5 minutes.
Prior to now, boats may go inside Maya Bay and land immediately on the seashore, however they don’t do this anymore. The Thai authorities has spent the final a number of years engaged on conservation, so the one option to get to the seashore now’s to stroll to it from the again aspect of the island.
I believe this transformation was a good suggestion as a result of it retains the bay away from boats, though I do miss these excellent postcard pictures of Thai longtail boats sitting on the seashore at Maya Bay.
The primary seashore is extremely photogenic. It’s about 250 meters lengthy, and the top of the seashore has a shallow cave that’s good for pictures. If you wish to escape the crowds, there are often much less individuals on the far finish of the seashore.
Most Phi Phi island tour packages provide you with one hour at Maya Bay, which is loads of time to discover the seashore, take photos from each angle, and dip your ft within the water (swimming isn’t allowed at Maya Bay anymore).
I’ve to say the seashore has been saved very clear, and we didn’t discover hardly any trash, though as many as 5,000 vacationers come to this seashore generally in a single day! The park rangers have executed a great job with cleanup.
Maya Bay was popularized by a Hollywood film in 2000 referred to as ‘The Seashore,’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The film itself was a little bit of a crucial flop, but it surely opened peoples’ eyes to the pure fantastic thing about the Thai islands.
Total, Maya Bay is a tremendous expertise, and it’s certainly one of our favourite seashores on the planet!
Thai Nationwide Park Payment
There’s a nationwide park payment of 200 baht per particular person (~$6 USD), which is collected in money while you disembark at Maya Bay. The ticket additionally consists of entrance to Bamboo Island and the opposite sights within the Phi Phi islands.
This payment is charged every single day you go to both of those two areas, so if you happen to go to Maya Bay two days in a row, then you definitely’ll must pay the nationwide park payment twice.
Some Phi Phi excursions might already embody this payment within the value, however often you pay it individually in money while you get off the boat.
Is Maya Bay Open / Closed?
Maya Bay is as soon as once more open for vacationers in 2024! It was closed from August 1 to September 30, but it surely reopened on October 1.
The Thai authorities first closed the seashore for conservation in June 2018, hoping to offer the coral and wildlife a while to get better. The remainder of Phi Phi island stayed open throughout this time, and solely Maya Seashore was closed.
Maya Bay stayed closed for a whopping 4 years, however lastly reopened for vacationers in January 2022. Within the off-season of 2022, 2023, and 2024, Maya Bay was once more closed for two months (August and September), but it surely reopened for enterprise on October 1, 2024.
It appears seemingly that Maya Bay will probably be closed for at the very least a few months yearly for conservation (often in August and September), in order that’s one thing to remember, particularly if you happen to’re eager about visiting within the wet season, when a closure is extra more likely to occur.
The place To Keep
Maya Bay is uninhabited apart from Thai nationwide park employees. It has a small store with snacks and drinks, and there are restrooms by the trail while you first disembark at Loh Sama Bay.
There aren’t any inns at Maya Bay or Phi Phi Leh island, though you may keep in close by Phi Phi Don island. This is usually a nice thought if you wish to spend some additional time exploring the entire sights within the Phi Phi islands.
You will discover a few of our prime Phi Phi lodge suggestions beneath.
Phi Phi Island Lodges
Is Maya Bay Value It?
Sure, Maya Bay is unquestionably price it, even when it’s a must to courageous the crowds! That is bucket listing surroundings, and the costs are very reasonably priced.
I’d say Phi Phi is the one finest place to go to in Thailand, and likewise top-of-the-line locations in Southeast Asia. These are extremely lovely islands.
Greatest Time To Go to
The perfect time to go to Maya Bay relies on what you’re searching for.
The climate within the Andaman Sea of Thailand (together with Phi Phi) is finest from November to April, when it’s extra dry and sunny, and the ocean situations are higher for boat excursions. Nevertheless, that is additionally the height vacationer season, so it’s extra crowded.
The climate will not be nearly as good from Might to October. There are extra wet days, and there are frequent storms within the evenings. Nevertheless, there are much less vacationers in these months and it’s nonetheless doable to have an awesome journey in case your time is a little more versatile.
In case you go to Phi Phi within the wet season, it’s good to have just a few additional days to spare in case there’s some junky climate resulting in the boats being canceled for a day or two.
You’ll additionally need to be sure Maya Bay is open, as a result of like I discussed earlier, generally it’s closed for a part of the wet season.
We’ve visited Phi Phi within the dry season and likewise within the wet season, on separate journeys. In each circumstances, we had a tremendous time and the climate was largely nice for weeks!
Extra Issues To Do In Phi Phi Island
Maya Bay is unquestionably one of many prime sights within the Phi Phi islands, however there are many different nice issues to see and do, together with blue lagoons, limestone caves, viewpoint hikes, hidden bays for kayaking, and far more.
Most excursions to Maya Bay additionally embody stops at Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, Monkey Bay, and Bamboo Island. These are all spectacular locations and properly price seeing. Pileh Lagoon is known for its vivid turquoise water.
Don’t overlook to take a look at my full Phi Phi island journey information for extra data earlier than you go to Maya Bay in Thailand!
What To Convey
Listed below are some packing ideas in your journey to Maya Bay in Thailand.
- Snacks & Drinks: You’ll need to pack some snacks and drinks within the boat, as a result of it’s tougher to purchase them at Maya Bay. You possibly can carry these from Phuket or Krabi, or there are many low cost snack and drink stands in Phi Phi Don close to the port.
- Sunscreen: There’s often some shade within the speedboats and longtail boats, however you may nonetheless get roasted whereas swimming or strolling on the seashore, so that you’ll need to carry a hat and sunscreen for the boat excursions.
- Waterproof Bag: Important for protecting your electronics protected on the boats. I introduced a 30 liter bag and was capable of match my drone, pill, digital camera, cellphone, and a bunch of different stuff inside. All the things was saved dry, even after I took the bag swimming just a few occasions!
- Waterproof Telephone Pouch: Identical as above, however these are in your cellphone solely. Nice if you happen to don’t produce other electronics and simply want one thing small to guard your cellphone at Maya Bay.
- Snorkeling Gear: Good for exploring the clear waters round Koh Phi Phi island. Snorkels and masks will be borrowed or rented from the boat firms too, however if you happen to plan to remain on the island or do a number of excursions then it’s higher to carry your personal gear.
- Water Footwear: These can turn out to be useful generally whereas snorkeling in case you want to stroll on rocks to get out of the water.
Can You Fly A Drone At Maya Bay?
Thailand is fairly relaxed about drones, and you may fly them in a lot of the islands, however they don’t will let you fly them within the nationwide parks.
That features Phi Phi Leh and Maya Bay, that are patrolled by park rangers who will nice you if you happen to’re caught flying a drone. They’re particularly strict at Maya Bay, and the rangers there are watching all areas of the seashore consistently.
Nevertheless, if you happen to’re discreet it’s nonetheless doable to fly from different areas. For instance, you may park your boat at Pileh Lagoon or Viking Cave and launch the drone from there, and often nobody is more likely to discover or care until a park ranger boat occurs to drive by and see you do it.
The drone restrictions don’t apply to Phi Phi Don island in any respect. You possibly can fly drones wherever on Phi Phi Don with out a downside, though you’ll nonetheless need to be thoughtful and solely fly in locations the place it received’t hassle individuals, in fact.
Phuket Lodges