Maya Bay is closed right now. The annual ecosystem-recovery break runs from 1 August to 30 September in 2026, and the bay reopens on 1 October. Phi Phi tours run daily through those two months; they simply put Bamboo Island in the itinerary where the bay would be.
For the rest of the year the bay is open daily from 07:00 to 18:00 — and it works as a strictly managed site rather than as the beach from the film. There is an entry fee, swimming is not allowed, boats never touch the sand, and your time inside is about an hour.
In short
below is exactly what is permitted in 2026, what entry costs, how the landing works, and which departure from Phuket puts you in the bay before the day fleet arrives.
Is Maya Bay open right now?
No. From 1 August to 30 September 2026 the bay is closed for recovery, reopening on 1 October. The closure is annual and repeats every August and September, so if the bay is the reason you are travelling, those two months come out of the plan in advance.
Outside that window the bay is open every day from 07:00 to 18:00, year-round, weather permitting. Everything else is access rules, and those have changed more than once in recent years.
| What | The 2026 rule |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 07:00–18:00 daily; in 2026 closed 1 August – 30 September, reopening 1 October |
| Entry | ฿400 ≈ $11 per adult and ฿200 ≈ $6 per child (foreigners), cash |
| Swimming | Not allowed; you may wade to knee depth |
| Landing | Via Loh Samah Bay and a 5–10 minute boardwalk; no boat lands on Maya's sand |
| Capacity | About 380 people at once, roughly an hour on site |
| Also banned | Standing on coral, taking shells, non-reef-safe sunscreen, drones |
Source: the published rules page of operator Simba Sea Trips (Phuket, TAT licence 34/02111), checked on 3 September 2026; the operator itself marks the rules as current as of 5 August 2026. Thai national park rules change — confirm locally before you travel.
Why the bay was closed, and what changed
From 2018 to 2022 the bay was closed completely — not for two months but entirely, for four years. The reason was the very thing you are going for: too many boats on too small a beach.
Since the reopening blacktip reef sharks have returned in numbers, coral cover has improved and water quality is measurably better. That is why swimming was replaced by knee-deep wading: the shallows are a shark nursery and a coral restoration site.
How do you get to Maya Bay from Phuket?
The bay sits on the uninhabited island of Phi Phi Leh, about 45 kilometres from Phuket — roughly an hour by speedboat. There is no "Maya Bay only" departure: the bay is always one stop inside a Phi Phi day.
The group speedboat to Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Bamboo Island costs from ฿3,900 ≈ $108 per adult and ฿2,400 ≈ $66 per child aged 4–12: hotel pickup 07:15–08:00, departure from the operator's own pier at 09:00, back around 16:30. The national park fee of ฿400 ≈ $11 and ฿200 ≈ $6 is paid separately on the day.
The early departure: what it actually changes
The small-group sunrise tour is from ฿5,310 ≈ $147 per person, all-inclusive, with the park fees already in the price. The boat leaves Boat Lagoon Marina at 06:00, the crossing takes about an hour and ten minutes, and you step onto the sand at roughly 07:15 — inside the bay's first working hour and about an hour before the rest of the fleet.
Tip
with a cap of 380 people at once and an hour on the beach, the difference between 07:15 and 11:00 is the difference between a nearly empty beach and a full one. No upgrade in boat category changes that; the hour of departure does.
What you can and cannot do in the bay
- No swimming. Since the 2022 reopening you may go in to knee depth and no further. Snorkelling and swimming move to the other stops of the day.
- The boat does not come to the beach. The landing is on the back of the island at Loh Samah Bay: a floating pontoon, then a wooden boardwalk through the jungle, 5–10 minutes on foot.
- Time is limited. About an hour on shore; site capacity is roughly 380 people at once.
- Entry is paid, in cash. ฿400 ≈ $11 per adult, ฿200 ≈ $6 per child. Some tours already include it and some do not; check that line before you pay.
- Separately banned: standing on coral, taking shells, non-reef-safe sunscreen and drones.
Where do tours go in August and September?
During the closure the Phi Phi day is not cancelled: operators substitute Bamboo Island for the bay, and the rest of the route — Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, the snorkelling stops — stays as it is. That applies to the group speedboat and to the sunrise departure alike.
If the bay is the point of the trip, look at the calendar before you book accommodation: our month-by-month breakdown of Phuket shows that December to March gives you both an open bay and the calmest crossing — 0.55–0.66 m of swell against 1.25–1.46 m in summer.
How do you book a trip to Maya Bay?
Send your dates and group size on WhatsApp or Telegram — we will tell you whether the bay is open on your dates, whether the early departure still has seats, and what the day costs all-in including the park fee.
