Koh Phi Phi Leh: Maya Bay, Pi Leh Lagoon, Viking Cave and More
Koh Phi Phi Leh is the smaller, uninhabited island of the Phi Phi archipelago, about 2 km south of Phi Phi Don. No one lives here, no hotels, no shops, no roads. The entire island is part of Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, and it has been protected since 1983. What you get instead is some of the most dramatic scenery in Thailand: towering limestone cliffs, hidden lagoons, and the world-famous Maya Bay. The island is only about 1.3 square kilometres, but it packs a lot in.
The landscape is essentially a ring of near-vertical limestone cliffs surrounding a handful of bays. Maya Bay and Loh Samah Bay sit on the southern end, Pi Leh Lagoon cuts deep into the eastern side, and Viking Cave is tucked into the northeastern cliffs. There is almost no flat land at all. I first explored Koh Phi Phi Leh back in 1990, long before “The Beach” put it on the world map. Back then, it was just a stunning limestone island that very few tourists bothered to visit. What I remember most from that first trip was the Viking Cave. Today, the island receives thousands of visitors a day during peak season, and every bay has a steady stream of speedboats and longtails. It has changed enormously, but the cliffs and the water are still as impressive as they were 35 years ago.
Koh Phi Phi Leh – Quick Info
How to Get to Koh Phi Phi Leh
There is no pier on Koh Phi Phi Leh and no way to get there on your own. You need a boat. There are three main options. The most common way is to join a day trip from Phuket. These tours usually depart by speedboat and take about 50 minutes to reach the area. The standard itinerary covers Pi Leh Lagoon, Maya Bay, Viking Cave, Monkey Beach, and sometimes Bamboo Island, with lunch on Phi Phi Don. Tours typically include hotel transfers, national park fees, lunch, and snorkelling gear.
If you are already staying on Phi Phi Don, you can rent a longtail boat from Tonsai Pier. The ride to Phi Phi Leh takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Expect to pay around 1,500 to 3,000 baht for a half-day trip, depending on what you want to visit and how long you want to spend. This is the more flexible option because you can choose your own timing and avoid the busiest hours. Half-day longtail tours from Phi Phi Don are also widely available and usually cheaper than tours from Phuket. The third option is a private speedboat charter, either from Phuket or from Phi Phi Don. This costs more but gives you full control over timing, which matters a lot if you want to reach Maya Bay early before the tour boats arrive. Whichever way you go, you will need to pay the national park fee of 400 baht per person. This is sometimes included in tour packages, sometimes collected separately at the site. Always check before you book.
Places to See on Koh Phi Phi Leh
Maya Bay
Maya Bay is the reason most people come to Koh Phi Phi Leh. The bay sits on the southwestern side of the island, enclosed by limestone cliffs on three sides. The main beach is about 200 metres long with soft white sand and clear water. It became world-famous after the movie “The Beach” was filmed here in 1999. I used to visit Maya Bay before the movie came out. Back then, it was truly beautiful. Just a few longtail boats, soft sand, and you could swim and snorkel in peace. After the film launched in 2000, the crowds arrived fast. At its worst, up to 5,000 tourists and 200 boats were piling into this small bay every single day. The damage was serious. 80% of the coral was destroyed.
The national park shut Maya Bay in June 2018 to let it recover. It stayed closed for nearly four years, much longer than anyone expected. Blacktip reef sharks came back, coral was replanted, and the bay slowly healed. Maya Bay reopened on 1 January 2022 with strict new rules. No boats can enter the bay now. You get dropped off at a floating pier in Loh Samah Bay on the other side and walk about five minutes through a jungle boardwalk to reach the beach.
No swimming either, you can only wade knee-deep. A maximum of 375 visitors is allowed per hour, and the bay closes every August and September for ongoing conservation. The view is back to being beautiful, and it’s a superb photo opportunity. But to be honest, it still feels crowded, and the ballet of speedboats jostling for space in Loh Samah Bay is a bit off-putting. It took a lot of environmental damage to reach this compromise.
Pi Leh Lagoon
Pi Leh Lagoon is always the first stop before Maya Bay, and it has always been that way. Also known as Pileh Bay or Ao Pileh, the lagoon is a long, narrow inlet on the eastern side of Koh Phi Phi Leh, about 600 metres deep, almost cutting the island in half. Limestone cliffs rise 100 metres straight up on both sides. The water inside is shallow, calm, and an almost unreal shade of turquoise. The sandy bottom is soft and white, and there is no coral in the lagoon itself, so it is safe to swim and float freely. The lagoon is genuinely impressive. It’s a must-do if you go to Phi Phi, but be prepared: it’s very busy.
Longtails and speedboats come in and out of the bay nonstop. Once you know that beforehand, it’s a bit easier to accept. One tip worth knowing: don’t go too early if you want good photos or videos. The cliffs cast immense shadows in the morning. That incredibly blue water you see in most videos? Those shots are taken at midday, when the sun is directly above the bay. The best light for photos is between 11 am and 1 pm. Snorkelling is possible near the entrance to the lagoon, where there are some coral formations and colourful fish. Inside the lagoon itself, the main activity is swimming and floating in the warm, clear water while taking in the cliffs above you.
Viking Cave (Tham Phaya Nak)
Viking Cave sits at the base of a towering limestone cliff on the northeastern side of Koh Phi Phi Leh. The cave is locally called Tham Phaya Nak, but it got the name “Viking Cave” because of old paintings on the walls that look like Scandinavian longships. The paintings were probably drawn by sea gypsies or sailors sheltering from storms, possibly centuries ago. You can also see depictions of elephants and other figures on the cave walls. I had the chance to explore Viking Cave back in 1990, and it was the highlight of my first visit to Phi Phi Leh.
What I remember most is how immense it was. Local collectors were climbing precarious bamboo ladders high up inside the cave to harvest swallow nests, which are used to make bird’s nest soup, a prized delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The climb looked incredibly dangerous, with collectors scrambling up rickety bamboo scaffolding to reach nests wedged in cracks near the ceiling. Access to the cave was closed to visitors a few years later. Today, boats just slow down to let you look from the water. The swallow nest harvesting still goes on. It is a lucrative business, and the concession to collect nests is carefully guarded. You cannot enter the cave, but the cliffside itself is impressive, and the snorkelling nearby is quite good, with boulder coral and fan coral along the rock face.
Loh Samah Bay
Loh Samah Bay is on the southeastern tip of Koh Phi Phi Leh, directly behind Maya Bay. Since boats can no longer enter Maya Bay itself, Loh Samah is now the drop-off point. A floating pier was built here for visitors heading to Maya Bay via the jungle boardwalk. Before it became the gateway to Maya Bay, Loh Samah was a popular snorkelling spot in its own right. The bay has a small islet in the centre and crystal-clear, shallow water.
It’s one of the better spots in the area for seeing blacktip reef sharks, especially juvenile ones swimming in the sandy channels between patches of coral. Sergeant major fish and parrotfish are common. The dramatic stone walls rising from the water make it one of the most photographed bays in the archipelago. Be aware that it can be very congested here now, especially mid-morning when dozens of tour boats are dropping off and picking up passengers for Maya Bay. If you are on a private boat, ask your driver to stop for a swim and snorkel here before or after the peak rush.
Palong Bay
Palong Bay is on the northwestern coast of Koh Phi Phi Leh, just north of Maya Bay. Most visitors pass right by it without stopping, which is a shame because it’s a good spot for those interested in marine life. The bay is better known as a dive site than a snorkelling spot. The reef follows along the limestone cliff from north to south, with stepped terraces dropping from 2 metres down to about 20 metres.
It’s a known habitat for blacktip reef sharks and hawksbill turtles. Divers also come here to spot leopard sharks resting on the sandy bottom. The currents are usually mild, making it suitable for divers of all levels. Palong Wall, as divers call the site, is considered one of the best spots around Phi Phi for shark sightings. If you are doing a diving trip from Phi Phi Don, ask about including Palong in your itinerary.
Snorkelling and Diving Around Koh Phi Phi Leh
Koh Phi Phi Leh is surrounded by some of the best snorkelling and diving in the Phi Phi archipelago. The combination of clear water, limestone reef structures, and protected national park status means there is a good variety of marine life.
Best snorkelling spots: Pi Leh Lagoon entrance (coral formations and colourful fish), Loh Samah Bay (blacktip reef sharks, sergeant majors), Viking Cave area (boulder coral, fan coral, angelfish, starfish), and the reefs along the western cliffs near Maya Bay.
Diving highlights: The dive sites around Phi Phi Leh are close to the island, usually 15 to 30 minutes by boat from Phi Phi Don. Notable sites include Palong Wall (blacktip sharks, hawksbill turtles, terraced reef from 2 to 20 metres), Maya Corner (follows the coastline north of Maya Bay along a steep shelved reef), Loh Samah Bay (macro photography, invertebrates, a crack that splits the reef at 10 metres), and the nearby Bida Nok and Bida Nai (twin limestone rocks south of Phi Phi Leh, the most famous dive sites in the area).
The HTMS Kled Kaew Wreck: About 1 km east of Pi Leh Lagoon, there is a 47-metre-long shipwreck sitting on the sandy bottom at 14 to 26 metres depth. Originally a Norwegian Navy supply vessel built in the 1950s, it was later acquired by the Royal Thai Navy and intentionally sunk in March 2014 to create an artificial reef. The wreck is now home to thousands of fish, including lionfish, scorpionfish, yellowtail barracuda, grouper, and occasionally frogfish in orange and green camouflage. Penetration diving is possible in some areas. The site requires Advanced Open Water certification or equivalent due to depth and occasional currents.
The Story of “The Beach” and Maya Bay
The connection between Koh Phi Phi Leh and the movie “The Beach” is impossible to ignore. The 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio was shot at Maya Bay in 1999, and it changed the island forever. Even before filming began, there was controversy. The production company was accused of bulldozing parts of the natural beach and planting palm trees to make it look more like the paradise described in Alex Garland’s novel. The filmmakers contested these claims and set up a fund to restore the beach. Lawsuits followed, and in 2006, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that the filming had indeed harmed the environment.
The bigger impact was what came after. The movie turned Maya Bay into a global bucket-list destination almost overnight. Tourist numbers surged year after year. By the mid-2010s, up to 5,000 visitors and 200 boats were arriving daily. Coral was destroyed, marine life disappeared, and the beach itself was physically degrading. In June 2018, the Thai government made the decision to close Maya Bay entirely. The closure lasted nearly four years. During that time, nature recovered remarkably fast. Blacktip reef sharks returned, coral was replanted, and the water cleared. When Maya Bay reopened on 1 January 2022, it came with strict new rules: no boats in the bay, limited visitors per hour, no swimming beyond knee depth, and annual closures in August and September. The story of Maya Bay is both a cautionary tale about mass tourism and a hopeful example of what can happen when nature gets a chance to recover.
Tips for Visiting Koh Phi Phi Leh
Go early or go late. The biggest tour boats from Phuket arrive between 10 am and 2 pm. If you are staying on Phi Phi Don, leave early in the morning or go in the late afternoon to avoid the worst crowds. Sunrise tours from Phi Phi Don are available and well worth considering. Time your photos right. The cliffs around Pi Leh Lagoon and Maya Bay cast long shadows in the early morning. For the best blue water photos, visit between 11 am and 1 pm when the sun is directly overhead. This creates that glowing turquoise colour you see in postcards. Bring water shoes. The rocks at Pi Leh Lagoon and around some of the snorkelling spots can be sharp. Water shoes will save your feet. Check if Maya Bay is open. Maya Bay closes every August and September for conservation. Openings can also be affected by weather or unexpected closures. Always confirm before booking a tour specifically to see Maya Bay. Don’t feed the fish or monkeys. This is a national park. Feeding wildlife disrupts their natural behaviour and can cause health problems for the animals. Budget for the national park fee. The 400 baht per person fee is mandatory. Some tours include it, some do not. Ask before you pay. Wear reef-safe sunscreen. The coral around Phi Phi Leh is still recovering. Chemical sunscreens damage coral. Use mineral-based, reef-safe products if you plan to swim or snorkel.
Koh Phi Phi Leh Map
FAQs About Koh Phi Phi Leh
Popular Tours to Koh Phi Phi Leh
