We booked a "Maya Bay day trip" including a stop at the exact location where the Hollywood blockbuster, "The Beach", was filmed in 2000. The backpacker's story with Leonardo Di Caprio still attracts today, after over 17 years, thousands of visitors. Therefore, Maya Beach tours are and remain popular amongst sightseers.
At any given day, between 10 am and 4 pm, thousands will raid the pristine sandy Maya Bay beaches located on the island Phi Phi Ley. Numerous speedboats, ferry boats, dive boats, or Maya Bay tour boats surrounded by snorkelers will invade the glittering azure waters. The only 2 ways to beat the crowd is to leave (very) very early (like 5 am) or arrive late when all the boats go back to Krabi, Phuket or Phi Phi Don. We elected to do the latest.
We meet our group of 30 fellow passengers at the main pier on Phi Phi Don. Half of the group signed up for a night on the `Krabi Konnect` boat. The other half, including us, would come back to the island by night. The boat had a clean toilet, plenty of sun baking, shady areas and fresh water on board.
We first sailed off toward the mysterious Viking Cave which is inhabited by thousands of birds called swifts. These particular birds make their nests out of their own saliva. The nests are nimbly harvested by gatherers who scamper up fragile bamboo scaffolding. Later the outrageously valuable product is sold to make a Chinese delicacy called "birds nest soup". In order to not disturb the birds, tourists are not allowed anymore to explore the cave. All Maya Bay tours will only approach the grotto from a distance.
After another half-hour, we arrived at THE BEACH sheltered by limestone cliffs. We swam and jumped from the upper deck. So much fun. But also so scary! We lost one of our snorkelling masks. Another couple lost their Go Pro. Jumping from a boat can be a catastrophic and pricey experience. Luckily a scuba diver from another "Maya Bay tour" helped us to get them back from the seabed of Maya Bay.
As all the other boats and the tourists were taking off the lagoon, we moored on the beach. The stunning shore was just for us! We enjoyed the scenery, the melody of the waves and the soft sand under our feet. We even encountered a small Black Tip Reef shark. The gorgeous background with the sun gradually disappearing was a perfect Instagram-spot. Still, in awe of this beautiful scenery, we headed back to the boat for a hot dinner comprising curry chicken, mixed vegetables and rice. As always, we didn't expect too much from the food but it was honestly correct.
With a full belly, we geared up for another highlight of the Maya Bay day trip. A sunset plankton swim. Equipped with life jackets that we had put upside down (don't ask us why, but wearing them like diapers was supposed to be safer), we plunged into the water for a swim with the bio-luminescent plankton. The underwater light show, right in front of our eyes was incredible.
By 21:00, we were back at the pier on Phi Phi Don. Maya Bay’s popularity has taken a certain degree of the shine from this once unknown slice of paradise. But by arriving late, we could avoid the hoards of boats dropping visitors off and picking them up throughout the day and therefore enjoy our time with the Maya Bay tour!