Koh Tao – The BEST guide to Island paradise – Thailand

A 5 minute read on why you MUST add this to your bucket list!

Koh Tao is a MUST VISIT destination on your Thailand Itinerary and we thoroughly loved our short but amazing time on this tropical paradise Island. We’re going to share all the things we wanted to know and wished we could have read up on before we visited in the hope our tips will help you to plan your PERFECT itinerary and one thing we must mention now, this Island is still beautiful even if you DO NOT WISH TO SNORKEL OR DIVE!! We can’t believe we almost skipped Koh Tao, which literally translates to Turtle Island, in English, just because we’re not the biggest fans of diving and this was suggested as the only thing to do here. Let us say now, there is SO MUCH TO DO FOR ALL!!

You can watch our full vlog for more tips and details below…!

Koh Tao, a tiny island in the Gulf of Thailand, neighbors Koh Samui & Koh Phangan (both worth a visit, but that’s another blog!). It’s a diver’s paradise, boasting stunning coral reefs and diverse marine life, including turtles if you’re lucky. However, its charm extends beyond diving; with a laid-back vibe and relaxed lifestyle, Koh Tao offers the ideal getaway, whether short-term or long-term. The choice is yours!

How can I get to Koh Tao?

By boat. In short, as we’ve mentioned, reaching it by boat is your sole option as it’s an island. However, there are a few accessible options we’ll share, as it’s one of Thailand’s islands easily reachable with minimal effort.

We booked our boat tickets with a lovely local lady on a roadside stand in Bangrak, Koh Samui to go to Koh Tao, a few days before we planned to leave. The boat is around 1.5 hours to Koh Tao from Bangrak Pier in Koh Samui, with a stop at Koh Phangan on the way.

We paid 1200 baht per person (roughly £27.36 conversion at the time of writing), for a return boat ticket, this excludes any pick up or drop off from and to your next accommodation. We opted out, on purpose, as we had a bike rental for the month on Samui and so we could take ourselves to the pier, but they charge 150 baht per person (roughly £3.42 conversion at the time of writing) for that pick up service on top of your ticket. Lomprayah operates the speedboat service. You can find all the details on their website, including the timetable, which may change slightly due to limited boats in low season. Be sure to double-check.

Everything was super easy on the day of travel, Lomprayah were very organised and efficient, you need to arrive 30 minutes prior to the departure of the boat, to check in, complete your registration. SIDE NOTE: If you get sea sickness, pop some tablets, because the journey was not a fun one for Libby – LOL!

Accommodation – Where to stay on Koh Tao?

Koh Tao is so small that we, personally, would say there’s only 2 main areas to stay, Mae Haad and Sairee Beach and there’s a real mix of budget or luxury options.

We opted for a budget accommodation on Sairee Beach: Simple Life Resort Koh Tao and would 100% recommend this, as a family run business, budget but comfortable, with a not even 5-minute walk to the beach. Plenty of good restaurants & some nightlife all within walking distance of the hotel.

We paid 1650 baht (roughly £38 conversion at the time of writing) for x3 nights to stay in a standard double room at Simple Life Resort Koh Tao and they allowed us to check in early, which was great, because we had arrived on the early boat around 1030. Our room was spacious and clean, with a desk, TV (this was old and box’y’, but it didn’t bother us), private bathroom & AC. The hotel also has a decent size swimming pool for guests to use but we fell in love with the beach opposite so didn’t use the pool haha!

They have a restaurant on site, and you can have breakfast also, we checked the menu and they had a great variety of Thai dishes, as well as western, so a little something to please everyone. The hotel also had a songthaew waiting for us at the pier which collected us and drove the 2.5km from the pier to the hotel. The kind lady who was on reception also helped us arrange the songthaew on our return to the pier when leaving Koh Tao also, for a fee of 50 baht per person (roughly £1.15 conversion at the time of writing).

Things to do on Koh Tao

Sairee Beach

We stayed right on Sairee beach and would say it was our favourite. The sand is super soft, not too many shells so it made for the perfect beach to take our long sunset walks along. The water is beautifully clear and there’s plenty of shade but watch out for the falling coconuts! There are a few bars and restaurants, at very reasonable price, especially at happy hour, along this beach, however when we went at the beginning of February many were still closed, because of the level of tourism.

Freedom Beach

Freedom Beach; 50 baht per person (roughly £1.14 conversion at the time of writing) for the entrance to this beach with onsite accommodation. We were recommended this beach by the lovely owner of the hotel we were staying at and wow, it far exceeded our expectations. With sun loungers on the beach for you to use free of charge and soft white sand, the shoreline is actually covered by trees but there are entrances for you to go into the water. We snorkelled here, snorkel hire was 50 baht per person (roughly £1.14 conversion at the time of writing) and you can hire kayaks also at 100 baht an hour (roughly £2.28 conversion at the time of writing). They have a restaurant here too, so that when you’re finished snorkelling or kayaking, you can enjoy a huge portion of Pad Thai made freshly to order.

Freedom Beach 360 Viewpoint

A short climb into the trees to reach a beautiful 360 viewpoint with nobody else there! We couldn’t believe we had the whole space to ourselves, as it’s literally located right before Freedom beach. 50 baht per person (roughly £1.14 conversion at the time of writing) entrance, which includes a bottle of water, which let us tell you, is definitely what you’ll want. We went late morning and took some amazing photos with views of Taa Toh Bay & Shark Bay and loved it so much that we went back for sunset. Take some snacks/drinks with you and it’s the perfect spot to enjoy.

Koh Nang Yuan

In our opinion, this has to be on your itinerary no matter what! It’s 3 small islands connected by 2 sandbanks a 10 minute boat ride from Sairee Beach on Koh Tao. Read the full blog here if you’re planning to take a trip here.

Lotus Beach Bar

We spent 2 consecutive sunsets here as it’s just the most amazing side of the island for golden hour and with the bent over palm tree leaning into the sea, it makes for a picture perfect spot. Happy hour runs from 1600 to 1900 and for 1 Leo beer we paid 60 baht (roughly £1.40 conversion at the time of writing) and couldn’t resist taking so many photos of the spectacular sunset on display from the comfy bean bags on the beach. From around 1930 each night they have a fire show, which they do not charge for, instead they ask for donations. The main guy who performs is very talented and engages with the audience, bringing people up to the front and also coming over to the bean bags to those guests more shy. Shout out to the DJ too!

How to get around Koh Tao?

For us, it’s easy, hire a bike! There’s so many more adventures to be had when you have a bike to be able to follow to the end of a random path you’ve just found or to whizz over to the other side of the island for sunset and be back at your hotel for breakfast.

Of course, whenever you’re hiring a bike or car or similar, we would always advise to go with an office, with a contract, and with someone face to face. Inspect the bike first, check the tyres, take videos/ photos of the condition of the bike and ALWAYS ask for a helmet! Safety first.

Bikes for rent across Thailand are mostly the same models and we tend to go for a Honda Click which is popular for many tourists as it’s easy to ride, big enough for 2 people and is fine with the incline/ hills around. We rented a bike on Koh Tao for 150 baht (roughly £3.42 conversion at the time of writing) but unfortunately had a bad experience with the people we rented from so unfortunately we can’t recommend, but you can expect to pay between 150-300 baht (roughly £3.42-£6.84 conversion at the time of writing) dependant on the season, type of bike, model.

Ultimately, we LOVED Koh Tao and if we didn’t already have onward travel booked, we would have 1000% extended our stay. We think Koh Tao must be on your island bucket list!

Just before we finish up, we want to address all the negative issues surrounding Koh Tao with regards to safety and say that we can speak only from experience, we did not once feel unsafe or meet anyone unfriendly, however, you should always travel with caution and common sense.

If you have any further hints or tips, or even questions, please share them with us as sharing is caring and after all we all want the same thing: to have the BEST trip!

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