A trip to the Phi Phi archipelago which is east of Phuket and west of Krabi. Transport is done by speed boat, less typical than “longtail” – Thai motorized boats, but much faster. It takes a good hour by boat to Maya Bay from Phuket. As always with speed boats, it can be very bumpy if the sea is formed. Travel is also not recommended for pregnant women and people with back pain.
Maya Bay outraged, but Maya Bay liberated!
Maya Bay is famous for having served as the setting for the film “The Beach” with Leonardo Di Caprio (no one remembers the other actors: Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet among others).
Maya Bay has been closed to the public for over 3 years. The massive tourist exploitation of the bay had seriously endangered the corals and consequently all the aquatic fauna of the island. The Thai government, through its Ministry of Environment, had therefore decided to close the island to tourists to allow the environment to regenerate.
The bay reopened in January
Experts who followed the evolution of this biotope found that in the absence of tourists the environment regenerated in an encouraging way.
It seems that this break was beneficial since the bay was reopened to the public in January 2022, under certain conditions.
I went there 2 weeks after it reopened.
First point, boats can no longer access the interior of the bay. A pier has been installed outside the bay. This pier is obviously overcrowded and you have the impression of finding yourself in the traffic jams of a big city. I must say that everything was very well organized and the wait to disembark was very short. Let us not forget that we are still very far from the massive affluences of “normal” years.
An elevated path allows you to reach the beach in a few minutes.
A beautiful beach but without bathers
The beach is really beautiful with this breathtaking view of the bay and its opening to the sea.
Swimming is forbidden and the few supervisors have a lot to do with the instagrammers who absolutely want to make an “insta” in the water.
A lot of people obviously, but certainly much less than usual.
Pileh Laggoon
A lagoon on the other side of the island of Phi Phi Lay. We splash in a paradisiacal setting, if we ignore the many boats around. Refreshing!
Monkey Beach
It seems that Monkey Beach is not always accessible, it was not on the day of my excursion. I didn’t miss it. I don’t like the idea of feeding wild animals. In addition, monkeys fed by tourists tend to become aggressive or … obese.
Instead, we stopped in front of a small cove, surrounded by climbing monkeys. The view was idyllic.
Kay Island
A small island ideal for relaxing on the beach.
A good day?
This is the ideal type of excursion for a day, even if the day is very busy.
For me these days are scouting that will allow me to target a destination that particularly interested me, and maybe spend more time there on another trip.
Ciao!
