Phi Phi Islands

The Phi Phi Islands are an archipelago of six limestone islands in the Andaman Sea, administratively part of Krabi Province and designated a marine national park since 1983. Ko Phi Phi Don is the only inhabited island, a double-lobed landmass connected by a narrow flat isthmus lined with guesthouses, dive shops, restaurants, and beach bars. The beaches on either side of the isthmus — Tonsai Bay and Ao Dalum — are the social hub of the island. Ko Phi Phi Leh, the smaller uninhabited southern island, contains Maya Bay, made globally famous by the 2000 film The Beach. Following catastrophic environmental damage from overtourism, Maya Bay was closed for rehabilitation from 2018 to 2021 and now operates with a daily visitor cap, a no-anchoring zone for boats, and a fee of 400 baht per person, payable at the entrance buoy. Visitors snorkel over recovering coral in the bay rather than landing on the beach. Viking Cave on the eastern cliff of Phi Phi Leh is a working swallow-nest collection site — bamboo scaffolding scales the 100-metre cave walls where collectors harvest nests for bird's nest soup. Diving around the islands is productive: the sites at Hin Bida, Shark Point, and Ko Bida Nok are known for leopard sharks, sea turtles, and wall dives. Ferries reach Phi Phi Don from Phuket (1.5–2 hours), Krabi (90 minutes), and Koh Lanta (1.5 hours).