The footage, widely circulated on social media, depicts crowds densely gathered near the pier. One Reddit user commented: 'Nothing about that looks fun.' Another added: 'Absolutely not worth going. I went last month and it was so crowded it just wasn't fun. At all.' Koh Tours, a local tour company, described the situation on Koh Phi Phi Don as 'genuinely crowded', noting that the village on Tonsai Bay 'packs in more foot traffic per square metre than most Thai cities.'
Neighbouring Maya Bay, closed for three years due to damage from tourism linked to the film 'The Beach', reopened in January 2022 with restrictions including timed entries, boat limits, no overnight stays, and a ban on sunscreen in the water. However, Koh Tours noted that even with a boat limit, 'a couple of hundred visitors at a time still means a couple of hundred people standing in the same shallow bay.' The exact number of daily visitors permitted under the limit has not been disclosed, and the timing of the video remains unclear.
Nothing about that looks fun.
In response to the concerns, sustainable travel operator Intrepid Travel said its destination manager, Jub Yata, described Maya Bay as beautiful but overcrowded, with tourists simply taking photos and leaving. The company advocates for more controlled tourism. Critics argue that without stricter measures, the island's popularity will continue to strain its environment and local infrastructure. The condition of coral and shark populations after the closure has not been publicly updated.
Absolutely not worth going. I went last month and it was so crowded it just wasn't fun. At all.
What a nightmare.
Koh Phi Phi Leh - the smaller, uninhabited island with Maya Bay - was famously closed for three years after The Beach tourism wrecked the coral and stressed out the blacktip reef sharks.
They reopened it in January 2022 with timed entries, boat limits, no overnight stays, no sunscreen allowed in the water. It's genuinely better than it was in 2018. But it's not quiet. A 'boat limit' of a couple of hundred visitors at a time still means a couple of hundred people standing in the same shallow bay.
Koh Phi Phi Don is genuinely crowded. Not 'it gets a bit busy in peak season' crowded. Actually crowded. The village on Tonsai Bay - which is basically the whole flat part of the island between the two bays - packs in more foot traffic per square metre than most Thai cities.