Is Maya Bay At The Phi Phi Islands Open?

One of the highlights of touring around Phuket via Private Speedboat is visiting Maya Bay.  For those of you who may be a little younger, you may not know why Maya Bay is so well known.  You see, Maya Bay was featured in a movie that had Leonardo DiCaprio as the major actor.  Ever since this movie was released crowds of tourists have rushed to Phuket to board a Private Boat and head to Maya Bay and walk on the same sand that Leo walked on and swim in the beautiful blue water that he swam in.

The problem this caused was that due to a lack of a Tourism Management Plan there were thousands of people visiting Maya Bay every single day which led to the destruction of the reef and Marine Life leaving the bay.  While this is a horrible side effect of the popularity of the bay for the local people of Phuket and Krabi the movie was a great way to feature the beautiful area to the rest of the world.

Due to the Coral Reef destruction and over-tourism, the Thailand Government made a decision to close Maya Bay for restoration. 

Maya Bay at Phi Phi Island is still closed and will remain closed most probably until 2021. 

Here at 5 Star Marine, we hope that it stays closed even longer as the coral regrowth rate is slow, and while marine life is returning to the bay, opening up the bay will just destroy the good work that has been done.

In fact, if you ever come with us on a Private Boat to Phi Phi Island you’ll realize that we don’t even below Maya Bay to be the most beautiful Bay out of all of the Bays out at Phi Phi Island.  For example, you have things like Camel Rock, Pileh Lagoon, and more to go and explore.

Just like James Bond Island is an icon attracting people into Phang Nga Bay, Maya Bay is just an icon attracting people to go visit, swim, snorkel and explore the Phi Phi Islands.  While it’s worth a photo, a visit, and a little reminiscing of the movie The Beach in our opinion it is not the only reason why you should be visiting Phi Phi Island.

The Hidden Features of Phang Nga Bay

Having just arrived back from a wonderful day exploring Phang Nga Bay I found myself wondering, is James Bond Island really the Jewel of Phang Nga Bay, or are there other equally stunning locations within the Bay?

The answer it seems was pretty obvious. Prior to the Covid 19 Pandemic when we ran James Bond Island Tours the shortest amount of time that we spent at one spot was at James Bond Island. I was always thought that this was because that James Bond Island was so busy.

Now that Covid 19 has decimated the tourist Industry here in Phuket we found ourselves out exploring bays, islands, and lagoons without the crowds. This means that we are now actually regularly stopping at James Bond Island, spending more time there than we have ever before.

James Bond Island Is Still A Big Draw Card To Phang Nga Bay

But I don’t think It’s the most beautiful location out of the locations in Phang Nga Bay. For Example, canoeing through the Hongs at Koh hong Island at mid to high tide is life-changing. Recently I had two groups of ex-pat travelers tell me that this was the single best thing that they’ve done in their entire life.

Then, of course, there are beautiful green lagoons for swimming. Lagoons like Panak Island, Koh Kudu, or Koh Roi. These lagoons are stunning in themselves and allow for a great place to swim, relax and just let nature rush over you.

You could also add to that list the many caves in Phang Nag Bay. You have the Ice Cream Cave, Mangrove Cave, Elephant Cave, and some caves that I am not even certain to have a name or if they do everyone has a different name for them.

So if you are looking to explore Phang Nga Bay but don’t like the tourist trap of James Bond Island I would suggest to you that you don’t even need to visit James Bond Island to truly enjoy the bay.