Dozens of speedboats, ferries and traditional long-tail boats depart from Krabi, Phuket and Phi Phi Don each day to Maya Bay, filled with travellers anxious to experience the wild, uncharted island seen in the film. These crowds make it difficult to imagine Phi Phi Leh as a deserted paradise. The longest stretch of sand on Maya Bay is no longer than 200m across, so sunbathers often lie shoulder-to-shoulder while snorkellers bump into each other as they attempt to swim around the docked boats.
As a designated national park, development and visitation to Maya Bay remains under the jurisdiction of the Thai government, which began enforcing a ban on all overnight visitors in 2012. Only one tour operator, Maya Bay Tours, now offers guests the unique opportunity to see the island after sunset on an overnight excursion, and I was lucky enough to snag a coveted spot on one of its high-season tours.
Embarking on the tour boat at the Phi Phi Don dock, I was pleased to see the group was small, only about 30 fellow travellers hailing from all over the world. After a scenic 20-minute ride, the boat cruised into the entrance of Maya Bay. The sight of pale yellow sand and lush palm trees framed by jagged cliffs hushed the group, aside from the sound of clicking cameras. Since we’d arrived in the late afternoon the shore was not short on crowds, but with no towering resorts in the distance or hawkers pushing souvenirs and snacks, the beach still appeared as magical as it did in its film debut.
As a blanket of darkness slipped over the sky, the last boats departed and it was finally time to truly explore. Walking along the cool, silky sand with only the dim light of our boat in the distance to illuminate the beach, it was easily to image we were the first people to ever visit the island. Aside from the waves lapping at the shore, it was almost hauntingly quiet, a welcome relief from the thumping bass that that I’d grown accustomed to during my evenings on Phi Phi Don.