The beach at Maya Bay is one of Thailand’s most famous and photogenic places, and it’s the main thing responsible for bringing travelers to the Phi Phi islands. It’s now one of the most famous white sand beaches in the world.
Maya Bay is open again for 2025! It was temporarily closed for conservation from August 1 to September 30, 2024, but it reopened for tourists on October 1, so now is a great time to plan a visit!
The entire beach is surrounded by tall limestone cliffs, with clear turquoise water, baby sharks swimming around, and sand that’s white as snow. Everything about it looks perfect. Yep, this is paradise!
Of course, the beauty of Maya Bay has attracted the tourist hordes, just like any of the amazing places in the world, but if you plan your visit right you can still enjoy the beach without too many people.
This travel guide will explain how to visit Maya Bay in Thailand, what to see there, and how to know when it’s open or closed!
There are six Phi Phi islands in total, with the two main islands being Phi Phi Leh and Phi Phi Don, and they’re all considered part of the Krabi province of Thailand.
The only inhabited island is Phi Phi Don, which has hotels, restaurants, and everything else you might want for a short stay.
There’s no airport in Koh Phi Phi, so the closest place to fly is the international airport in Phuket (HKT) or the one in Krabi (KBV). Both of these have cheap flights from Bangkok. You can shop for flights to Thailand on Skyscanner.
There are a bunch of boat companies making the trip to Phi Phi daily from either Phuket or Krabi, and they usually include free hotel pickup and drop-off. You can also do the day trip from Koh Lanta, or as far away as Khao Lak Thailand.
