Maya Bay

Located in the southern part of Ko Phi Phi Le island, Maya Bay – also called Maya Bay Beach and Maya Beach – is an extremely popular, beautiful, curve-shaped, 250-meter-long beach with light brown sand and nearby oceanfront limestone cliffs.  This beach is located in the Krabi Province of Thailand and it is a part of a national park named Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. 

Lonely Planet listed this beach as the third best beach in the world in its January 2024 edition.  The British newspaper The Independent also listed this beach as one of the 13 best beaches in Thailand, and it is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.  

Maya Bay Thailand is usually open for visitors between 7 am and 6 pm.

Maya Bay Ko Phi Phi does not offer lifeguards or any other amenities except a nearby boardwalk and restrooms, so please plan accordingly.

Maya Bay offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, and wildlife watching.

While the water here is usually calm – particularly between November and April – water activities including swimming and paddleboarding are usually prohibited at this beach because of the potential impact on local marine ecology.  However, visitors can wade along the shoreline in knee-deep water. 

Snorkelers and scuba divers also frequently visit a nearby bay named Loh Samah Bay to explore its vibrant marine biodiversity.  If you like taking pictures with beautiful views, Maya Bay offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Phi Phi Le shoreline – the best time to click photos here is between 8 am to 9 am because the sunlight reflects on the water here and gives it a turquoise shade.

Maya Bay does not offer wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities.

Getting to Maya Bay can be a bit difficult because the only way to reach this beach is by boat – you can get boat tours to this beach from the nearby Phi Phi Don Island, the city of Phuket, and the island of Krabi.  You can either book a traditional longtail boat, a speedboat, or a larger ferry boat to visit Maya Bay – there are many local boat tour operators that can get you a boat to this beach including 5 Star Marine, Maya Bay Tours, and Phi Phi Travel and Tours.  You can also check the details of other tourist boat tour operators for Maya Bay online.  The boat prices for Maya Bay tours can range between $20 and $150, depending on the type of boat hired and the departure location.

You need to note that tourist boats are not allowed to reach Maya Bay directly; instead, they dock at another nearby bay named Loh Samah Bay.  Once the tourist boat reaches this bay, you need to walk to Maya Bay through a boardwalk.  You must pay a fee of 400 Thai Baht/$12 to visit the beach.

Please note that this beach is closed by local authorities between September and October so that the local biodiversity can recover from the effects of tourism.  In addition, visitors are only allowed to stay on the beach for one hour.  Only 375 visitors are allowed at this beach at a time. 

We recommend visiting this beach early because it can frequently get crowded. 

Maya Bay Krabi Thailand is famous for being featured in the 2000 Danny Boyle movie The Beach – this movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, and Virginie Ledoyen.

There are many attractions near Maya Bay.  Pi Leh Lagoon is a lagoon that has a nearby beach named Pi Leh Bay – this lagoon offers many fun activities including snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and boating.  This lagoon has a vibrant biodiversity and shallow water, making it ideal for beginner swimmers.  Viking Cave is a limestone sea cave that has cave paintings of ships that resemble Viking boats, but are actually old Chinese fishing boats – visitors are prohibited within the cave, but you can take photos of it from the outside.  Malong Bay is a popular bay that is known for being a particularly great snorkel site – this bay has a vibrant biodiversity and you can see many aquatic animals here.  In addition, there are many large rocks here, along with a sea cave. 

The other attractions near the beach are located in the nearby islands of Ko Phi Phi Don and Koh Bida Nai.  Koh Bida Nai Diving Site is a popular diving site located near the island of Koh Bida Nai – this site has coral reefs and you can see many kinds of animals here including barracuda, lionfish, octopus, and sea turtles.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Phi Phi Viewpoint 2 is an observation area that offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of Ko Phi Phi Don and the Andaman Sea, especially at sunrise – you can also explore two other viewpoints near this observation area including Viewpoint 1 and Viewpoint 3. 

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Maya Bay in the nearby island of Ko Phi Phi Don.  ACQUA Restaurant Phi Phi is a restaurant that offers excellent International and local Thai dishes including massaman curry, steak, salmon, pasta, and pad Thai.  Italiano Bar & Restaurant has a beautiful tropical-inspired decor and it also offers a variety of delicious Italian-style dishes including pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, and hamburgers.  Garlic 1992 Restaurant offers a variety of outstanding local Thai dishes including Fried rice, Thai curries, and pad see ew.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Cosmic Restaurant offers many delicious dishes from multiple cuisines including pizza, schnitzel, Israeli malawa, Thai dishes, and Indian-style chicken.  Another great affordable restaurant is the nearby Pa-Noi Thai Food that offers many excellent Thai-style dishes including fried rice, pad Thai, chicken cashew nut, and green curry.

If you are looking for a hotel near Maya Bay, there are many great nearby options in the nearby island of Ko Phi Phi Don.  The 5-Star SAii Phi Phi Island Village Resort offers many amenities including a gift shop, a gym, a marine discovery center, multiple pools, play areas, a gift shop, a diving center, a spa, multiple restaurants, and a bar.  Another great hotel is the 4-Star PP Princess Resort – also called Phi Phi Princess Resort – offers many amenities including an infinity pool, a normal pool, a bar, a sundeck, and multiple restaurants.  The Phi Phi Natural Resort is another great upscale hotel that offers many amenities including multiple pools, a bar, sunloungers, a gift shop, a playground, massage services, a dive center, watersports equipment rental facilities, and multiple restaurants.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Phi Phi Island Cabana Hotel that offers many amenities including multiple restaurants, a bar, multiple pools, a game room, and massage services.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Phi Phi Maiyada Resort – also called P.P. Maiyada Resort – offers many amenities including a sundeck, a pool, a convenience store, and a restaurant.