Maya Bay Tour From Phi Phi
A Maya Bay tour from Phi Phi Don: the 06:15 first boat, half-day and private longtails from Ton Sai, sunset trips, the rules and the park fee (Oct 2026).
If you are staying on Phi Phi Don, Maya Bay is only minutes away by boat, and the trips from Ton Sai are shorter and cheaper than any day from Krabi or Phuket: half-day longtails and speedboats in the morning, sunset and plankton trips in the afternoon, and private longtails on your own timetable. The one that beats the crowds is Sawasdee Phi Phi’s first group, which sails at 06:15 to 06:30 and gives you an hour on the beach, from US$29 a person in current promotion (usually US$32), rated 4.8 from 321 reviews (checked November 2026). The park fee is extra, in cash.
The trips from Ton Sai
Almost all of them start at Ton Sai, the bay where the ferries come in, and most meet at the McDonald’s beside Ton Sai pier. If your hotel is on another beach, take a longtail round to Ton Sai first. None includes a hotel pickup, and several listings say an overnight stay on Phi Phi is required, because the transfers from Krabi and Phuket are limited: these are trips for people who sleep on the island.
| Trip | Price | Times | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawasdee Phi Phi, first group at Maya Bay | US$29 in current promotion (usually US$32) | Meet 06:00, sail 06:15 to 06:30 | An hour on Maya Bay first, a snorkel stop, Viking Cave, Monkey Bay, Pileh Lagoon; lunch boxes included |
| Sawasdee Phi Phi, half-day longtail | US$18 in current promotion (usually US$22) | Meet 08:30, back by 13:00 | Monkey Beach, Viking Cave, Pileh Lagoon, Maya Bay by longtail; water and fruit |
| Discover Thailand, avoid the Maya crowds | US$44 in current promotion (usually US$46) | Morning, 4 to 6.5 h | Maya Bay first for an hour, park fee included; Bamboo Island and lunch on the full-day option |
| Discover Thailand, half-day speedboat | US$44 in current promotion (usually US$46) | Morning or afternoon, 4 to 6 h | An hour on Maya Bay, park fee included; the afternoon option adds sunset and plankton |
| Master Phi Phi Tour, sunset and plankton | US$40 | Afternoon, about 5 h | Monkey Beach, snorkelling, Pileh Lagoon, an hour on Maya Bay, sunset, plankton; park fee included |
Prices a person, from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026.
The first group is the trip for photographs of an empty beach: you meet as the sun comes up over the pier and are on Maya Bay within minutes of sailing. The cheapest is the half-day longtail, at from US$18 a person in current promotion (usually US$22); its reviews praise the small boat and the quiet morning, and several of the complaints are about the 400-baht park fee coming as a surprise on the day. Budget for it.
Check the first group's dates →
A private longtail
A longtail of your own sets the times and the order of the stops. Discover Thailand’s private longtail runs 3 to 7 hours, from US$104 for a boat of up to two in current promotion (usually US$109): an hour on Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Monkey Bay and snorkelling, with plankton on the afternoon options and Bamboo Island on the 7-hour one; on its morning option you reach Maya Bay at 07:00, when it opens. Blue Flow’s private longtail, 3 to 4 hours, is listed per person, from US$49 a person in current promotion (usually US$55), and a captain’s 4- to 7-hour charter is from US$148 for up to two (checked November 2026).
Pick by how you want the morning to go:
First Group at Maya Bay
Sail at 06:15 to 06:30 and have an hour on Maya Bay before most boats, then the lagoon and the snorkelling.
Check dates →Half-Day Longtail
A small longtail at 08:30, the four classic stops, and back at Ton Sai by 13:00 with the afternoon free.
See the longtail →Private Longtail
Your own captain and timetable, Maya Bay at 07:00 on the morning option, plankton on the afternoon ones.
See the private boat →Prices and ratings from GetYourGuide, checked November 2026; operators change prices, so treat them as a guide, not a quote. The private longtail’s price is for a boat of up to two.
Maya Bay’s rules
- You land at Loh Samah Bay. Boats may not moor in Maya Bay itself, so they tie up at the jetty on the other side of Phi Phi Le and you walk across.
- No swimming. Swimming in Maya Bay is not allowed; in April 2026 a visitor who went in was fined 5,000 baht, and the maximum penalty is 100,000 baht. You may see young blacktip reef sharks in the shallows from the shore.
- Timed rounds. Visitors come ashore in rounds of up to 375 people for an hour each, between 07:00 and 18:00, which is why the first boats of the day reach an empty beach.
- Closed 1 August to 30 September. Every year, for the reef and the beach to recover. Loh Samah Bay, where the jetty is, and Ao Lo Ko close for the same weeks, so boats neither land nor snorkel there. The trips still run in those weeks and spend longer at the other stops; nobody lands on the beach.
- The park fee. 400 baht an adult and 200 baht a child, for Phi Phi Le, Phi Phi Don and Bamboo Island. Keep your ticket: the park’s tickets are electronic and officers check them.
- Tides. Some listings say that on some days they can only reach Maya Bay at low tide, and one review notes the bay holds less water then; the captains adjust the order to the tide.
- Sunscreen and plastic. Thailand’s national parks ban reef-harmful sunscreen and single-use plastics; bring a refillable bottle.
The day boats from Krabi and Phuket follow the same rules. The Krabi guide compares those days, and can you stay on Phi Phi? covers the ferries and the night on the island that these early trips need.
Meeting points, times, stops, inclusions and the tide notes are from the GetYourGuide listings, read in US dollars on 29 October 2026, and the review themes from the newest 350 reviews of the half-day longtail and the private longtail. The mooring and swimming rules, the April 2026 fine and the maximum penalty from the park head as reported by MGR Online on 11 April 2026; the visitor rounds and hours from the park’s own announcements; the closure of Maya Bay, Loh Samah and Ao Lo Ko from the park’s notice as reported by Thairath on 25 July 2024; the park fee from the department’s fee schedule; the sunscreen and plastics bans from TAT’s notices of August 2021 and April 2022. All read in October 2026.
First Boat to Maya Bay
Meet at Ton Sai at 06:00, sail at 06:15 to 06:30, an hour on Maya Bay before most boats arrive, then Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave, Monkey Bay and a snorkel stop. Park fee in cash; free cancellation up to 24 hours before, as listed in October 2026.
Check Dates