Towering cliffs
A bay enclosed on three sides.
Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Roma Neus — CC BY 3.0 · Roma Neus — CC BY 3.0 · Roma Neus — CC BY 3.0
One of the world's most famous beaches: a small bay of soft white sand and clear turquoise water, enclosed on three sides by towering green limestone cliffs, on uninhabited Phi Phi Leh. It won worldwide fame after the film «The Beach» was shot here in 2000, and thousands of visitors a day poured in until its coral was badly damaged. The bay was closed from 2018 to 2022 to recover, and blacktip reef sharks returned to its shallows. It now opens under a new system: boats no longer enter the bay but moor in a cove behind it, and visitors walk a boardwalk to the beach; swimming is not allowed, and visits are limited in time and numbers. For entry, the Phi Phi national park fee for foreigners is about four hundred baht per adult and two hundred per child, paid once a day and often not included in the tour price. The bay usually closes for a period each year in the rainy season to let nature rest, so check before booking. From May to October the Andaman Sea is rough and boat trips may be cancelled. Tours reach it from Phi Phi Don, Phuket and Krabi; choose one that arrives early in the morning before the crowds, and bring reef-safe sun cream.
A bay enclosed on three sides.
Returned after the recovery.
World-famous since 2000.
Phi Phi Leh island, south of Phi Phi Don
To protect coral damaged by overcrowding, and because young reef sharks breed in the shallows. Only paddling at the water's edge is allowed.
