Koh Tao: A Haven Above & Below The Ocean

August 13, 2015

Island living means having a front row seat of nature’s performance… A.Merhing

After enjoying one final coffee sitting peacefully watching the sunrise on our spectacular balcony (I will forever miss that view) we said our goodbye’s to the wonderful island of Koh Samui – and we were off again!

Catching the Lomprayah ferry early afternoon, we sailed off to the stunning island of Koh Tao – an unforgettable destination, located East of the Surat Thani coastline.

After mixing up our times (no doubt was bound to happen at some point) we had a few hours to chill at the pier. Thankfully, there was plenty of drinks, snacks and free wifi to keep us amused for a while. Plus, there was plenty information telling us all about Koh Tao’s stunning coral reef’s and abundance of marine life in the glistening warm waters – I couldn’t wait to get there!

Looking attractive as ever

We were pretty lucky that the weather forecast for sailing was picture perfect in comparison to the treacherous rainfall we had endured the previous day. I would have loved to have seen the two of us scooting along, half-dressed in a tropical monsoon… Safe to say we looked like a pair of drowned rats by the end of it!

The ferry ride is actually a fun experience in itself – I was surprised just how fast we sped through the choppy waves (not so great if you are a sufferer of sea sickness) You also get a nice comfy seat in a air-conditioned room, with a snack bar on board too. Far better than we were initially expecting!

The journey to the remote island of Koh Tao is an hour and a half from Koh Samui (72km) so you can catch some rays from above if you choose to sit upstairs… (you do get a bit wet mind you)

Koh Tao is literally a miniature version of Koh Samui, without the fuss. First impressions seemed to be much quieter than our previous bustling island and as you walk off the pier, you can sense the smaller community vibe. The island only measures 3.4km at it’s widest part and is approximately 7.6km long – hopefully can’t get too lost then…

Everything is crammed together in perfect patterns with cute boutique cafe’s and restaurants, quaint market stalls offering tasty snacks and little souvenirs – all set within another stunning beach setting.

Fun facts about Koh Tao:

Koh Tao was completely uninhabited until 1943.

The name Koh Tao actually means ‘Turtle Island’ as the island’s first residents were turtles and many thought the island’s shape also resembled a turtle from Koh Phangan.

In 1899 King Chulalongkorn visited the island and carved his initials on a large Boulder in Sairee Beach which is now a place of worship.

During 1943-1944 the island was used as a political prison where prisoners described the island as a “living hell”. After their release, the island remained deserted.

The first ‘travellers’ actually came to the island in 1977.

The island is divided up into three small villages, Mae Head and Sairee on the west coast and Chalok Baan Koh in the South. The East of the island is predominantly steep cliffs and mountains with little flat land for residents.

We chose to stay near Sairee beach as it seemed to be the place to be when visiting Koh Tao. We were correct as Sairee is situated right in the midst of everywhere you want to be – with lots of restaurants and fun night life near by. Staying at the Jolly Guesthouse enabled us to be in the midst of everything without having too much noise nearby.

The guesthouse, painted in every rainbow colour you can imagine is lovely and the staff were super friendly and welcoming for us checking in. One of the guys even took Gary straight away himself to rent a bike for us to get around. Our only downside for us was that we’d been so used to air-conditioned rooms up until that point and our little ceiling fan did not do much for keeping us cool! It was a very sweaty three night stay…

Sairee Beach

Wow, wow and WOW is all I can summarise for Koh Tao. It really is incredible! We got straight on our bike on our first day then drove up to the north of the island (it really takes no time to get around) and were overwhelmed by the amazing views looking out to Nangyuan Island – a unique little island right off the coast of Koh Tao where three small islands are connected by a pristine white sand bar. Taxi boats are everywhere to take you across. We will definitely be checking that one out!

The Sairee sea is unlike any water we have experienced so far. It’s so warm! Almost too warm to swim – not so great if you need to cool off from the blistering sunshine. We swam around the idilic ocean for a while that afternoon, just absorbing all of our breathtaking surroundings.

On our first evening we took a walk down to Sairee beach where all the action is at. The famous Lotus Bar had a fire show performing so we grabbed ourselves a bucket of alcohol and watched the show. These guys were insane – one even had burn marks across his back which made me question whether or not he even knew what he was doing! Regardless, it was pretty awesome to see…

There are surprisingly so many places to choose from to eat here despite being on such a small island. What’s even better is that everywhere is much cheaper than the beach-side restaurants of Koh Samui – always a winner for us!

By the time we had walked around that first evening, we’d already planned the next few night’s meals (mainly using Gary eyeing up the juicy BBQ meats on display as the deciding factor)

Here are a few favourite restaurants I’d recommend in Koh Tao:

Chaba Tapas: Tucked conveniently in the middle of Sairee beach among the shopping and restaurant areas, this gem of a place does the most amazing bbq chicken sizzling away outside, drawing you inside. You can tell how happy Gary was with his meal. They even offer free tapas with every alcoholic drink!

Koppee Espresso Bar & Restaurant:
The breakfast is awesome here with so much choice and so cheap. We sat one morning and filled ourselves up whilst having the most incredible view right In front of us looking out over Chalok baan Kao Bay. Not to mention their homemade peanut butter was to die for.

Jasmine’s Sushi & Thai Food:
We had dinner here one night simply because we were drawn into the good value set meals advertised outside (great for budget travellers who want more for their money) Our meal was so good here opting for classic Thai food of course.

Coffee-House: This fantastic little coffee/pancake house is just down from our apartment and sells probably the best cup of coffee I’ve had so far in Asia (not an easy find) Also, the cafe has great wifi – I’m even sitting here right now typing this blog, making the most of their great facilities.

We spent our few days here on the island checking out all of the fantastic view points dotted around, which is a must do whilst here. First of all, we stopped at Koh Tao’s resort paradise zone view point – a hilltop resort which showcased amazing views of the bay’s below. A great place to rest and have a nice meal too with their beautiful sunset restaurant on the rooftop – shame we had just had breakfast!

South of the island is where we found probably the most enchanting scenery I’ve ever come across. John Suwan Rock View Point is just breathtaking. It offers a panoramic view of the whole of Chalok Baan Koh and Thian Og Bays all at once – and is by far the best view you’ll get touring the island. Albeit, we did have a bit of a scary hike to get there but for this… it was so worth it.

We visited the surrounding areas of Taa Toh and Freedom beach that lay beneath the John Suwan view point. Both were very remote and peaceful with no buildings nearby. We chilled out in hammocks and watched the boats from afar.

If you do ever come to Koh Tao (which everyone should) you must spend a day touring around the amazing snorkel areas of the island. Koh Tao is now world famous for diving as well which is pretty evident in the countless schools to have lessons here.

After deciding to do something extra special on our final day on the island, we booked a tour covering all areas for snorkelling and exploring Nangyuan island (which we were so keen to do)

Departing from Mae Haad Pier, we started off at Shark Island, located 1km off the southern tip of Koh Tao, to set our sights on some black tip reef sharks (don’t worry they’re just babies)…

Gary and I were lucky enough to be the only two on the whole tour who got to see one of the baby sharks who swam right past us! Our picture doesn’t do it justice, it was so cool.

Next stop was Aow Leuk, a sheltered bay with calm sandy ocean floors, for more snorkelling activity. We swam around colourful hard and soft coral, with plenty of tropical marine life to photograph. I have never seen something so beautiful and luckily managed to get some great Go Pro pictures of the stunning underwater Kingdom.

Lunch was also provided on the boat as we sailed through Hin Wong Bay, stopping for more underwater sightseeing. We then took a dive into the breathtaking reef of Mango Bay, and the splended coral gardens which lay beneath, for even more snorkel fun. Our tour guide Coco was hilarious and really made the trip memorable for us.

Lastly, we stopped over at the much anticipated Nanguan island – one of the world’s most beautiful islands. Here we could relax on the immaculate white sand and take a cool dip in the glistening waters filled with more tropical fish. There’s also another view point mountain to climb up to see the magnificent views of the pocket sized islands – simply magical.

Koh Tao has been one of my most favourite places so far in our journey. There really is no place quite like it and I love the remote settings and peaceful feel.

As you sail around the island, you see just a few sporadic properties (all bungalows with no large hotel chains in sight) and lush greenery coating the rocky cliffs – a welcome change from everywhere else being so overpopulated and commercialised nowadays.