By Landolfo Mancini 
Maya Bay Beach is one of the most famous and photogenic places in Thailand and the main reason for bringing travelers to the Phi Phi Islands. In fact, today it is one of the most famous white sandy beaches in the world.
Maya Bay is open again for 2024! September temporarily closed for nature conservation, but reopened to tourists on October 1, so now is a great time to plan a visit!
The entire beach is surrounded by high limestone cliffs, with clear turquoise water, baby sharks swimming around and snow-white sand. Everything about it seems to be perfect. Yes, this is paradise!
Sure, the beauty of Maya Bay has attracted the hordes of tourists, like all the awesome places in the world, but if you plan your visit well, you can still enjoy the beach without too many people.
In this guide you will learn how to visit Maya Bay in Thailand, what to see there and when it is open or closed!
Day Trips To Maya Bay
Firstly, if your schedule is tight or you want to skip the extra steps required to organize your own trip to Phi Phi Island and Maya Bay, GetYourGuide has arranged in advance day trips to Phi Phi from Phuket or similar excursions from Krabi with hotel transfers, boat tickets, island tour, lunch and return on the same day.
These day trips visit all the major attractions of the Koh Phi Phi Islands, including Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and Monkey Bay. They also offer private or semi-private tours if you prefer this instead of a joint tour, although the prices are slightly higher, unless you bring friends.
We have used GetYourGuide for many day trips and activities around the world, and they are great! Highly recommended.
Where Is Maya Bay Located?
Maya Bay is part of the island of Phi Phi Leh in the Andaman Sea in Thailand, about 40 kilometers southeast of Phuket and about the same distance from Krabi.
There are six Phi Phi Islands in total, the two main ones are Phi Phi Leh and Phi Phi Don, and they are all considered part of Krabi Province in Thailand.
The only inhabited island is Phi Phi Don with hotels, restaurants and everything you could wish for a short stay.
How To Get To Maya Bay Thailand
The Phi Phi Islands can only be reached by boat from Phuket or Krabi, and you can use a ferry or a speedboat to get there.
There is no airport on Koh Phi Phi, so the nearest airport is Phuket International Airport (HKT) or Krabi Airport (KBV). Both have inexpensive flights from Bangkok. You can buy flights to Thailand on Skyscanner.
There are a number of boat companies that travel from Phuket or Krabi to Phi Phi on a daily basis, and they usually include free pick-up and drop-off from the hotel. You can also take the day trip from Koh Lanta or as far as Khao Lak in Thailand.
The slow ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi Don takes about 2 hours, while the fast ferry (speedboat) takes half as long. If you are departing from Krabi instead of Phuket, the boat trips to Phi Phi are about 30 minutes shorter.
Remember that these are only transfers to the main island of Phi Phi Don. Once you arrive, you will need to organize a long-tail boat tour if you want to visit Maya Bay and the other attractions of the Phi Phi Islands. You can arrange this on the spot at Ton Sai Beach in Phi Phi Don, and it’s usually pretty easy.
The other option is to book a day trip to Phi Phi by speedboat at a travel agency in Phuket or Krabi. There are joint or private tours, and you will visit most of the major attractions, including Maya Bay, in a full day. This can be a great option if your schedule is tight or you want to avoid the hassle.
Visiting Maya Bay: What To Expect
Maya Bay can be reached by getting off a boat at Loh Samay Bay (on the back of Phi Phi Leh Island) and then taking a short, easy, shady walk through the jungle to the beach. The walk is flat and takes about 5 minutes.
In the past, boats could sail into Maya Bay and land right on the beach, but they don’t do that anymore. The Thai government has spent the last few years working on nature conservation, so the only way to get to the beach now is a walk from the back of the island.
I think this change was a good idea as it keeps the bay away from boats, although I miss those perfect postcard photos of Thai long-tailed boats sitting on the beach of Maya Bay.
The main beach is incredibly photogenic. It is about 250 meters long and the end of the beach has a shallow cave, which is nice for photos. If you want to get away from the crowds, there are usually fewer people at the end of the beach.
Most Phi Phi Island sightseeing packages give you an hour in Maya Bay, so you have plenty of time to explore the beach, take photos from all angles and dip your feet into the water (swimming is no longer allowed in Maya Bay).
I must say that the beach was kept very clean and we practically did not notice any garbage, although sometimes up to 5,000 tourists come to this beach in a single day! The Park Rangers did a good job.
Maya Bay was popularized in 2000 by a Hollywood movie called “the Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The film itself was a critical failure, but it opened people’s eyes to the natural beauty of the Thai islands.