Maya Bay, in Thailand’s southern province of Phang-nga, has been ranked the world’s third best beach by the Lonely Planet travel guide in its January edition.
Maya Bay was described as “a slip of a beach hidden by limestone cliffs” and it was chosen by film director Danny Boyle as the location for the 2000 movie “The Beach”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Despite numerous legal cases associated with its use as a filming location, the movie’s popularity has put Maya Bay, known locally as Ao Maya, on the world’s tourist map, attracting around 6,000 tourist daily.
The Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation decided to close it in 2018, to allow the beach and its environment to recover. It was reopened in 2022, but with restrictions imposed, such as boats not being permitted to drop anchor in the bay and only 375 tourists being allowed on the beach in hourly rotation.
The top two beaches in the world are The Pass at Byron Bay, in Australia’s New South Wales, and Ipanema beach in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
