Travel Guide and Tips: Koh Tao

Koh Tao aka Turtle Island is a small island in Southern Thailand. It's widely known as the best diving and snorkelling spot in Thailand. It definitely has more of a laid back backpacker vibe to it. 

We ended up staying by Sairee beach, since it was more affordable than the rest of the island. 

Things to do 

Dive

If you want to dive in Thailand, Koh Tao is a great start. There's tons of dive shops here. I mean, there's TONS. You'd probably have a hard time choosing one if you didn't already have a recommendation. If you want to get certified, you'll need to choose if you want to get PADI or SSI certified. That should narrow your search. 

We didn't end up diving because we were feeling pretty run-down. Plus, it takes 3-4 days to get fully certified. Although, we were planning to go with Roctopus since they train you in groups of four. 

Lastly, Koh Tao used to be a great dive spot, but it's overrun with tourists now. If you have the opportunity to dive in a different country, I'd choose that. 

Snorkelling

Since we didn't dive, we opted for snorkelling instead. It's more affordable, can be done without training and gives you a taste of what it's like underwater. There are tours advertised throughout the island at tourist agencies as well as hostels. They're all more or less the same. It costs 750 baht for a full-day trip. It includes your transit, snorkelling equipment, lunch, water and fresh fruit (watermelon and pineapple).

Sairee Beach

What we noticed was that Sairee Beach isn't really a great place to hangout. The sand is coarse and taxi boats are parked by the shoreline. This makes lounging and swimming a bit more difficult. However, if you want to walk by the beach and enjoy the view, it's good. A lot of restaurants, hotels/guesthouses and diving shops line this beach, so it makes a nice nightly stroll. If you wanted a good place to swim, I'd recommend Koh Chang.  

Massage

There's tons of massage parlours throughout the area. There was even one beside our guesthouse. The prices will range depending on the parlour, so keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Since we don't need a luxury experience, we went for a cheaper place. To give an idea, we paid 350 baht/hour for an oil massage. 

Nightlife

The nightlife here is pretty good. They'll have fire shows on the beach and the bars will be crowded. 

Where to Eat

Rose Garden

Since this was beside our guesthouse, we came here almost every morning for breakfast. It's alright, with decent pricing. Nothing really stood out to us. We went out of convenience in the hot weather. 

Cafe de Lotus

This is a good lunch or dinner spot. It's by the beach, so you'll have a nice ocean view. They have lunch deals with includes a meal with a drink. Our favourite dish here was the massaman curry! 

Food stands

Along the smaller streets by Sairee Beach, there are a few food stands have offer cheaper meals. We usually stopped by the stands selling banana and chocolate rotees for dessert! Yum! 

Where to Stay

Pranee Guesthouse

We stayed here for a four nights and switched rooms quite often. A fan room costs 700 baht and an AC room costs 1300 baht. If you can afford it, an AC room is ideal in the sweltering heat. We stayed in a fan room for three nights, and then got an AC room for the last night. 

There rooms here are pretty roomy and the washrooms in the fan room are pretty nice. I like that the shower has a small wall separating it. Since the fan is small, it doesn't move the air too well, so the room is really hot. I recommend opening all your windows, but either way, it's going to be uncomfortable unless you're use to the heat. 

Happy Travelling! 

Snorkelling in Koh Tao

We originally were planning to scuba dive. But after Nepal, our body was so beaten up we didn't think it was worth it since it takes 4 days to get certified. 

So, snorkelling seemed like a better fit for us. There are tons of tourist agencies offering scuba diving. They're all more or less the same. It's a full day trip for 750 baht which includes transportation, snorkelling gear, lunch, fresh fruits and drinks (water, coffee tea). The tour takes you around the island to Shark Bay, Aow Leuk, Hin Wong Bay and Mango Bay. They also take you to Nangyuan Island, but you'll need to pay a 100 baht entrance fee. 

That seems like a pretty good deal right?

Our Experiences 

Let me preface this by saying that you get what you pay for. It's alright, since it's only 750 baht + 100 baht entrance fee. 

You only get about 30 minutes at each stop, which isn't too much time to actually see much, since you'll need to swim to the area and back. Since we were running behind, we missed out on Aoe Leuk and went straight to Hin Wong Bay. 

Shark Bay

This is supposedly the best spot to see sharks. Not the big scary ones, but the smaller ones. Unfortunately, we didn't see any nor many other fish. The water was choppier than expected, so it was hard to swim out and back in time. 

Hin Wong Bay and Mango Bay

These ones were a bit better. If you swim out closer to the rocks, you'll see more coral in that area. Granted, most of the coral is dead, so you won't see much. But there are still some fish searching around for food. 

When you swim back to the boat, you'll noticed a lot more fish. I realized that the guides will feed the fish so you'll see them. We ended up having lunch at Hin Wong Bay. It's just a container of rice, a fried egg and basil beef which isn't bad. 

Nangyuan Island

Nangyuan Island is popular small island off the coast of Koh Tao. It's makes an excellent day trip with its stunning views. Since it was part of our snorkelling tour, we didn't bother with trying to visit it. 

If you paid the 100 baht entrance fee, the tour will drop you off here for about 2 hours. Since we skipped one of the bays, we ended up spending 2.5 hours here, which is more than enough time. 

The beach here is quite unique, since you have water on both sides. It's a good place to lounge on the beach and catch some sun. However, I found the sand a little too coarse because of the coral, so I wouldn't recommend visiting if you were just swimming. 

I enjoyed snorkelling here to the most. We found a spot by the rocks closer on the opposite side of the dock that has a lot of fish. Since the water is shallow, you can actually see a lot more that goes on. 

Things to keep in mind

Make sure you get a good set of snorkelling gear. Mine was leaking, so I had to switch it up after the first stop. 

Transit Guide: Bangkok to Koh Tao

After battling the cold temperatures in Nepal, we decided to head to Koh Tao for the last leg of our trip. The small island is known for it's diving and snorkelling! 

This transit guide also gets you to Nang Yuan, Koh Sammui or Koh Phangan. 

How to get there

From Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), we ended up staying a night in Khao San Road, since we knew buses would leave from there. 

When we went to a travel agency to book the ticket, we learned that they had two prices: 720 or 1100 baht. The 720 baht option leaves at 6:00 pm and you don't get there until the next day. The 1100 baht option leaves at 6:00 am and you get there for 3:00 pm that day. Realizing we wanted the convenience of getting there faster, we opted for the more expensive option. 

We learned that it's expensive because only one company leaves in the morning: Lomprayah. You need to head to their offices on Soi Rambutti at 5:30 a.m. to check in. You'll get three stickers here: one for your luggage and two for yourself (number and destination). 

At 6:00 a.m., you'll board the double decker bus and make your way to the pier. It's a non-stop journey, so make sure you pack snacks for the ride. You'll also get some water and a cookie half-way through the ride. 

At around 1:30 p.m, you'll reach the dock to board the boat. Keep in mind, this is a large speedboat that gets very bumpy. Motion sickness pills are highly recommended. 

There are four stops for the boat: Nang Yuan, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Sammui. 

How to get back to Bangkok?

It's essentially the same way back. You'll need to book a ticket in advance. We booked ours at our guesthouse where we got a deal on the taxi back to the dock. 

Just note that getting home is a lot more hassle than getting there. Once you reach the dock on the main land, you'll have to wait for your bus. The bus will take you back to Soi Rambutti. There will be one stop along the way for a food break. Unlike the way there, there will be no snacks provided this time. 

Happy Travelling!