Koh Tao Island The Turtle Island Located in The Gulf of Thailand

Koh Tao Island The Turtle Island Located in The Gulf of Thailand

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Koh Tao Island

Koh Tao Island

Koh Tao Island. The island is geared towards diving tourists more than backpackers on a budget and offers both basic through luxury accommodation. There are hardly any currents and a wide selection of dive sites and dive shops, schools and resorts.

Ko Tao is a small island of approximately 21 km² and receives over a 100,000 visitors per year. To minimize your impact on the eco-system, notice that there are no garbage disposal facilities, so everything that can’t be burned has to be taken away. Try to avoid plastic bags that are given out for every purchase you make. There is also no department to clean the roads or other public areas, so don’t dump your waste on the open landscape. Water is scarce and electricity expensive, so don’t waste them.

Historically Ko Tao was once a detention place for political prisoners similar to Ko Tarutao in Satun Province

Peak seasons in Ko Tao are from December to March and July to August. July/August is actually high season due to Northern Hemisphere summer and rain dominating most of the rest of the country. The Gulf of Thailand is on a separate weather system and is usually sunny, however regional instability – such as Typhoons in the South China Sea can provide daily bouts of rain. Monsoon is in Nov-Jan and can be constant rain for days at a time. It is a quite popular destination among Thais also, so it can be nearly fully booked on Thai holidays.

Getting There Koh Tao Island 

The nearest airports are in Chumphon Airport (Nok Air), Pathio District, Chumphon and Ko Samui Airport. Both offer onward high speed ferry connections to Koh Tao.

Chumphon Airport, Pathiu IATA Code (CJM)

This option is one of the fastest to get to Koh Tao and generally much less expensive than via Samui Airport.

Nok Air operate two daily flights between Don Mueang Airport (DMK), Bangkok and Chumphon Airport, Pathio with van transfer for the 55 minute ride to the ferry terminal. Nok Air and AirAsia sell an integrated Fly ‘an’ Ferry combi ticket from Bangkok to Ko Tao via Chumphon Airport directly on their website; this combines flight, transfer and high speed ferry in a single ticket.

Services at the Chumphon Airport The airport has transit agents for onward travel to Chumphon and the islands including Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, Ko Nang Yuanand Koh Samui.

Lomprayah will move the main ferry terminal and pier to a new purpose built facility at Cape Pathiu about 2 km from the Chumphon Airport in Pathiu, the pier will open Q3 2016. This will reduce travel time from the airport to pier by 50 minutes and cut 90 minutes from the bus journey from Bangkok to the ferry pier.

Samui Airport IATA Code (USM)

Samui is fairly well connected to major cities in the region such as Bangkok, Penang and Singapore. Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways and Silkair operate from the private airport in Ko Samui and both charge artificially high rates. Bangkok Airways operates more daily flights to and from Ko Samui than Thai Airways. There is a 300 baht departure tax for all flights.

Other Airports Several airlines, including Thai Air Asia, Nok Air and Thai Airways operate from the Surat Thani Airport.

By boat Koh Tao Island 

From Bangkok via Chumphon to Koh Tao Island 

The closest departure point for the island ferry service is Chumphon. Numerous agents sell tickets for a variety of boats and speeds travelling. The fastest Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran takes about 90 minutes, the slowest night boat almost 5 hours. Lomprayah have a pickup service from your hotel to the pier for 100 baht. The ticket itself is 600 baht wherever you book it.

These ferries depart Chumphon at 07:00, 13:30, 23:00 and midnight. The ferries at 07:00 and 13:30 are the normal passenger ferries offered by

– Lomprayah  – High Speed Catamaran service about 90 minutes (600 baht)

– Seatran 5 to 6 hours

– Songserm Boat 2 to 3 Hrs

Both Lomprayah and Songserm sell packages from Bangkok by bus or Nok Air  offer a fly / sea combi ticket.

The late night ferries are normally vehicle or cargo ferries, making for a slower (5-6 hour trip, arriving at 05:00) and offer a comfortable bunk bed in a dormitory included in the 300 baht ticket. If you are arriving via bus or train, be sure to arrive well before the ferry times, as the ferry terminal is around 1 hour travel time from the train station, and a missed connection either results in a late night trip on the vehicle/cargo ferry or an overnight stay and a 05:30 start to catch the bus to the ferry terminal for the first ferry the next day.

Train to Chumphon then boat Koh Tao Island 

A good option for travelling from Bangkok is to book Sleeper Train #85; leaving Bangkok around 19:30 and arriving in Chumphon at 04:00 (usally late 1-2h) and then have a ticket booked for the 07:00 ferry. Most ferry operators can pick you up from the station where you can while away the 3 hour connection gap. You can also buy your ferry ticket at the station when you get off the train at 04:00.

Bus to Chumphon then boat Koh Tao Island 

Lomprayah have an inclusive ticket from Bangkok on a comfortable large bus included in the price with connections to the port.

From Surat Thani Koh Tao Island 

If you’re coming from the south, you can take a ferry from Don Sak pier, 60km from Surat Thani on the mainland with a travel time of around 3 hours for the morning ferry, or from Ko Samui, 1.5 hours, or Ko Pha Ngan 1 hour. If you’re taking a boat from Surat Thani, one possibility might be an overnight ferry. These depart around 23:00 and arrive in the morning, about 06:00 (subject to changes). It’s advisable to arrive early to grab a mattress as most of the boats are former cargo boats and so the passenger facilities are basic.

From the other islands Koh Tao Island 

You can also day trip on diving charters from Ko Samui. Many have high speed boats that can make the trip to Ko Tao in about 1 hour.

Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran [56] or Seatran [57] are the fastest and most comfortable way to get to Ko Tao. They run twice a day from Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, Surat Thani, and Chumphon. They also have online booking – useful for checking availability at peak times and all their boats have air conditioning and movies for passengers. Booking from Ko Samui can cost 500-1000 baht on the streets. You can get a ticket for the slower boat (2.5 hours) as low as 250 baht if you buy it in the ticket office next to the pier (next to 7 eleven). You can get a ticket on the spot, no need to book in advance.

Things To See Koh Tao Island 

Take a bike around the island. Shark Bay is a good place to go snorkelling for the day (don’t worry too much about sharks, they are only small black-tip reef sharks). Ko Nang Yuan, Freedom beach, Laem Thian, Mango Bay, Hin Wong Bay and Tanote Bay are good day excursions, and are accessible by road or boat. Some roads, such as to Mango Bay, are more suited to dirt bikes or cars rather than scooters.

Many rental scooters come equipped with off-road tyres, which help tremendously with navigating the crevasse riddled dirt trails. Mango Bay and Laem Thian are accessible by scooter but are challenging rides and suited to more experienced riders.

However, to see the best places, go by foot as some are inaccessible to motorists. There are a number of good viewpoints around the island such as John Suwan Mountain Viewpoint in the south of the island, Two View in the centre, and Fraggle Rock in the north.

All beaches in Thailand are public. Some property owners may try to give the incorrect impression that “their” beach is private.

Beaches Koh Tao Island 

Sairee Beach Koh Tao Island 

This is the largest beach on Ko Tao, located on the west side of the island from the ferry terminal on the southwest corner of the island and running almost the length of the island. All along this beach you will find dive schools, resorts, restaurants, and bars. The southern and central sections of the beach are well-known for their night life, and the northern end has a large number of shops and restaurants which tends to be a bit quieter at night, but with the bars only a short walk down the “Yellow Brick Road”.

Sairee Beach Huts Koh Tao Island

Chalok Bay Koh Tao Island 

Chalok Baan Kao is a much more chilled, relaxed environment than Sairee Beach, while still giving access to a great range of restaurants, beach bars, and BBQs plus a wide range of accommodation from luxury resorts to budget rustic, beach-side bungalows.

Tanot Bay Koh Tao Island 

More populated than other east coast beaches, but this doesn’t mean it’s busy. There is no town or village here and only 4 resorts, each with an attached restaurant and one really tiny shop which is up the hill behind the resorts. There are no ATM machines. There are no really cheap places to eat as there are in Mae Haad.

The sand on the beach is coarse and there is an unbelievable amount of broken glass in it. Likely because of people drinking while sitting on the rocks. Careful where you step and do your bit to pick up some of the glass. The shore is rocky and there is plenty of coral right off the beach. You can rent snorkelling equipment for 100 baht per day. There is a large rock just out to sea for those interested in cliff diving.

There are regular trucks that go back and forth 3-4 times per day at 100 baht per person. Ask at your resort for taxi times. Alternatively you can charter your own truck for 400 baht minimum or 100 baht per person.

Mae Haad Koh Tao Island 

This is the main spot of Koh Tao where any ferry will arrive at a pier. There are a lot of shops: Restaurants, 7-Eleven, Diving Shops, Travel Agents, Post Office, Banks, Motorbike Rentals and anything else you will need.

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