Koh Tao

Introduction

The island is well known for scuba diving and snorkeling, and also offers some hiking. The most popular place for tourists is Sairee on the West coast, which has a white sandy beach of 1.7 km interrupted only by a few huge boulders and a scattering of medium budget resorts and restaurants. Chalok Baan Khao, to the south of the island is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative for those wishing to escape the crowds. A multitude of beautiful granite boulders, which nestle both in the forests and on the beaches of Ko Tao, attract a growing number of climbers who visit each year to enjoy the adventurous aspect of their sport.

Ko Tao is less developed than Ko Samui and Ko Pha Ngan, but has become increasingly popular especially with the mid-20's backpacker crowd in search of relatively inexpensive scuba diving certification.
As of December 2005, Ko Tao had about 150 resorts offering accommodation and approximately 50 bars/clubs. Most of the resorts are still bungalow-style, not hotel/resort style. As of 2007 there is a trend to more upmarket resorts which do not concentrate singularly on diving. Free WiFi is provided in increasing numbers and even the first sailing charter company on Ko Tao has opened.

Ko Tao is increasingly becoming a mecca for game fishermen on a budget. Species targeted include marlin, sailfish, king mackerel, cobia, baracuda, trevally and snapper.
Diving conditions have improved dramatically in the past few years with the continuing education of locals by the dive community. The El Nino weather pattern of 1997 caused a warming of the waters which resulted in the loss of a great deal of the shallow corals near the island. Since then, the recovery has been swift and dramatic.

Chumpon Pinnacle, a dive site to the west of the island has a reputation for divers in search of both whalesharks and bull sharks.
 





 Transportation

 

Starting from Bangkok, you can catch a train or bus to Chumphon, traveling time is about 6-10 hours, usually at night time. There you have several kinds of boat services, leaving mostly in the morning, connecting you with the island in about 1½ to 2 hours.
Coming from Hat Yai or Phuket, you could also decide to go to Surat Thani instead and reach Koh Tao via Koh Samui or Koh Phangan.
There are also airports in Chumphon, Suratthani and Koh Samui, a domestic flight from Bangkok is about 1½ hours. Obviously the bigger dive centers offer complete package tours which can be booked online, bringing you straight from your home town to paradise.
The nearest airport is in Koh 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 Koh Samui (1.5 hours) or Koh Phangan (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. the overnight train Bangkok (dep 18.15) - Chumphon is best value: bed included and optional feed and drink, if you prebook.
You can also day trip on diving charters from Koh Samui. Many have high speed boats that can make the trip to Koh Tao in about an hour.

Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran or Seatran are the fastest and most comfortable way to get to Koh Tao. They run twice a day from Koh Samui, Koh Phangan 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 (2 hrs) and bus (8 hrs) are much more comfortable and quicker (ticket: 850 bth cat and bus).