Maya Bay will reopen soon on the (hopefully) bright New Year’s Day – but with some new rules.
Closed to visitors over three years to heal its trampled shores, the famed Andaman Sea made famous by The Beach will limit visitors to only one hour, and only 300 at a time.
Visiting hours will also be limited to only 10am to 4pm, with only eight speed boats allowed to reach its new dock across the isthmus at Losama Bay.
According to the environment minister Varawuth Silpa-archa, the new piers are about to be finished and will accommodate water activities such as snorkeling.
In June 2018, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation closed Maya Bay to tourism after years of degradation brought on by unregulated visits by thousands who flocked there every day – about 4,000 tourists on average. The idea was to give bay ecology time to recover, and the pandemic likely granted it an even longer respite. Its original four-month closure was extended until Jan. 1.
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