Ko Tao (เกาะเต่า), literally Turtle Island, is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in the south of Thailand.
Understand
Historically, it was once the detention place for political prisoners similar to Ko Tarutao of Satun Province, but today it is a great place for divers or anybody who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Ko Samui and want more than the Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Tao is a great place to learn how to dive. There are hardly any currents and you have to travel in a boat for at least an hour to find depths deeper than 40 meters. Activity options are growing outside of diving and the food and nightlife options are varied and good.
Get in
The only option is by boat. The nearest airport is in Ko Samui, which is fairly well connected to major cities in the region (Bangkok, Penang, Singapore, etc).
If you're coming from the south, you can take a ferry from Surat Thani (around 3 hours) on the mainland, 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 - 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 are formerly cargo boats, so facilities are basic.
If you're coming from the north, you can catch a ferry from Chumphon. Numerous agents sell tickets for a variety of boats of varying size and speed. The fastest takes about 90 minutes, the slowest almost 5 hours.
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 an hour.
Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran or Seatran are the fastest and most comfortable way to get to Ko Tao. They run twice a day from Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan and Chumphon. They also have online booking - useful for checking availability at peak times and all their boats have air conditioning and movies for all passengers.
Sangserm offer "VIP" combined coach and boat tickets from Bangkok, claiming to take 6 hours by bus and 1.5 hours by boat - in fact, it takes closer to 9 hours by bus and 3 hours by boat, neither of which are particularly comfortable. In this traveller's opinion, the Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran and bus are much more comfortable and quicker.
Get around
There is only one road on the entire island. There are usually plenty of taxi cars available on both Sairee village and Mae Haad.
You can rent bicycles and motorcycles at a few places on Sairee Beach, Mae Haad, and Chalok. Be careful if you rent a motorbike as the dirt roads can get dangerous.
See
Take a bike around the island. Shark Bay is a good place to go snorkeling for the day (don't worry too much about sharks, they are only small black-tip reef sharks). Freedom beach, Laem Thian, Mango Bay and Tanote Bay are good day excursions, accessible by road or boat.
However, to see the best places, go by foot as some are inaccessible to motorists.
Do
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is still the biggest attraction on Ko Tao. Diving in Ko Tao is easy, fun, and you can see turtles, stingrays, barracudas, lots of small fish, reef sharks, and there is a very small chance of seeing a whale shark.
At Chumphon Pinnacle(advanced divers only) you are likely to see juvenile bull sharks which have, until recently, been misidentified as grey reef sharks. Don't worry, the bulls are curious but not aggressive and for many years literally thousands of people have dived this site without a single shark related incident.
Nearly any time of the year except November is good diving weather in Ko Tao and visibility can exceed 40 meters. Average visibility is around 15-20 meters. In November visibility is reduced and the seas are choppy, but diving is good by the standards of many other destinations.
It is possible and perfectly comfortable to swim and dive without a wetsuit year round. However, as with most diving, a wetsuit is recommended to help reduce risk of cuts or injury. Avoid contact with coral reefs!
Dive Shops
There are a huge number of dive operators on the island, many offering budget accommodation (sometimes described as free accommodation, but this is not really true as you will usually get a discount if you stay elsewhere). currently (2006) the price for padi open water certification including the new padi training manual, professional instruction, rental equipment, boat dives, and certification is around 10,000 baht; insurance and basic accommodation may also be included. shop around as not all shops teach the course in the same way. look for experienced dive instructors instead of a low price.
A common method for teaching new divers is to train in a pool first by being taught about 20 basic skills before being taken out into the open water. others will instead take you to a secluded beach so you will see fish and coral from the start and you might be able to squeeze in a short extra dive in this way, depending on your group and instructor. some shops have a private pier, some shops depart with a longtail from the beach, and some use the public pier, where you will have to climb some other boats. ask if this matters to you. most important: find out maximum number of dive students in a group, and make sure you get an instructor who speaks your language if you are not absolutely sure about your english. these are the little things that will make the difference between an ok course and a great one.
- coral grand divers & resort . located in a much quieter area than the other dive shops, at the far end of the beach, the hotel is more upmarket than most on the island although the free rooms are still basic. operates 2 dive boats plus a speed boat.
- crystal dive resort . one of only a handful of career development centres in thailand. every student level course and specialists in divemaster and instructor training.
- diveglobe. book your dive course or liveaboard dive trip online or come and see us in chalok ban kao - full range of dive destinations and dive courses.
- divepoint (on the waterfront in mae haad) . divepoint has probably the biggest dive boat on the island, big enough that you wont have to carry your gear to and from it. padi and ssi. (closed during nov & dec 2007)
- davy jones locker diving resort (dive resort on sairee beach) . small groups, experienced instructors and quality instruction. padi, bsac & ssi courses. wreck diving by high speed rib. offers one-year internships for aspiring divemasters.
- easy divers . fantastic padi dive shop with really experienced instructors. professional and fun with great accommodation.
- idc ko tao . instructor development courses (idcs) run every month by english padi course director matt bolton.
- koh tao instructor course . divemaster and padi instructor courses.
- master divers (mae haad) . good safety record and well placed for divers that may want to progress on to technical diving.
- phoenix divers (sairee beach) . good boats, new gear and multilingual western and thai staff.
- sairee hut (sairee beach). small but good, on the beach.
- seashell dive center. wonderful place with helpful multilingual staff, good boats and gear. no free accommodation. located on sairee beach.
- new way dive center . one of the oldest and most reputable dive shops, catering for a wide range of languages and senses of humour. accommodation available. located in sairee village.
- New Heaven Dive School We now have over ten years of experience on Koh Tao and with that comes diving expertise. Thoughout our time here we have always respected the local environment and contributed as much of our own energy as possible to preserve the natural beauty of Koh Tao. We have been involved with turtle conservation, reef restoration, The "We love Koh Tao" festival, The Koh Toa Under Water festival and any other activities which help to create the eco-friendly environment we would like to see on Koh Tao.
If you're not into scuba diving, many operators arrange snorkeling trips around the island. ask your accommodation about a tour. long-tail boat and a driver can be chartered for about 1500-2000 baht/day including snorkeling gear.
Dive sites
To see interactive dive site maps for Ko Tao please click here.
- Sail Rock - one of the more famous Scuba diving sites in the Ko Samui archipelago. It is an iceberg shaped pinnacle that rises from the sandy sea floor at 40 metres and rises 15 metres above the surface. It is a suitable dive site for all levels of diver, from Discover Scuba up. Its surface consists of small patches of hard and soft coral. Common fauna that may be seen include barracuda, batfish, jacks, occasional whale sharks, and many other species of tropical fish. The currents can vary considerably, but generally are mid to strong. Visibility is usually in the 10-30 metre range. For more advanced divers, there is a vertical 'swim through' on the northwest side of the rock. Commonly called "The Chimney", it begins at a depth of 18 metres and exits the rock again at depths of 12 and 6 metres. There are no associated fees as yet with diving Sail Rock.
- Chumphon Pinnacles - Widely regarded as the Gulf of Thailand's premier dive sites, 5 km Northwest of Koh Tao. The site is comprised of one huge granite pinnacle with some smaller pinnacles rising from the bottom. 40 Meters. Grey Reef Sharks, schooling Barracuda. Batfish, Giant Gropers, Pacific Lionfish, occasional Whalesharks.
- Southwest Pinnacles - 7 km Southwest of Koh Tao, comprised of seven underwater pinnacles and depths to 28 meters. Barracuda, Giant Groupers, Titan triggerfish.
- Green Rock - Caverns, 28m, Titan and Yellow Margin Triggerfish.
- White Rock - Wide variety of fish and coral, 27m.
- Red Rock - Large caverns, 18m
- Twin Pinnacles - Wide variety of fish and coral, 27m.
- Japanese Gardens - Training dive site, 19m
- Hin Pee Wee - Next to White Rock, 30m.
- Mango Bay - Training dive site, 12m.
- Lighthouse -
- Hin Wong Pinnacle -
- Laem Thien Pinnacle - Numerous caverns, Black Tip sharks (occasionally), Titan Triggerfish.
- Tanote Bay -
- Shark Island -
- Hin Ngam -
Other activities
Over the last couple of years more and more non divers have discovered the beauty of this island with its secluded little bays and unspoiled mountain ridges. Due to this, and the increasing amount of small upmarket resorts and villas nestled in the hillsides there are nowadays a lot more activities available, including sailing, rock climbing, paint-ball jungle games, mini golf or bowling in Mae Haad, massage and yoga courses, and cooking courses.
Watersports include wake boarding, water skiing, sumo tube, wind surfing, and sailing lessons.
- Hike to one of the secluded bays on the northern and eastern side of the island? On the 2 hour walk through the jungle to Mango Bay you will hardly meet any people. And when you're there-well, the snorkeling is good too.
- Island Cruises - sailing courses, day and sunset cruises, private charters and Ang Thong Marine Park safaris.
- Muay Thai - for those looking for a serious workout the Thai boxing stadium in Sairee offers Muay Thai courses and if that's not enough the Monsoon Gym is conveniently located alongside.
- Queens Cabaret - regular nightly cabaret act with extravagant costumes and good humoured showgirls.
- Good Time Adventures - flexible and friendly with a wide range of adventure activities including: rock climbing instruction and guiding, Scuba diving on our new fast boat (certified divers only), abseiling, mountain biking, cliff jumping, skin diving, booze cruises, overnight hikes and even good old fashioned pub crawls around the bars of the island.
A huge selection of Thai food is available, including lots of sea food. Barbecue fish is one of the local favourites. As a large portion of the population are expats, you will find plenty of other cuisines too.
Thai food is cheapest, with July 2007 prices ranging from 45 baht for stuff-on-rice through to 250 baht for a nice hunk of fresh barbecue fish at a decent restaurant. 25 baht would get you a fresh banana pancake, and 60 baht a bowl of porridge with honey at a budget resort's restaurant. 200-300 baht would get you a bowl of freshly made Italian pasta, and 160-200 baht for pizza. Fresh fruit juices are available at many stalls for 20-30 baht.
Drink
When you get a break from diving, there are a few bars on the island. The bars on the island rotate nights, so the best bet is to ask someone working at dive shop which bar will be crowded that night or check the posters. Many start off the evening at the Lotus Bar, located at the northern end of Sairee, and after it closes at 1am, make a pilgrimage down towards whichever club is open for the rest of the evening at the southern end of Sairee.
Sleep
You can usually find accommodation at the pier when you arrive. However, during peak times it is worth booking ahead unless you want to sleep on the beach or spend the night in one of the more expensive lodgings. If you are thinking of booking accommodation online before you arrive, make sure you book with the actual resort or a trustworthy booking site as there are numerous fake sites for several well known Ko Tao resorts appearing on the Internet. (All links below are genuine.)
During busy periods, most resorts with dive outfits will not want you to stay unless you are diving at least every second day with them. If you don't want to stay with your dive operator and use their free accommodation, ask for a discount (although they will probably just give it to you without asking - competition is stiff!)
In March 2006, 400 baht/night would get you a room for two with a fan, 24 hour electricity, and a hole in the floor right on the beach. Prices generally go up with quality and features such as a fridge or air conditioning. The swankier bungalows may go for around 1200 baht/night.
Chalok Bay is nice and quiet but you won't get a sunset view - plus you will have to pay 100-200 baht each time for taxis if you want a bit of night life in the evening. Sairee beach is where the action is but many people complain when staying there about the noise from the parties at the beach bars till the early hours. It can be cheaper and easier to stay near Mae Haad beach and do the 5 min walk over to Sairee when you want to go out.
Stay safe
The number one way to stay safe on Ko Tao is to not drink and drive. Motorbike accidents are very common, especially when driven under the influence, on the wrong side of the road, in the dark. All Terrain Vehicles (ATV) are becoming numerous on the island. They are considered a menace by many as they are expensive, slow, noisy and more people injure themselves on them under the mis-belief they are safer; which they are not. Walk or hire a smaller motorbike instead.
Should you be unfortunate enough to need medical attention then there are numerous clinics on the island. The largest clinic is in Sairee. The closest hospital is Koh Samui or Chumphon.
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