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Where the boats go

Phi Phi & Maya Bay

The postcard islands, fifty minutes east by speedboat: Maya Bay, Pileh lagoon, Viking Cave and Bamboo Island's white sandbar. Worth doing privately, early, before forty boats arrive.

Plan the daySee the fleet
Getting there
45 to 50 minutes by speedboat from Phuket's east coast; three hours or more under sail, so catamarans do it overnight
Maya Bay
Closed every year from 1 August to 30 September; the rest of the year you land at Loh Samah and walk across
Season
Departures all year; the flattest crossings from November to April
Fees
Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park fee per guest, included on our all-inclusive days

What is there

  • Maya Bay: the beach from the film, reached on foot from Loh Samah since 2022
  • Pileh lagoon: the green pool inside the cliffs, the best swim of the day
  • Viking Cave and Monkey Beach on the way round
  • Phi Phi Don: lunch at Ton Sai, the village and the view
  • Bamboo Island's sandbar, or the Khai islands' reef on the way home

A day there

  1. 08:00A car from your villa to the marina
  2. 09:30Cast off; the crossing takes under an hour
  3. 10:30Maya Bay and Pileh lagoon while they are still quiet
  4. 12:00Viking Cave, Monkey Beach, lunch on Phi Phi Don
  5. 14:30Bamboo Island or the Khai islands: sand and snorkelling
  6. 16:30Back at the marina

Boats that sail there

Whole fleet →

Experiences there

All experiences →

Good to know

  • Be on the water by 09:30. The shared boats gather at Maya Bay from 11:00 and the lagoon at Pileh fills with long-tails by noon.
  • Nobody swims in Maya Bay itself; you walk in from the Loh Samah side and swim at Pileh and Bamboo. Plan the children's swimming there.
  • The sea between Phuket and Phi Phi is open. In the monsoon months your captain may swap the day for Phang Nga Bay; that is his call and the right one.

Questions

Can we swim at Maya Bay?

No. Since the bay reopened in 2022 boats moor on the Loh Samah side and guests walk across to the beach; swimming inside the bay is not allowed. The swimming and snorkelling happen at Pileh lagoon, Bamboo Island and the Khai islands.

When is Maya Bay closed?

Every year from 1 August to 30 September. The rest of Phi Phi stays open, so a day in those months skips the beach and adds time at Pileh and Bamboo.

Speedboat or catamaran?

A speedboat makes Phi Phi a day trip. A sailing catamaran needs three hours each way, so it does Phi Phi as a two-day trip with a night at anchor, which is its own kind of day.

Tell us the place and the date. One concierge plans the boat, the car and the table.

Plan the day