Phi Phi Island
This island, which is also a marine national park, is just a two-hour boat ride from Phuket. Once a backpacker paradise, it’s now overrun with holidaymakers. On 26 December 2004, the island was hit hard by the devastating tsunami, which claimed more than 1,000 lives here alone. There’s no sign of the damage today. In 2019, as many as 600,000 tourists visited this (former) tropical paradise. But despite the crowds, there are still corners of the island that are beautiful and well worth a visit!
Phi Phi Islands’ world-famous Maya Bay accessible again since 1.1.22
11.05.22 Since 2018, this beach, made world-famous by the Hollywood film "The Beach" (starring Leonardo di Caprio), has been closed to visitors. I learned to dive here in 1993 and was on the island myself during filming in 1999. The film made the bay one of Thailand’s top destinations, with devastating consequences for the environment. Up to 6,000 visitors a day caused widespread damage to the area and destroyed the coral. The closure itself was a miracle to me. Now the beach is accessible again, but with important restrictions. For example, no boats are allowed in the bay, and swimming and snorkeling are prohibited. Only certain areas are open. This great video from TheThaiger from 2018 shows once again why the closure was necessary!
The bay is closed again in August and September to give nature time to recover.
A 2019 BBC report vividly describes the damage and the slow recovery of the world’s most famous beach.
Memories of 1993/94
How Phi Phi Island has changed—
paradise lost..
When I first came to Phi Phi in 1993, the island was a true paradise! There were only 10 resorts. Though “resorts” was perhaps a bit of a stretch, since most were simple huts with just a fan. When the power regularly went out in the evenings, generators would be fired up in the small restaurants. And several times a week, an Italian man would screen films on videotapes he’d somehow managed to get hold of.
Swimming left from Tonsai Bay, you’d reach a shallow area with small coral reefs, regularly visited by young whitetip reef sharks. There’s no need to be afraid. The dive sites around Phi Phi were covered in wonderful hard and soft corals, with schools of fish weaving through the reefs.
Mass tourism hasn’t made all of this disappear, but there’s dramatically less of it. The 1997 photo already shows permanent houses replacing the palm forests. By 2017, the once-green peninsula was completely built over.
Paradise is a thing of the past. But Phi Phi is still worth a visit. You just need to know exactly what you’re looking for. Take a longtail boat to the quieter side of Run Tee Bay—it’s worth it. There are still a few simpler resorts there that have retained some of the old charm. And the snorkelling in the crystal-clear water is well worth it!
Phi Phi Harbour: boat after boat
Early on, there were small dive shops and restaurants in simple huts on this beach for backpackers. The headland was densely wooded with palm trees.
Maya Bay
Small hotels on the east side
Phi Phi Viewpoint East
East side, small resort
Maya Bay — an ecological disaster recovers
When I made the first dive of my life on February 27, 1993, it was in Maya Bay. I was accompanied only by my dive instructor, Jon Berkowitz from Phi-Phi-Family Dive Centre, and three other students. After the dive, we took a lunch break on the beach and had chicken fried rice. Discovering all the colorful fish and this incredible underwater world of vibrant coral was breathtaking. In the film "The Beach," starring Leonardo di Caprio, he enjoys the same magnificent view of the deserted bay that I did. When the film became a worldwide success, that was the end of paradise in Maya Bay. At least it’s part of a marine national park! The huge influx of tourists and the countless boats bringing them into the bay caused widespread damage to the underwater world! In 2018, the government put a stop to it and closed the bay to tourists. The plan was to close it for four months. Fortunately, the ban is still in place, giving the underwater world a chance to recover. I recently heard that the corals are indeed recovering and the fish are coming back, too!
The BBC aired a report from Maya Bay in 2018 that is absolutely worth watching!!
The most beautiful beaches
Phi Phi still has real dream beaches beyond the main town. These are my favorite beaches.
Pileh Lagoon
On Phi Phi Leh. Accessible by longtail boat. Phi Leh Wall is a famous drop-off point in front of Pileh Lagoon. You can also snorkel very well from the beach.
Loh Samah Bay
On Phi Phi Leh. Accessible by longtail boat. Wonderfully peaceful! A true snorkeling paradise, too! (Back of Maya Bay)
