Maya Bay is closed to visitors 1 August – 30 September every year, according to Thailand's Public Relations Department, and you can't swim there even when it's open – boats drop you at Loh Samah Bay and you walk in. From Phuket, book One Asia Corporation's speedboat day: about 50 minutes at Maya Bay, the longest Maya stop of the Phuket tours we've compared. Staying on Phi Phi Don? Discover Thailand's trip always makes Maya Bay its first stop.
Phi Phi and Maya Bay speedboat day from Phuket
About 50 minutes at Maya Bay, walking in from Loh Samah Bay, on an 8-hour speedboat day with Pileh Lagoon, Bamboo Island and a buffet lunch. Park fee and pickup come only in the options that list them.
- Duration: 8 h · Pickup window: 07:00–08:00
- Speedboat
- Hotel pickup: Only in the booking options with transfer
- Park fee: In some options
Is Maya Bay open, and when is it closed?
Maya Bay, Loh Samah Bay and Lo Ko Bay close to visitors 1 August – 30 September every year for rehabilitation and monsoon safety, according to Thailand's Public Relations Department, quoting the chief of Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. The rest of the national park stays open during those months.
Outside the closure, Maya Bay is open to visitors in timed rounds (see the rules below), and every tour in this guide includes it. During the closure, Phi Phi tours keep running, but tour listings say Maya Bay may only be seen from the boat, with the time going to other stops instead.
If Maya Bay is the reason you're going, plan your dates around the closure rather than booking a Phi Phi tour and hoping. From Phuket, One Asia Corporation's speedboat day, our pick, was also one of the lowest-priced Phuket tours when we checked in October 2026.
What are the rules at Maya Bay?
Visits run in rounds of up to 375 people, each no longer than an hour, with 11 rounds a day between 07:00–18:00, Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park told Khaosod English in 2024. On the tours below, the Maya Bay stop runs from about 40 minutes to an hour where the listing gives a time, however long the rest of the day is.
The rest of the rules, from the same national park report and the tour listings:
- No swimming: stated on One Asia Corporation's and Krabi Ezy Trails' GetYourGuide listings.
- Boats: they dock at the Loh Samah pier on the other side of Phi Phi Le and then move to designated buoys, and a buoy line keeps tour boats out of the water in front of the beach – so you reach the beach on foot.
- Coral and shells: collecting coral, sea fans, shells or marine animals is not allowed.
- Sunscreen: sunscreen with chemicals harmful to coral is not allowed.
- Drones: only with permission, according to Krabi Ezy Trails' listing, which names "no swimming and no use of drones" as Maya Bay's notable rules.
How do you get to Maya Bay?
Maya Bay is on Phi Phi Le, an uninhabited island in Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province, so every visit is by boat. Where you sleep decides the trip: a full-day speedboat tour from Phuket, a half- or full-day boat trip from Phi Phi Don if you're staying on the island, or a day tour from Ao Nang in Krabi.
From Phuket, expect an 8–9-hour day with about 40–50 minutes at Maya Bay; from Phi Phi Don, half a day is enough. The table compares the five options we checked; each section below says how long you get at Maya Bay and how you get in.
| Tour | Boat | Duration | Pickup | Park fee | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic speedboat day | Speedboat | 8 h | Booking option | In some options | Check price |
| Sunrise via Khai Nai | Speedboat | 9 h | Included | Included | Check price |
| Maya first, from Phi Phi | Speedboat | 4–6.5 h | No | Included | Check price |
| Longtail from Phi Phi Don | Longtail boat | 4 h | No | Extra, on the day · THB 400 | Check price |
| From Ao Nang (Krabi) | Speedboat | 9 h | Included | Extra, on the day · THB 400 | Check price |
From Phuket: the classic speedboat day
One Asia Corporation's Phi Phi and Bamboo Island speedboat day stops at Maya Bay for about 50 minutes, walking in from Loh Samah Bay – the longest Maya stop of the Phuket tours we've compared. It was also one of the lowest-priced Phuket tours when we checked.
The rest of the day covers Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, Nui Bay, a snorkel off Phi Phi Le, a buffet lunch on Phi Phi Don and about 1.5 hours on Bamboo Island, with Monkey Beach seen from the boat. You're back at the pier around 17:30–18:00.
Check your booking option: the park fee and hotel pickup are included only in the options that list them. The listing puts 35–70 passengers on each boat and says the tour isn't suitable for children under 3, travellers over 60 or pregnant guests.
Classic Phi Phi & Bamboo Island speedboat day
- Duration
- 8 h
- Pickup window
- 07:00–08:00
- Boat / transport
- Speedboat
- Group size
- up to 70 people
- National park fee
- Only in the booking options that include it
- Hotel pickup
- Only in the booking options with transferPhuket province
- Included
- Not included
Details checked on the GetYourGuide listing, Oct 2026.
From Phuket, early: the sunrise day via Khai Nai
V. Marine Tour's sunrise day starts with about an hour at Khai Nai at sunrise and a light breakfast, then stops at Maya Bay for about 40 minutes. The operator's pitch is an early start to avoid the crowds; the sunrise itself isn't guaranteed, because the weather decides.
Unlike One Asia's tour, it includes the park fee and hotel pickup in every booking, along with breakfast, lunch, snorkel gear and a toilet on board; alcohol is the only exclusion on its listing. It was the higher-priced of the two, and it isn't open to children under 3.
For three more Phuket tours and the whole Phi Phi day compared, see our Phi Phi Island tours comparison.
Phi Phi sunrise speedboat via Khai Nai
- Duration
- 9 h
- Boat / transport
- Speedboat
- National park fee
- Included in the price
- Hotel pickup
- Included
- Included
- Not included
Details checked on the GetYourGuide listing, Oct 2026.
Staying on Phi Phi: Maya Bay as the first stop
Discover Thailand's speedboat trip from Phi Phi Don always makes Maya Bay its first stop, with a one-hour Maya Bay visit listed as an inclusion. After it come a swim stop in Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave with snorkelling and Monkey Bay; the full-day option adds Bamboo Island with lunch.
You must already be on Phi Phi: the listing says you need your own transport to the island and an overnight stay before the tour, and it starts from a meeting point on Phi Phi Don. Choose the half day (4 hours) or the full day (6.5 hours); the park fee is included in both.
The trip runs in rain if it's safe, and rain alone doesn't get you a refund. The listing says it isn't suitable for children under 3, pregnant guests, or people with back problems, mobility impairments or seasickness.
Maya Bay first, by speedboat from Phi Phi Don
- Duration
- 4–6.5 h
- Boat / transport
- Speedboat
- National park fee
- Included in the price – THB 400 per person
- Hotel pickup
- Not offered
- Included
- Not included
Details checked on the GetYourGuide listing, Oct 2026.
Staying on Phi Phi, on a budget: the half-day longtail
My Ticket Travel's shared longtail from Tonsai Bay on Phi Phi Don was the lowest-priced way to Maya Bay we found: a 4-hour trip with Maya Bay and snorkelling. You meet staff at the Marlin statue 20 minutes before departure; there are no transfers, and missed departures aren't refunded.
The park fee isn't included: you pay it in cash at Phi Phi Le, and the listing says it's charged once per day. The listing doesn't itemise the stops beyond Maya Bay and snorkelling, so ask the operator what else the trip covers.
It isn't suitable for pregnant guests, babies under 1 or anyone over 110 kg, according to the listing. Book it if you're on Phi Phi Don for a few nights and want Maya Bay without a full day on a speedboat.
Half-day longtail to Maya Bay from Phi Phi Don
- Duration
- 4 h
- Boat / transport
- Longtail boat
- National park fee
- Paid separately on the day – THB 400 per person
- Hotel pickup
- Not offered
- Included
- Not included
Details checked on the GetYourGuide listing, Oct 2026.
From Krabi: an early start from Ao Nang
Krabi Ezy Trails' "early bird" speedboat day picks you up in Ao Nang for a van ride of about 30 minutes to the pier, and stops at Maya Bay for about an hour. The boat takes up to 30 people, and minimum numbers apply.
The 9-hour day mixes Phi Phi with Krabi's islands: Tup Island, Pileh Lagoon with a swim, Viking Cave, Monkey Bay, a snorkelling stop, lunch on Bamboo Island, Chicken Island and Koh Poda. The park fee isn't included – you pay it in cash on the day.
The listing says the tour isn't suitable for children under 3, pregnant guests, people over 70 or over 130 kg, or anyone with heart or back problems.
Phi Phi early start from Ao Nang (Krabi) with Maya Bay
- Duration
- 9 h
- Boat / transport
- Speedboat
- Group size
- up to 30 people
- National park fee
- Paid separately on the day – THB 400 per person
- Hotel pickup
- IncludedAo Nang
- Included
- Not included
Details checked on the GetYourGuide listing, Oct 2026.
What does a Maya Bay trip cost, and is the park fee included?
Adult prices on GetYourGuide ran from ~THB 1,400 to ~THB 3,900 for the Phuket day tours, ~THB 600 to ~THB 1,500 for trips from Phi Phi Don and ~THB 2,700 for the Ao Nang tour when we checked in October 2026. Check the live price for your date, and add the cost of getting to and staying on Phi Phi if you go from Phi Phi Don.
The national park fee is included on V. Marine's sunrise day and Discover Thailand's Phi Phi Don trip. On One Asia's Phuket tour it's included only in the booking options that list it, and on the longtail and the Ao Nang tour you pay it in cash on the day. Where a listing states the amount, it's in that tour's key facts above.
Why is Maya Bay famous, and why did it close?
Maya Bay became famous through the 1999 film The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and by 2017 almost 5,000 people a day were visiting, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
It closed in June 2018 so the coral and marine life could recover, and the Loh Samah jetty was built so boats no longer enter the bay. Maya Bay reopened on 1 January 2022. The timed rounds, the swimming ban and the annual closure described above are the national park's rules for managing it.
How should you plan your Maya Bay visit?
From Phuket, book One Asia's classic speedboat day for the longest Maya stop; if you're sleeping on Phi Phi Don, Discover Thailand's trip puts Maya Bay first.
Before you pay, check that your dates fall outside the annual closure and that your option includes the park fee – if it doesn't, bring cash. For more ways to fill your trip, see every Phuket tour we've compared.
FAQ
Featured image: Nnthurber / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
