Maya Bay ‘The Beach’

June 07, 2015
in Backpacking, ASIA

Touristy, overcrowded and nothing like the secluded paradise portrayed in the movie. But what do you expect? It’s Maya Bay, a backpacking checkpoint and something pretty much every traveller in Thailand will visit. The beach is full of backpackers simultaneously jumping to try and grab a mid-sir shot just like at the end of movie.

Maya Bay Thailand

I was in Ko Phi Phi and found a tour that takes you around all the natural sites surrounding the island. It cost a mere £10 (around B350) for a whole day of tourism. We left about 10am but I would suggest leaving much earlier, as soon as the sunrises. Grab a long boat to take you straight to Maya Bay, the beach won’t be crowded with longtail boats lined up obstructing the stunning views, you might even catch the sunrise.

The tour took us Mosquito Island, Monkey Island, Shark Point, Vikings Cave and a gorgeous lagoon that was enclosed by huge prehistoric rocks. We jumped in the water at the lagoon and it was like a heated swimming pool, it was the most beautiful place I’d ever been to in my life and still is today.

Monkey Island Thailand

Maya Bay

After an hour swim we finally drove the long boat through those rocks into the golden sands, crystal clear waters and free-loving backpackers of Maya Bay.

This was the beach where Leonardo DiCaprio killed that shark, where he collapse and where he tried to bed the beautiful French girl (fair play). It was awe-inspiring in a way. This traveler’s benchmark, a place to really cement your true backpacking credentials. It was the beautiful. I walked along the beach and thought about the film, it was only a small island, but I made sure I saw every bit of it. It made me feel like a proper backpacker.

It’s not the best beach in the world, but you can’t go to Thailand and not visit Maya Bay – it’s a must see. And you can get the jumping photo to tick off your backpacking to-dos.

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