Koh Mai Phai

Koh Mai Phai — Bamboo Island — sits about 5km off the northeastern tip of Phi Phi Don, the most remote of the islands usually included on a Phi Phi day trip. Despite the English name, there’s no bamboo here: early translators rendered the casuarina trees that actually cover the island as “bamboo,” and the mistranslation outlasted the correction. What the island does have is clear, shallow water over a healthy fringing reef, without the crowds that build up at Maya Bay by mid-morning.

The reef stays close to shore, with coral patches visible from just a few strokes out — parrotfish, angelfish and schools of yellow snappers are the regulars, and visibility holds up well through the dry season. A narrow strip of white sand rings part of the island, backed by casuarina rather than palm, giving it a slightly different look and feel from the postcard-beach islands nearby. There’s no shade structure and no facilities, so what you see is what your tour brings with it.

Bamboo Island falls inside Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, and the park’s standard entry fee applies here just as it does at Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon: 400 THB for foreign adults, 200 THB for foreign children, 40/20 THB for Thai adults and children. The same ticket covers all three sites on the same day, which is why most operators build Bamboo Island into a longer Phi Phi loop rather than selling it as a standalone trip — a single-island visit rarely justifies the boat cost or the fee on its own.

Access is almost always via a Phi Phi day-trip boat departing from Phi Phi Don itself (about 15-20 minutes each way), rather than a direct crossing from Ao Nang, Railay or Phuket, though some full-day speedboat tours from the mainland do include it as one of several stops. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, snorkel gear and drinking water — nothing is sold on the island — and expect the calmest water and best visibility from November to April, before the southwest monsoon churns up the Andaman side of the coast.

Insider Tip: Ask your tour whether Bamboo Island is the first or last stop of the day — boats that visit early, before the Maya Bay crowds move on, tend to have the reef largely to themselves.

Watch out: Confirm the 400 THB park fee is included in your tour price before booking — some of the cheaper day-trip listings quote a boat-only rate and add the fee on top once you’re on board.

Pair it with the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park itself, or the more famous Maya Bay — both fall under the same park ticket and are usually visited on the same day out from Koh Phi Phi.