Scenic locations from the movie "The Beach" Thailand

Phi Phi Le island

This island 30 kilometres off the mainland in Krabi Province is one of two rocky islets in the national park. Maya Bay, a white sandy beach dominated by a high cliff, is the main location used in the film "The Beach". Bamboo Island and Mosquito Island were used for the scene when the lead character Richard (Di Caprio) and the French couple swam to the beach. The beaches here are majestically white with amazing turquoise blue waters. It's a prime holiday spot. Phi Phi Le is uninhabited so you'd have to stay at Phi Phi Don. The islands are 45 minutes from Phuket.

Phuket

Phuket is one of the most popular holiday spots in Thailand and was used in "The Beach" for shots of the beach bungalows (Hat Surin) and other shots like the airport arrival and the scenes at On On Hotel. Over one million visitors come here every year so you maybe hard pressed for peace and quiet. Phuket has an international airport and also lands a dozen flights from Bangkok every day. The journey takes one hour.

Krabi

The fishing town of Krabi doubled as Khao San Road in "The Beach", more specifically Prachacheun Road and Maharaj Road. They also built a large reclining Buddha for the first scene of Di Caprio arriving in Thailand. The town itself is surrounded by towering limestone outcrops. You can visit the outcrops and mangroves by the shorelines in long-tailed boats. To get to Krabi from Bangkok take a bus from the Southern Bus Terminal.

Khao Yai National Park

This park in north east Thailand was used for the waterfall scene when Richard (Di Caprio) and the French couple first arrive at the beach. They have to jump off the waterfall to get there. There are several waterfalls in the park but the set used the Haeo Suwat Waterfall. The actual park covers an area of over 2000 square kilometres and features a lot of wildlife including some endangered mammals. To get here take a bus from Bangkok from the Northern Bus Terminal to Pak Chong and then a local vehicle to the park gates.

Marijuana field

The marijuana scene was also shot in Krabi Province in a private field. Krabi is the embarkation points for islands like Ko Lanta and Ko Phi Phi.