Ko Tao

Ko Tao reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

• Nice Island

  For a laid back experience, good for diving but just being there is a treat every time.

  • Sights & activities
  • History & culture
  • Scenery & environment
  • Eat & drink
  • Traveller's scene
  • Romance
  • Value for money
  • I'll be back (or not)

  By BuaManagement (dabbler)
  Written on 20th May, 2012 after a visit to Ko Tao in January, 2012

  
  

• Paradise under threat

  Ko Tao is still truly amazing. Rich in natural beauty, perfect for diving, snorkeling, kayaking and a few nice trails to hike with rewarding views over the island. It also attracts a different crowd of people than Ko Samui or Phuket, which is good news for all who want to avoid the cocktail by the bucket/full-, half- and three quarter-moonparty trash. But all is not well and Ko Tao is already showing some serious signs of destruction. In recent years the island has seen a massive amount of development which led to the disfigurement of many wonderful and untouched coastal sceneries. Every year there are a couple of new concrete resorts, set into the landscape like Mike Tyson would place his fist on the nose of his opponent. Sewage water from the resorts is pumped straight out into the ocean and is not exactly helping the eco system to maintain itself. Once you snorkel around the beaches, you'll realise that most of the corals there are dead. Destroyed by the swivel of ship propellers, taxi boats, and unexperienced divers and snorkelers who step on it, break it and so on. They once have been very colourful and teeming with all sorts of marine life, but now they're brown, crumbling and covered in algea. There is still a decent amount of fish around who eat the remains of the coral, so going snorkeling is still fun to do. But if you talk to the locals they will tell you what these places have been years ago. Quite a few of them said that they are not going snorkeling or diving any more as they can't bear to see what's down there. Some reported that they are afraid to speak up, as there have been serious threats to those who dared to oppose the big business players. Even though there are a lot of efforts to protect what is still there and a number of conservation projects doing excellent work, they can only succeed, if the tourist industry itself puts the environment before its profits. Otherwise Ko Tao will end up like so many other places before, a wasteland of karaoke bars, bacardi buckets and littered beaches. Sorry to put the fly into the soup, but the difference between this scenario and a place that is worth visiting and living in lies entirely in our hands. As long as there are businesses on the island who are keen to make a difference, to preserve nature and protect it, they will rely on us spending our cash there and keeping them alive. The big corporations will only change their ways if they get hit where it hurts them the most, not in the heart but in the cash register. So please think twice where you book your stay and keep an eye out for recommended places. In the end it might pay back double as you will have a much better experience and the feeling that it will be worth coming back.

  • Sights & activities
  • History & culture
  • Scenery & environment
  • Eat & drink
  • Traveller's scene
  • Romance
  • Value for money
  • I'll be back (or not)

  By Beetrootboat (dabbler)
  Written on 27th February, 2012 after a visit to Ko Tao in February, 2012

  Also reviewed by Beetrootboat: Ao Mae Haad,

• I love Ko Tao

  I absolutely loved Ko Tao. I was there for a month and stayed until my visa ran out. I stayed at Big Fish Resort on Cholock Bay- it was quiet, cheap, with a private beach and restaurant.
  
  Renting a motorbike is the easiest but most dangerous way to get around. I was with a group of 7 travelers and we all dumped our bikes on the sandy roads at least one time. Two of us had to pay 1,000TB for repairs when we returned our bikes. Just something to be aware of!
  
  There are a lot of tours you can take of the island but we found exploring the hills and dirt roads was the best way to find amazing things. The Thai and Burmese people who live on the island are more than happy to point you in the direction of something worth seeing. The maps aren't the greatest as Ko Tao is rapidly changing and developing new roads, but a lot of the times you can find a paved road that turns into a dirt road that turns into a road you can't navigate on your bike any longer, so you get off and walk. Keep a torch on you at all times and don't wander anywhere without another person.
  
  Diving is huge here but if you're not into diving it actually works out great- Sai Rii empties out during the day to leave the beach restaurants and shops pretty much all yours when all the divers are out.
  
  I am definitely going to return. I love Ko Tao and can't wait to go back.

  • Sights & activities
  • History & culture
  • Scenery & environment
  • Eat & drink
  • Traveller's scene
  • Romance
  • Value for money
  • I'll be back (or not)

  By annanel (dabbler)
  Written on 31st January, 2012 after a visit to Ko Tao in November, 2011

  
  

• There is more than scuba diving on Ko Tao

  I would just like to add an activity to the previous information.
  
  Diving is certainly the main activity on the island but in recent times more stuff emerged.
  
  I just did a Ocean Hiker Sailing Course on an real ocean going yacht on Koh Tao.It was not only interesting to get more maritime knowledge but it was just enhancing the whole island feeling. The same yacht is sailing as well regularly to the nearby Ang Thong national marine park which is otherwise only reachable from Samui or Phangan.

  • Sights & activities
  • History & culture
  • Scenery & environment
  • Eat & drink
  • Traveller's scene
  • Romance
  • Value for money
  • I'll be back (or not)

  By Phoebenix (dabbler)
  Written on 16th September, 2011 after a visit to Ko Tao in August, 2011

  
  

• I'll always stop by

  I fell in love with Ko Tao and diving in 2007 and I made the promise to stop by on every trip to Southeast Asia. The island is beautiful for divers -- and for divers only. If you want to party, you can, but it's not like full moon on Ko Pha Ngan ;-)
  
  There are not many things to do besides hiking, diving, snorkelling, sun bathing, taking a muay thai class or eating all day. All in all it's a very relaxed place. Though note the beaches are not that classy sandy white because on some parts there are big boulders. You can get everything on the island -- from backpacker options through to high class spas. And, there are always new hotels appearing, old ones being renovated and so on.
  
  Also, don't forget to visit Ko Nang Yuan, which lies just offshore from Ko Tao. It is beautiful.

  • Sights & activities
  • History & culture
  • Scenery & environment
  • Eat & drink
  • Traveller's scene
  • Romance
  • Value for money
  • I'll be back (or not)

  By chaos23 (dabbler)
  Written on 13th June, 2009 after a visit to Ko Tao in November, 2007

  Also reviewed by chaos23: Champasak, Don Dhet, Luang Prabang, Pakse, Vientiane,

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