Your Travel Guide to Thailand
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All you need to know to visit Koh Tao
Southern Thailand
700 km from Bangkok
Province of Surat Thani
- Budget
- 5/5
- Recommended stay
- At least 2 days
- Sightseeing
- 1/5
Travel guide to visit Koh Tao
Koh Tao is an island like all places with a name starting with Koh ( it means island in Thai ). This is the number one place for diving in Thailand. The diving clubs are so numerous that it is almost impossible to make an accurate count of them. The the seabeds to explore here are sublime. With the calm turquoise water, the white sand beach and small islands off the coast it is a real postcard scenery.The island has not finished his modernization accelerated by the arrival of tourists. Some parts of Koh Tao are still difficult to access by road. The beach with most tourists is Sairee Hat. Most of accommodations, diving clubs, restaurants and bars are there.
In the evening, sit in bars and restaurants on the beach. If you don't feel on holiday here, you will never. The beach is beautiful, the sea is calm and transparent with its wooden fishing boats painted in shimmering colors. Nightlife is here a lot less noisy than in Koh Samui and as for us more enjoyable. A small paradise island. because of its insularity and its ability to attract tourists from around the world, the prices in Koh Tao are significantly higher than in the rest of the country. But still is very affordable for western incomes.
The months of October and November are particularly rainy in Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Samui, better focus on other months of the year to come here.
For all the options for getting around Koh Tao, see our section on getting around in Koh Tao.
Accommodations in Koh Tao
Sleeping in Koh Tao is expensive compared to the rest of Thailand. Here cheap guesthouses are very rare, especially in Hat Sairee beach where most of the tourist stay. There is indeed a dozen cheap addresses (cheap for here) but the rooms are generally booked weeks in advance and they have no direct access to the beach. Arriving in Koh Tao in high season without an hotel booking means spending a lot of time walking from guesthouses to hotels before finding a room available. Note that Mae Haad, where the piers are is where you will most likely find a room if you have no reservation. This is also where the prices are generally the cheapest.Which beach to choose to stay in Koh Tao?
Each beach of Koh Tao has its own atmosphere: find out which one suits your budget and wishes, with their pros and cons.
Find accommodation in Koh Tao
My recommendations
People often ask me which accommodation I recommend in Thailand. Here are my recommendations in Koh Tao.
Practical information about Koh Tao
The island begins to be victim of its success. Many tourists arrive every day, so it is very difficult to find a room available at last minute especially duriing high season (November-March). Booking in advance is better (see our accommodation page).To get there from Bangkok, the best way is to take a bus + ferry ticket. You can book it online HERE)
How to go to Koh Tao ?
The fastest way to get to Koh Tao is by combining plane and ferry. Either with a flight to Koh Samui then boat to Koh Tao or by flight to Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat or Chumphon then bus or van to the pier then ferry. Knowing that Chumphon is much closer to Koh Tao than Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat. The fastest but also most expensive solution with plane is to land in Koh Samui then take the boat to Koh Tao. Otherwise, you can also take the boat to Ko Tao in Chumphon which you can reach by train, bus or plane. Si Lomprayah, the most reputable company has moved to the Old Southern Bus Terminal in Pinklao and other bus companies still offer bus + boat packages from Khao San Road in Bangkok via Chumphon that you can book online HERE (be careful, baggage theft even in the hold is sometimes reported so keep your cash and important items with you). The same companies have the same types of combinations from Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and many others. To go to Koh Tao by train or by road, it is faster to go through Chumphon than through Surat Thani.
Please note that since the direct flight Chiang Mai - Surat Thani of Air Asia changes schedule once a year and when it takes off in the evening, it is no longer possible to follow this flight with a ferry to the islands of Koh Tao, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan. The best, in this case, from Chiang Mai, unless you spend the night in a hotel in Surat Thani, is to take 2 flights with a stopover in Bangkok. Allow enough time between the 2 flights and take a flight from Bangkok that leaves from the same airport as the one where your flight from Chiang Mai will land (there are more possibilities from Don Muang). I would say 2h30 between the 2 flights if you do not change airports. If you take the same airline for both flights, they will not take care of transferring your luggage to the hold automatically on the 2nd flight so also allow time for that.
How to get around in Koh Tao ?
Of course you can also rent scooters and motorcycles in Koh Tao. The price is from 150 baht per day for a manual motorcycle up to 250 baht for an automatic one. Check the bike condition carefully before leaving and take pictures because damage on the vehicle could cost you a lot. And be careful on the roads, a part of the island has no real paved roads. Rental of mountain bikes is also more and more popular on the island.
Must-visits in
Koh Nang Yuan islands
เกาะนางยวนMy opinion : 5/5
This small private archipelago of 3 islands offers the most beautiful landscape in Koh Tao and one the most famous views in Thailand from its perched viewpoint. Pretty beaches on sandbanks that connect the islands with each other, mythical viewpoint and nice snorkeling spot, if there is a must-do visit in Koh Tao, this is it ! The challenge will be to do it when there are not too many people.
John-Suwan Viewpoint
จุดชมวิวจอห์น-สุวรรณMy opinion : 4/5
This viewpoint, ideal for watching the sunrise, is located in the South of Koh Tao island . You climb to its top by a path near Freedom Beach. This is the easiest viewpoint to climb in Ko Tao.Other places to see in Koh Tao
Moondance Magic View Viewpoint
Weather & climate in
Koh Tao has a tropical savanna climate. The island has only one month of true dry season (February). The climate is hot and humid for most of the year but the island is on average less humid than Phuket. The rainiest months are October and especially November. The rest of the year, given the tropical climate, showers are brief.The best mome,nt to come to Koh Tao is from January to April but Koh Tao is also enjoyable during the months of July and August. At this time of the year Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are the islands of Thailand where the weather is the best. The months of October and especially November (sometimes until mid-December) are not recommended for a stay in Ko Tao.
How to ask the way in Thai to Koh Tao ?
I want to go to Koh Tao / Yak pai thi Koh Tao.Where is Koh Tao? / Koh Tao yu thi nai?
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