Once a cosy and stunning spot on Phi Phi Don, Monkey Beach has now turned into a playground for mass tourism. You already know that any paradise beach can be ruined when thirty boats full of noisy people unload their passengers there.
The azure sea becomes obscured by boat hulls, the horizon is dotted with silhouettes of catamarans and yachts, and the shore is packed with colourful scarves and swimwear until you realise that your trip to paradise has turned into a complete circus.
Maya Bay suffers from the same problem β too many people. So the only thing you can do for yourself is to arrive at Monkey Beach either before or after the daily tourist wave.
Beach Overview
A wild beach with wild monkeys. Monkey Beach faces north, stretches for nearly 984 feet (three hundred metres) in length and has a sandy strip ranging from zero (during high tide) to 100 feet (30 metres) (during low tide). It’s separated from the rest of the island by high mountains with rocky, steep shores, meaning you can only reach Monkey Beach by sea.
The distance from Lo Dalam is quite short, about 0.6 miles (a kilometre), so people easily rent kayaks and get there in about 15-20 minutes. For the lazy ones, there’s the option of a taxi boat, but then you’ll start haggling over how long you can stay on the beach and the cost of the trip β on average it’s 400 baht for 2 hours. But it’s worth it: perfectly fine light sand that becomes almost white as it dries in the sun.
Swimming
The shore is gentle and slopes gradually underwater for about 300 feet (a hundred metres). The first 100 feet (30 metres) will consist of pure sand, walking on which is almost sensually pleasurable, but then you’ll encounter stones and reef fragments, which are clearly visible during low tide.
The beach is quite swimmable; at high tide, you can wade chest-deep into the sea without stepping on a single stone. As for waves, it’s much like anywhere else: when it’s windy, there are waves, but in calm weather, there’s a perfect water surface and classic tropical views (of course, only if you haven’t arrived on the island as part of a tour group during peak hours).
Sunbeds and Shade
The beach is completely wild, on an isolated part of Phi Phi Don island, so there’s no question of any comforts here β no umbrellas, no loungers, no bars. The only staff are the local macaques.
Bring your beach mats and enjoy Monkey Beach’s lush vegetation which, thanks to its geographical position, provides plenty of natural shade at any time of day.
Although from what I’ve observed, passing tourists don’t linger here long, and independent kayakers are perfectly content without extra furniture and sunbathe directly on the sand. If the macaques allow them to.
Beach Photos
Amenities
The infrastructure of Monkey Beach consists of warning signs. They advise not to feed the monkeys and generally to be wary of them β no matter how you look at it, these are wild animals and they can bite you. The monkeys are also the only local attraction that can both entertain and injure tourists.
I especially recommend parents with children to stay alert. Little ones don’t know that they shouldn’t show their teeth to macaques (a sign of aggression) and certainly shouldn’t try to pet them or refuse to hand over whatever the monkeys are trying to take. Bite incidents continue to crop up regularly, and it’s not just painful but also troublesome β rabies shots are still a necessity.
Accommodation
There are no rental houses or hotels on Monkey Beach. It’s physically impossible to build even a flimsy hut here β the strip of sand ends in piles of rock that have crumbled from the steep stone slope encircling the entire bay.
Among the rocks and on the cliffs themselves grow crooked deciduous trees through which only the local monkeys can move. Moreover during high tide almost the entire beach is covered by the sea so it’s not possible to set up even a temporary structure on the beach itself.
This is a truly wild place but only from 4 PM until 10 AM before the tourists arrive. By the way the monkeys might not come out onto the beach while waiting for the boats β they already know that food arrives on noisy boats.
Click the link below to be redirected to a general list of hotels on Phi Phi Don but click on the map icon to see accommodation options near Monkey Beach.
How to Find the Beach
First check its location on Google Maps and mark it on your smartphone but I don’t think I need to explain about navigators to independent travellers. However if you’re planning to go there as part of a tour just say two words to any travel agency or directly to a boatman: “monkey beach”.
After that add “how much” and start haggling but don’t go overboard. 350-400 baht is quite a reasonable price for two-three hours of the boatman’s work who will take you to Monkey Beach wait for you there and return you to the Phi Phi Don isthmus.
