Trust me, it’s paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven’t tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It’s probably worth it. – Richard of The Beach movie
Every month, thousands of determined tourist groups land in Thailand’s famous Phi Phi islands for their dose of the legendary “The Beach”!
Yes, the very beach that was made famous by “The Beach” movie of 2000 – after all, it was the highlight of the movie!
Where exactly is Maya Bay – “The Beach”?
Phi Phi islands is a group of five islands in the Andaman sea. The only populated island is the biggest island – Koh Phi Phi Don. However, “The Beach” is Maya bay of the uninhabited Koh Pi Phi Leh. Actually, the island is not completely uninhabited – the lucky island warden gets to live there.
Phi Phi Islands tend to get crowded but if you want to know exactly how we got to experience the paradise all to ourselves, read on. Btw, if you’re planning on visiting this lovely country, then be sure to check out these travel tips for Thailand.
Our Obsession with “The Beach” (the movie and Maya Bay – both)
The only downer is, everyone’s got the same idea.
– Richard of The Beach movie
A few years back, my best friend and I also decided to visit “The Beach”. However, there was ONE problem that was glaring at our faces. We saw many people’s vacation pictures and to our dismay, Maya Bay appeared to be disgustingly full in all the pictures. We also read on many blog websites where people had complained that the bay was full of longtail boats bringing tourists in large numbers from the nearby Krabi, Phuket and Ko Phi Phi Don. In most of the pictures, the beach was not visible at all because it had too many people on it!
Just like the movie, we also wanted to run around on empty Maya Bay, swim close to the fishes and with the planktons at night, sleep under the glittering stars, wake up in the morning on an empty beach and run around again!
Nevertheless, we were not ready to give up. We hunted for a few days but we finally found the perfect solution! We found that only ONE way where we could do all of above, have the island to ourselves AND watch the sunset and sunrise too! How?
Well, there’s only one tour operator has the permit to take people to this island before and after the tourist hours. They don’t take 25 people, which is perfect! The tour starts after lunch and ends next day after breakfast. So overall – it’s 25 (or less) people on a beautiful island with no one else! Read to find out more about this.
Maya Bay Sleep Aboard – The Adventure Begins:
On our visit to Phi Phi Island, we were short of time because we decided to spend only 2 days on this island. Out of the two days, one half of our second day was spent scuba diving. We ended up paying for only one night for our room because we dropped our luggage early for our Maya Bay Sleep Aboard tour. (BTW: My first scuba experience was in Phi Phi but if you’re looking for the most awesome diving experience, check out Raja Ampat Live aboard)
We boarded our tour boats that had ONLY 10 other people from different countries – so in total we were 12 people on that island plus the crew. Speaking of the crew – there were only 5 people and they managed the show well. Over a fruit platter on the deck, our tour guide – Kai broke the ice and got everyone to socialize. After all, we were all going to spend a day together.
The Viking Cave near Maya Bay
We cruised around in blue waters, stopped near the Viking cave for a few photos and stopped the boat in the middle of nowhere. Here we had an option to do kayaking and snorkeling – or both.
Viking Cave up close
Snorkeling around Maya Bay and my mermaid moment:
This is the spot where I had the best snorkeling experience!
On our way to Maya Bay Beach Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
On our way to the magical Maya Beach, we stopped here to snorkel around.
The Way to Maya Bay Phi Phi Islands – The Beach Movie
As I went underwater, hundreds of fishes swam around my head – almost kissing my face. I could see three different schools of fish all floating in different directions. Time stood still as I looked around under water sinking in the beauty. In that moment, I was a mermaid and it was better than what I had seen in any movie! I did not have an underwater camera so I tried to make a mental video to remember for life.
After a bit of snorkeling and kayaking, it was time to go back to the boat. Because of the tide, the boat couldn’t enter Maya Bay so we had to take a different and more dangerous route to enter Ko Phi Phi Ley. From the boat we had to climb on a rope ladder to the slippery cliffs. Getting on the ladder was not easy because the waves were strong, but it got simpler after that. We walked around the island for a few minutes and finally reached our destination.
Welcome to Maya Bay – “The Beach”
We were finally on Maya Bay! The sensory delight that greeted us took our breath away.
Empty Maya Bay: Rosh and I couldn’t believe our luck!
The sight of this Paradise beach
The sound of waves and birds
The touch of the soft sand on our feet
The smell of the sea and the trees
A taste of salt on our lips from the sea air
Our five senses thanked us for waking them up!
It felt incredible and wrong at the same time that we were the ONLY ones of this island and privileged few to enjoy it just to ourselves!
Look how pretty Maya Bay looks when it’s empty!
Anyway, my friend and I walked around the island for a while. The island is tiny and had a lot of greenery. People who visit usually are so enchanted by the beach that they don’t end up exploring the forest area.
The Forest area in Phi Phi Leh
After an aimless walk and a small island exploration, we headed back to the beach and found our perfect spot in a cove to enjoy the sunset with Chang beer.
Us and Empty Maya Bay Beach, Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
Empty Maya Beach Phi Phi Islands
Sunset on Maya Bay Beach, Phi Phi, Thailand
Maya Bay Cove – the Beach Movie Experience
Maya Bay Sunset – Just like the Beach Movie
Sunset Spot in Maya Bay Beach, Phi Phi Islands
We met the rest of the group at the designated time to enjoy the delicious barbecue and a Thai bucket. We all sat around in circle, spent the entire evening exchanging travel stories, playing silly drinking games and eating delicious food. By the way – all the food and one bucket was included in the cost of this tour.
Drinking Games at night on Maya Bay
Swimming with the Plankton at Maya Bay
Somewhere around the midnight, Kai announced that it was time for a night swim! We jumped into the water to swim with hundreds of tiny star-like bio luminescent phytoplankton. Commonly known as plankton, they sparkled like a starry sky as we moved through the dark water and they glow only if you move around in the water.
Time to sleep under the stars on Maya Bay
Post our swim, we went back to our boat that was moored 30-50 meters off the beach. We chose our sleeping spots on the deck of our big boat under the stars. Sleep came to us easily since we were all extremely tired from our action packed day.
Good Morning Maya Bay – Empty Beach! (And the customary jump shot)
The boat crew woke us up early morning to make the most of our last few hours. We walked around and noticed that the first set of private tour boats had started arriving. In that instant we felt extremely lucky since now knew how it felt to experience “The Beach” the best way.
Kai announced that it was time for a jump shot. The funny part – there were 10 different cameras and he made at least 5 photos from each so we all ended up jumping 50 times! Was it worth it? Well, see the picture and decide for yourself!
Customary Jump Shot on Empty Maya Bay
The Name of the Tour: Maya Bay Sleep Aboard. The tour was awesome back in 2013 when I visited Thailand. My sister visited in 2014 and did the same tour and loved it. I obviously don’t know if it’s still as good as it was back then. I recommend you read their reviews on TripAdvisor before booking.
Price: THB 3000
Was it worth it? Well if you look at the money, you save on one room night and all the meals for 24 hours as well as one rum or vodka bucket PLUS if you count the money you would have spent on an island tour + snorkeling + kayaking + night swim, this is definitely a win!
Early Morning – Maya Bay – the Beach Movie
Viking Cave Maya Bay Phi Phi Islands Thailand
May Bay Beach – view from the forest
I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it’s not some place you can look for, ’cause it’s not where you go. It’s how you feel for a moment in your life when you’re a part of something, and if you find that moment… it lasts forever…
– Richard of The Beach Movie
We found our paradise moment on Maya Bay. Where was yours?
Maya Bay Thailand – Koh Phi Phi – The Beach Movie Experience
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Namaste, Guten Tag!
I'm Sonal from India. I've been writing about my travels since 2015.
I love European city breaks, hiking to viewpoints, Yoga, music festivals, and road trips. I have a knack for creating the most amazing travel itineraries and in-depth destination guides which will help you make the most of your trip.
