Maya Bay, Krabi: 2026 Visitor Guide (Open Status, Rules and Fees)

Yes. Maya Bay reopened after its long closure and now runs on timed entry with a daily visitor cap, so it is open daily through most of the year. The exception is an annual reef-recovery closure that usually falls around August and September, reopening on 1 October. Those dates are set by announcement and can shift, so confirm the current season before you plan a monsoon trip. Outside that window, it is open through the day.

Maya Bay is in Thailand. It sits on the small, uninhabited island of Ko Phi Phi Leh, in Krabi province, in the Andaman Sea off the southern coast. It is part of the Phi Phi group and protected as part of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. The nearest mainland launch points for a day trip are Krabi and Ao Nang, with Phuket a little further away.

Not inside the bay itself. To protect the recovering reef and the blacktip reef sharks that have returned, swimming and snorkelling in Maya Bay are banned. You can wade in the shallows, and tour boats stop for a proper swim in the water just outside the bay. Plan for a walk on the sand and photographs rather than a swim in the famous cove. Rangers enforce this rule.

The national park fee is about 400 THB for a foreign adult, roughly Rs 1,140, and about 200 THB for a child, around Rs 570, at close to Rs 2.85 to the baht. It is usually collected in cash at the pier and is often not included in cheaper tour prices, so carry it in Thai baht. Check the current figure on the entry fees page, since park fees change by announcement.

Only by boat, as part of an organised Phi Phi islands day trip or a private charter. From Krabi or Ao Nang the crossing is about an hour by speedboat, and tours usually pair Maya Bay with Pileh Lagoon and a snorkel stop. You cannot take a scheduled ferry straight to Maya Bay or reach it on your own. Take the earliest departure you can to beat the mid-morning crowds.

It was loved to death. After the film The Beach made it famous in 2000, thousands of visitors and hundreds of boats arrived daily, and anchors and fins destroyed most of the coral. In 2018 the authorities closed the bay to let the reef and marine life recover. It stayed shut until 2022 and reopened with strict limits: no boats on the sand, no swimming in the bay, timed entry and a daily cap.