Imagine paradise, imagine Koh Tao (Koh Tao)

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Koh Tao
Date:	12/08/09 (80 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect, just perfect

Disadvantages: We had to leave

Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, is a tiny island measuring only 21km in the Gulf of Thailand. It is one of the smallest islands out of the many that are found dotted around in Thailand, yet also one of the busiest due to the abundance of coral reefs and wonderful opportunities to snorkel or scuba dive.

~ History ~
The island was previously uninhabited and only used for fishermen to take shelter from storms. Then from 1933, Koh Tao was used as a political prison because it was so far away from the mainland but, when the prison and island was abandoned in 1947, families from the nearby island of Koh Phangan crossed the waters to make a new home on the deserted island.

The island has gradually grown in population and in the 1980s the first tourists arrived who today are a core part of the island's survival. Koh Tao is now one of the most popular diving sites in Thailand and South East Asia due to the unspoilt and beautiful marine life and coral reefs.

~ Location ~
Koh Tao is situated on the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand and is found just above the larger islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. Because the island is so small, it makes it slightly difficult to get to and a boat will need to be taken from either Chumpon (if travelling from Bangkok) or from Surat Thani (on the southern end), with each of these journeys taking around 3 hours. However, we had previously visited both Koh Samui and Koh Phangan and boats travel from both of these islands to Koh Tao daily which lessens the travelling time to around an hour from Koh Phangan. A warning when first arriving on the island, is that as soon as you step off the boat, you will be hounded by the local Thais trying to sell you bits and bobs, advertising diving courses or snorkelling trips or simply trying to make a few Baht by giving you a ride. It's easiest and quickest to simply accept a ride from someone, even though most of them won't be licensed taxis, as they'll take you wherever you want to go on the island and won't charge you much.

~ Where to stay ~
The main beach of Sairee provides the widest range of accommodation to suit all budgets from small and simple beach huts and bungalows to luxurious hotels and villas. The majority of the accommodation is located along the beach front so even if you opt for one of the cheaper huts, the view will always be the same - the white sand and blue sea.

An easy way to pick where you want to stay is to simply take a walk along the beach where all of the accommodation is in a straight row and every resort has beach access. However, in the high season I would recommend booking up in advance if possible as it took us a good 2 hours to find somewhere which had a room available at a price we could afford.

~ Sairee ~
Sairee is the main beach which stretches along the majority of the west side of the island. This is where the majority of accommodation is found and so the beach is usually very busy, whether its packed with beginner scuba divers in the shallow waters taking a test dive, or tourists simply sunbathing on the sand. The sand is pure white here and is so soft and the sea is just as beautiful and blue and you can wade out a fair distance and still be standing in shallow water. Despite there being a fair few people on the beach, it is still very relaxing and a wonderful place to just let the day role by.

Walking south either along the beach or along the main strip of road just in from the beach, the atmosphere becomes more lively and is full of shops, dive centres, restaurants and bars. The pathway takes you up quite a way and the walk is a lovely one to take at night looking at all the different places lit up with candles and lanterns. The range of restaurants and bars is huge for such a small island and there are some wonderful places to spend an evening including quiet and simple cafes which show films as you're eating, more higher class restaurants where you can eat your dinner overlooking the sea, or bars where you can sit on bean bags on the sand whilst drinking huge cocktails and watching fire shows. The difference between the place during the day, when all is quiet and relaxed, and the evening, when the island comes to life, is amazing and you cannot fail to enjoy yourself here.

~ Mae Haad ~
This is another main part of the island where all boats arrive and depart from, both to other areas of Thailand or out on diving excursions and day trips. The area is always bustling with people so it doesn't have the relaxed feel which Sairee does, so I wouldn't recommend staying in any of the few resorts they have here. Most of the main necessities can be found here such as the port, travel agencies, post office and supermarkets.

The other sides of the island, in fact anywhere other than Sairee and Mae Haad, are rarely visited as they are a lot less popular and contain only a few places to stay and eat.

~ Diving ~
The main reason for the island's huge flock of tourists is due to the fantastic diving opportunities which it offers with over 20 different dive sites surrounding the tiny island. Everything can be seen from shallow and colourful coral reefs, to sites reaching more than 30 metres in depth all home to a wonderful array of creatures. Sairee and Mae Haad are scattered with plenty of shops offering all sorts of diving courses and day trips. Many of the tourists on the island simply visit Koh Tao to learn to dive as the courses offered are PADI certified and are so so cheap. My husband and I decided to snorkel rather than scuba dive, but if we should ever want to give it a try, Koh Tao would be our first choice for learning. The cost of transport, accommodation and a 5 day PADI course in Koh Tao, is cheaper than just a 5 day diving course on the Great Barrier Reef, and the quality is no less, being taught by trained instructors.

If, like us, you prefer to snorkel, there are plenty of options available where you are taken on a day trip to certain areas around the island. Without a doubt, any trip must include a visit to Koh Nang Yuan, a tiny dot of land on the western side of the main island, which is one of the most beautiful places and one of the best places to dive and snorkel in whole of Thailand. (I will be doing a separate review on Koh Nang Yuan because it's too great a place to only say a little bit about!)

There are so many places to visit on excursions and all are just as beautiful and amazing as the rest. We jumped into the deep sea at Shark Island to see if we could spot any blacktip reef sharks; White Rock, Green Rock and Red Rock are deeper corals and are home to many weird and wonderful fish, sting rays and other sea life; Japanese Garden and Mango Bay provided colourful reefs in the clear water with hundreds of different types of sea creatures. I can't remember exactly which site it was, but either Japanese Garden or Mango Bay was absolutely fantastic and the fish were literally swimming right around you. Our guide from the boat kept throwing pieces of fruit into the sea right by our heads and all of a sudden, hundreds of fish would hurtle towards you and were all huddled around your face so close that you couldn't turn your head without brushing a few of them. I must admit it was a little scary to see so many fish hurtling straight at your face, but when they were all swarmed around you, I couldn't do anything but hold my breath and keep dead still - not because I was worried about touching them, but because it was simply breathtaking.

I've done a lot of travelling and have snorkelled in a good few places around the world, but Koh Tao, without a doubt, was the best snorkelling experience I have ever had, way better than the Great Barrier Reef even. Any trip to Thailand is not complete without a trip to this beautiful and fascinating island. Whether to learn to dive or snorkel or simply to relax on the white sandy beaches and enjoy the Thai culture, Koh Tao is a wonderful place to be.

Summary: I really want to go back now! :-(