Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave and Loh Samah Bay
The other stops on a Maya Bay boat from Phi Phi: how long each tour gives Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave and Loh Samah Bay, where you can swim, and the park's flags (November 2026).
Every Maya Bay boat from Phi Phi Don on this site also stops at Pileh Lagoon, a lagoon walled in by Phi Phi Leh’s cliffs where you can swim, and passes Viking Cave, which you see from the boat. Some add Loh Samah Bay, the bay behind Maya Bay where boats land. How long you get at each depends on the tour: 30 to 40 minutes at Pileh Lagoon on most, from 5 minutes to an hour at Viking Cave.
Three stops in two kilometres
The stops sit close together on Phi Phi Leh. In a straight line Viking Cave is 0.9 km from Pileh Lagoon, Pileh Lagoon 0.7 km from Maya Bay, and Loh Samah Bay 0.3 km from Maya Bay, across the neck of the island.
How long each tour stays
| Tour | Pileh Lagoon | Viking Cave | Loh Samah Bay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phi Phi: First Group at Maya Bay, Avoid the Crowds Boat Tour (Sawasdee Phi Phi) | 40 minutes, swimming | 15 minutes | Not a listed stop |
| Phi Phi: Avoid Maya Bay Crowds Tour, Pileh & Baby Sharks (Discover Thailand) | 30 minutes, swimming | 1 hour, photos and snorkelling | 5 minutes |
| From Phi Phi: Sunrise Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon Speedboat Tour (Oh-Hoo) | Two stops of 30 minutes, snorkelling | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| From Phi Phi Island: Maya Bay Sunset & Plankton by Speedboat (Master Phi Phi Tour) | 40 minutes, swimming | 5-minute photo stop | Not a listed stop |
| From Phi Phi: Half-Day Longtail Tour to Maya Bay & Snorkeling (Sawasdee Phi Phi) | Swimming and snorkelling; no time given | From the boat | Where you land for Maya Bay |
Stop times checked November 2026. They can change with the weather, the sea and the tide.
If Viking Cave matters to you, Discover Thailand’s speedboat gives it the most time, an hour for photos and snorkelling, with the park fee in the price.
See Discover Thailand's speedboat
Pileh Lagoon
Pileh Lagoon is the swim of the trip, since swimming is forbidden at Maya Bay. It is a swimming or snorkelling stop on every tour above, and all of them include snorkelling gear and a life jacket.
Viking Cave
Viking Cave is in a cliff on Phi Phi Leh, known for the birds’ nests collected there and for paintings on its walls. You cannot go inside: the tours stop in front of it for photos, and on some you snorkel nearby.
Loh Samah Bay
Loh Samah Bay is on the other side of the narrow neck of land behind Maya Bay. For the bay’s reopening in 2022 the national parks department had the boats moor at a floating jetty there rather than in front of the beach (DNP, December 2021), and a short walkway takes you across to Maya Bay. Some tours also stop in Loh Samah Bay itself, Oh-Hoo's sunrise speedboat for 30 minutes.
The park’s flags
Thailand’s Department of National Parks uses flags at all three places (DNP news, 4 August 2026). At Maya Bay, yellow and red flags tell the boats whether the mooring area is open, and swimming is forbidden because the bay is a home and nursery of blacktip reef sharks. At Pileh Lagoon and in front of Viking Cave, green and red flags show when the tide suits snorkelling. Deliberately breaking the rules can bring a fine of up to 100,000 baht.
The notice gives no flag times, so no tour can promise a snorkel at a given hour; your crew reads the flags on the day.
More from Phi Phi
Boat Trips from Phi Phi Don with Open Dates
Half days and full days from Ton Sai with live availability. What each one includes, and whether the park fee is in the price, shows before you book.
Pileh Lagoon and Maya Bay by Longtail
Sawasdee Phi Phi's 4-hour longtail from Ton Sai Pier: a swim in Pileh Lagoon, Viking Cave and Monkey Beach from the boat, and Maya Bay on foot.
See longtail dates