Maya bay closed? Help required for planning phi phi island stay [closed]

I am going to Thailand next week. Particulary Phuket, krabi, phi phi island, Bangkok. I heard Maya bay in phi phi island is closed indefinitely for rehabilitation. That was one of my main interests in visiting phi phi island. Now that it is closed how can I plan my 2 day stay at phi phi?

EDIT: To make this question more objective, I ask: Apart from Maya bay, what other places are most visited (statistically) in phi phi island?.

thailand phi-phi

Best Answer

I got the impression from news reports that many of the visitors to Maya Bay were quite disappointed with the crowds of boats and thousands of tourists blocking their "perfect" view, and it was nothing like the environment seen in the film The Beach. A recent report on the BBC showed steps taken to prevent tourist boats from entering the bay itself, the program for restoration of coral that had been damaged by boats, and the re-emergence of species like black-tip reef sharks.

Meanwhile neighbouring Ko Phi Phi Don, while it is a larger island with resorts, bars, restaurants and other tourist infrastructure, also has a number of beaches away from the main tourist hotels, some are accessible by foot, others by boat.

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Why did they close Maya Bay?

Maya Bay, which reopened to tourist on Jan 1 after being off-limits for over three years, will be closed again from August to September for the purposes of natural rehabilitation. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced the news to protect the island's sensitive ecology yesterday.

How long will Maya Bay be closed?

Maya Bay will reopen to visitors on the 1st January 2022, Thailand's Department of National Parks has confirmed. Maya Bay will remain closed until June 2021. The Department of National Parks will then review the Bays recovery on a three monthly basis there after.

Why is Phi Phi island closed?

Maya Bay, on the island of Phi Phi Leh, was closed in 2018 after officials said a sharp rise in visitors had severely damaged the environment. But now tourists are being allowed back due to the ecosystem recovering.

When did they close Maya Bay?

Thai scientists discovered that its marine life was dwindling and its coral reefs were being decimated. In June 2018, action was taken: Maya Bay was closed to tourists, initially for four months to give its marine ecosystem time to recover.

Koh Phi Phi and Maya Bay – Get There Before Maya Bay Closed!

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Images: Quang Nguyen Vinh, Ketut Subiyanto, Silent Sightseer, Yan Krukov