Is the beach a real beach?

Where was The Beach filmed? In the once pristine enclave of Maya Bay – a secluded beach cove close to Koh Phi Phi island in Thailand. Here's how over-tourism caused its near four-year closure and what new measures are in place for Maya Bay's reopening and long-term protection.



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Where was The Beach filmed? In the once pristine enclave of Maya Bay – a secluded beach cove close to Koh Phi Phi island in Thailand.

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The Beach | 2000 Danny Boyle's film of the Alex Garland novel was filmed on Hat Maya, the main beach of Phi Phi Leh Island, near Phuket, Thailand, amid allegations of ecological vandalism when imported palms were planted to make the 'perfect' beach even more perfect.

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Maya Bay in Phi Phi was used as the location of the beach in the movie but the actual inspiration for the book is rumoured to be Haad Tien on Koh Phangan, in the Gulf of Thailand, specifically the hippy community that started up in 1990 - the year the book is set - and evolved into The Sanctuary resort.

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To kickstart the movie, a luxurious Dominican Republic resort served as the setting for the initial scenes of the film. Although it looks like an island off of France's coast, where the movie is set, the Caribbean hotel and beach are actually stand-ins for that location.

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Some sand is eroded from rocks and minerals in the Gulf of Mexico. Most sand, however, is made of tiny particles of weathered quartz from the Appalachian Mountains, hundreds of kilometers away.

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Swimming is prohibited at Maya Bay, but most boat tours will include a stop in nearby Pileh Bay where swimming and snorkelling is permitted. Daily visitor numbers will be capped and boats have to adhere to rules which only allow a limited number to dock at Loh Samah Bay each hour.

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Production. The beach house scenes were filmed at cottage #13 in what is now the Crystal Cove Historic District in Crystal Cove State Park in California.

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The sunlight soaking into our skin at the beach spikes our bodies' production of Vitamin D and serotonin, releasing all kinds of feel-good chemicals in our brains.

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The word 'beach' comes from Old English 'bæce' (stream). In the period of King Henry VIII the round worn-out pebbles on the British seashore were called beaches.

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