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Maya Bay

Ao Maya, Ko Phi Phi Leh

The beach from The Beach, closed for four years to let the reef recover and reopened under rules that decide how and when you can see it.

Beach enclosed by vertical limestone cliffs on Phi Phi Leh

Maya Bay is a horseshoe of vertical limestone around a white beach on the west side of Phi Phi Leh. Tourism after the 2000 film destroyed most of the shallow coral in the bay, and the park authority closed it completely in June 2018.

It reopened in January 2022 under a different regime, and the regime is the point. Boats no longer enter the bay at all. They berth at a floating pontoon in Loh Samah Bay on the eastern side of the island, and visitors walk through a boardwalk cut across the neck of land. Numbers are capped and swimming in the bay itself is restricted to a marked area when it is permitted at all.

The bay also closes completely every year from 1 August to 30 September so the reef gets a season without visitors.

Where it sits

PHANG NGAPHUKETANDAMAN SEAMergui, 180 nmAo Po Grand MarinaBoat LagoonRoyal MarinaYacht HavenKoh HongKhao Phing Kan and Ko TapuKoh PanakKoh PanyeeKoh Yao NoiMaya BayKoh Phi Phi DonBamboo IslandRacha YaiRacha NoiSimilan IslandsSurin IslandsRailay and Phra NangKoh Hong, KrabiKoh RokKoh Muk and the Emerald CaveKoh Haa
  • Marina
  • Anchorage
  • On this itinerary
  • Positions are projected from real coordinates. Coastlines are simplified and not for navigation.

Routes that stop here

Nearby in Phi Phi Islands

Source: Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park reopening rules, Thai news coverage 2022 to 2025. Checked 6 September 2026. Anchorage notes are planning information from cruising guides and operator itineraries, not navigational advice.