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Koh Phi Phi Don-Lei (Maya Bay Beach), Thailand

Published for Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh and the Andaman islands around them

TH Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Guides › Thailand › Koh Phi Phi Don-Lei (Maya Bay Beach), Thailand

Limestone cliffs, a famous bay and a village rebuilt after the wave

The Phi Phi islands sit in the Andaman Sea between Phuket and Krabi: Phi Phi Don, inhabited, car-free and lively, and Phi Phi Leh, an uninhabited ring of cliffs around Maya Bay. They are among the most visited islands in Thailand, by boat, in day trips and for longer stays.

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Koh Phi Phi Don-Lei (Maya Bay Beach), Thailand — Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page

The islands are part of the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province. Phi Phi Don is shaped like a pair of hills joined by a narrow sandy isthmus, with Ton Sai Bay on one side and Loh Dalum Bay on the other; the village of Ton Sai, with its piers, guesthouses, bars and shops, fills the isthmus between them. Phi Phi Leh, a short boat ride south, has no settlement at all, only sheer limestone walls around Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon and the Viking Cave, where swiftlet nests are collected for soup.

Maya Bay became famous as the setting of the film The Beach in 2000, and then a victim of its fame: by 2018 thousands of visitors a day had damaged the coral so badly that the park closed it entirely. It reopened in 2022 under new rules: boats land at a jetty on the far side, visitors walk in along boardwalks, swimming is not permitted, and the bay closes for a few months each year for recovery. Blacktip reef sharks have returned to its shallows.

On 26 December 2004 the Indian Ocean tsunami struck both sides of the Ton Sai isthmus at once, destroying most of the village and killing many residents and visitors. The village was rebuilt, and tsunami evacuation routes are signposted throughout. The memorial and the rebuilt streets are part of the island's story, and many of the people who work here lost family that day.

Phi Phi Don today has two moods. By day there are snorkelling trips to Bamboo Island, Monkey Beach and Phi Phi Leh, dives on the Bida rocks and the walk up to the viewpoint over the twin bays. By night Loh Dalum and Ton Sai are a party: fire shows, buckets and bars until late. The quieter resorts around Laem Tong and Long Beach, reached by boat, are a different holiday.

Where People Live

The neighbourhoods

Ton Sai village

The isthmus village where all the ferries arrive: lanes of guesthouses, dive shops, restaurants, massage parlours, bars and laundries, with no cars and very little quiet.

Loh Dalum Bay

The shallow bay on the north side of the isthmus, a beach by day at low tide and the island's nightlife strip after dark, with fire shows on the sand.

The viewpoints

Steps and a steep path from the village lead up the hill to the viewpoints over the twin bays of Ton Sai and Loh Dalum, the island's postcard image, best at sunrise or sunset.

Long Beach (Hat Yao)

South of the village, reached by longtail boat or a walk round the headland: a long stretch of sand with snorkelling off the beach and quieter bungalows.

Laem Tong & the north

The northern tip of Phi Phi Don, with the islands' quietest and more expensive resorts, a sea-gypsy (Chao Leh) village, and boats to Bamboo Island nearby.

Phi Phi Leh

The uninhabited southern island: Maya Bay, Loh Samah, Pileh Lagoon with its emerald water enclosed by cliffs, and the Viking Cave. Visited by boat only, and subject to park rules and fees.

Getting there by ferry

Koh Phi Phi

Ferry terminal · 1.8 km from the centre

Laem Thong Beach

Ferry terminal · 3.1 km from the centre

Laemtong Pier

Ferry terminal · 3.3 km from the centre

Ton Sai Beach - Laem Thong Beach

Ferry route

Koh Phi Phi Don - Koh Yung

Ferry route

Ko Phi Phi Don - Ko Phi Phi Leh

Ferry route

Koh Phi Phi Don to Koh Mai Phai

Ferry route

Ton Sai Beach - Hin Bida

Ferry route

Railay - Ko Phi Phi

Ferry route

Ko Lanta - Ko Phi Phi

Ferry route

Krabi Town - Ko Phi Phi

Ferry route

Trains & rail

State Railway of Thailand

National rail

Living Here

Practical notes for residents

Getting about

There is no airport and no road; ferries run from Phuket's Rassada pier in around two hours, from Krabi's Klong Jilad pier in about an hour and a half, and from Ao Nang and Koh Lanta in season. Speedboats are faster and rougher.
On Phi Phi Don everyone walks; porters with carts carry luggage. Longtail boats are the island's taxis, with prices posted on boards by the pier.
Phuket and Krabi airports are the gateways, with flights from Bangkok and international routes. Ferries are reduced and seas rougher during the south-west monsoon.
The national park charges entry fees to Phi Phi Leh, and the island collects a small fee from arrivals at the pier.

Health

Phi Phi Don has a small hospital and clinics for minor injuries; serious cases are taken by boat to Krabi or Phuket, where there are international private hospitals.
Dial 1669 for medical emergencies or 191 for the police; the tourist police are on 1155. Coral cuts, sunburn, dehydration and accidents after dark are the commonest problems.
Insurance with evacuation cover is essential. Know the tsunami evacuation routes signposted around the village.

Living here

Tourism is the island's only industry: dive shops, hotels, bars and boats. Foreign staff, especially dive instructors, need proper Thai work permits; working without one risks deportation.
Housing is limited, fresh water is shipped or desalinated, and rubbish and sewage are long-standing problems for a small island under heavy use.
Many visitors stay for a dive course or a season; the island empties noticeably in the rainy months.

Money & manners

Thai baht; ATMs in the village; cards at most hotels and dive shops, cash elsewhere. Prices are higher than on the mainland.
Dress modestly away from the beach; respect the monarchy and religious images, both protected by strict laws; and remember that drugs bring very heavy penalties in Thailand.
November to April is the dry season with calm seas; May to October brings the monsoon, rougher crossings and cheaper rooms.

Sources

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Limestone cliffs, a famous bay and a village rebuilt after the wave

Where People Live

Ton Sai village

Loh Dalum Bay

The viewpoints

Long Beach (Hat Yao)

Laem Tong & the north

Phi Phi Leh

Getting there by ferry

Koh Phi Phi

Laem Thong Beach

Laemtong Pier

Ton Sai Beach - Laem Thong Beach

Koh Phi Phi Don - Koh Yung

Ko Phi Phi Don - Ko Phi Phi Leh

Koh Phi Phi Don to Koh Mai Phai

Ton Sai Beach - Hin Bida

Railay - Ko Phi Phi

Ko Lanta - Ko Phi Phi

Krabi Town - Ko Phi Phi

Restaurants & places to go

Trains & rail

Living Here

Getting about

Health

Living here

Money & manners

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