TRAVEL: Beaches

With the iconic Maya Bay temporarily closed, Lee Cobaj selects 10 relatively undiscovered alternatives

They’re still under the radar, so you don’t have to spend your vacation fighting for a spot of sand – here’s our pick of 10 beaches still untouched by tourism.

Like many a Hollywood star before it, Maya Bay, made famous in the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio blockbuster The Beach, has become a victim of its own success. Over the past five years, its blonde bombshell of a beach, circled by a curtain of wavy limestone mountains and kissed by dazzling jade-green waters, has attracted nearly 10 million people. But recently it was closed indefinitely to allow the marine life to recover from the effects of overtourism.

‘With so many long-tail and speed boats arriving every day, plus ferries pulling in for photo ops, we’ve seen the shallow corals dying off,’ said Klaus Thumm, long-time resident and owner of H2O Sportz Phuket. ‘On top of that, visitors are urinating in the sea and most of the boats use marine toilets, which they also dump into the water.’

Happily, Thailand – and its neighbours – have dozens of beautiful beaches worth seeking out. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favourites. Whichever new hot spot you hit, be responsible by removing all of your own rubbish, don’t abscond with seashells or sand and use an ocean-safe sunscreen such as All Good Sunscreen Butter (about Dh45) – no one wants a repeat of Maya Bay.