Ko Maak

Greetings from Koh Maak!
By exacto (dabbler - 13 reviews)
Written on 8th January, 2010 after a visit to Ko Maak in December, 2009
We spent a week here in late December '09, splitting the time between Ao Kao, Ao Suan Yai, and Buri Hut near Ao Nid. The island was definitely not crowded, and there were several times when we were the only group on the beach, at a restaurant, or even in an entire resort.

Ao Kao is definitely the backpacker-style beach, and has the best variety of accommodation and the most shops and restaurants on the road up behind the beach. We liked it here and didn't see any of the rubbish washed up on the beach problem that others had mentioned.

Ao Suan Yai is the more upscale beach, dominated by Koh Mak Resort but also including the more budget-friendly Suchanaree. This was the best swimming beach we visited, but there was a trash issue farther up beyond the resorts where the beach isn't groomed.

Sand flies are definitely an issue on Koh Mak everywhere we visited except Buri Hut. They spray for them at least once a week at Ao Suan Yai and probably on other beaches too, but even so and even with all the efforts we make to cover up and use bug spray, we still got munched!

The island is small enough that we really got to know it in just that short week, but big enough that it isn't easy to get from one area to another without some sort of transport. Scooters are a good way to get around, and ranged in price from 300 to 400 baht a day, depending on how nice the scooter was and where you rented it. The roads are generally flat and in relatively good shape, so it isn't a bad place to learn to ride if you haven't done so before. Otherwise, the fleet of local taxis (I think there are three on the entire island) seem to be everywhere at once and will take you anywhere for a very reasonable 50 baht per person, 100 baht trip minimum.

Getting to/from the island isn't cheap. The speed boat was 450 baht each way for the trip from Laem Ngob. There is a slow boat too for 300 baht, but it unfortunately doesn't run every day. We figure it cost us 1,500 baht each to get from Bangkok to Koh Maak and back, so definitely figure that into your budget.

Apart from the obvious beach combing and lazing around fun on the island, there are several companies that run snorkeling day trips for between 700 and 1,000 baht per person. We went on the Paradise Divers trip and had a great time. Our 700 baht fee included pick up and drop off at our hotel, a tasty lunch cooked up by a local restaurant, snorkel gear, and a generous amount of time at two good snorkel/dive sites on a wonderful converted fishing (slow) boat. We had a great time. My wife did a 30-minute introduction to SCUBA dive for 2,000 baht. We also thought that Paradise Divers showed much more care and consideration of other boats and people in the area and the reefs themselves than other companies, most of which were day trips from Koh Chang.

One other thing worth mention on Maak is the small Isan restaurant located in the center of the island right next to Paradise Divers main shop. It's a good spot to satisfy that inevitable craving for Kai Yang, Somtam, and Khao Niew and pretty cheap too. There is also an attached massage shop there which at 200 baht per hour was the least expensive we found on the island.
Also reviewed by exacto: Champasak, Chiang Mai, Kamphaeng Phet, Lopburi, Mukdahan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nong Khai, Pakse, Phitsanulok, Savannakhet,

Awesome, chilled out little island!
By JessandScott (dabbler - 1 review)
Written on 28th November, 2009 after a visit to Ko Maak in March, 2009
We visited Ko Maak this March and loved it! It's very chilled out, the people are truly lovely and it has a real community vibe.

We stayed at Ao Pong to start with (awesome!) and then moved to The Big Easy (beautiful!) to splurge for our last few days in Thailand. We honestly feel we stayed at the best two places on the island.

The island itself is really nice -- both beaches we stayed at were cleaned by staff every morning (we noticed a fair bit of rubbish swept ashore and was straggled across the sand in front of less vigilant places). The internal environment is a mixture of natural vegetation/trees, and coconut plantations. The beaches aren't as spectacular as some on the west coast of Thailand (or as our local beaches in Qld, Australia) but they were still really nice. Be careful though -- if you plan to walk out to the tiny island just off the Big Easy beach, make sure you wear shoes! There are thousands of sea urchins out there.

It's a tiny little island, and really easy to get around - you can hire scooters/motorbikes from several different places, and as there's only 1 or 2 internal roads it's pretty hard to get lost! We went exploring and managed to get to a remote beach on the (I think) northern side of the island. This was VERY tough going on the bike - the dirt track is very rough - but it was worth it. We watched the sun go down (so maybe north-west?) and had a swim in the completely empty beach. I think the locals are the only ones who normally go - we got some curious looks when we passed through the tiny village!

Make sure you check out the art / statue place in the internal part of the island. We didn't see this advertised anywhere but found out about it from a fellow traveller. It is very bizarre but pretty cool. Probably not the best place to take kids though... the statues are anatomically correct in a cartoonish way and often in promiscuous poses!

We went to a big island party to watch a football (soccer) game, at one of the bbq places - low key and it seemed the whole island was there, locals and expats and tourists! There is a fantastic vibe - no pushers, no touts, no one selling you stuff. There's not many restaurants or bars, besides those attached to accomm, but every bit of food we ate was delicious. There's two little shops for essentials, a cute tourist office where you can get money out and organise things, a few bbq places, an internet cafe (with a fantastic view!), the bungalows and not an awful lot else!

We definitely plan on coming back one day. Nothing happens too fast and there's no hassle. It's beautiful, and far more intimate then neighbouring Ko Chang (where we also stayed). Locals seem genuinely happy for you to be there, happy to help, and very chilled out.

Small Island, far away from mass-tourism
By schusterontour (dabbler - 1 review)
Written on 10th July, 2009 after a visit to Ko Maak in June, 2009
I did not believe what I saw. A tourist island, with out (gogo) bars and sex-tourists.
Empty beaches (ok, it was rainy-season), a lot of palm-trees, very nice locals and some low-budget resorts.
Some small shops,a tiny temple and a small market, some diving-schools, about 20 resorts, and thats it.