Family visit: first exploration of Ko Tao

Thailand The South and the islands: between two seas Surat Thani Koh Tao

Update

18/03/2026

By Romain

0

Here we are, freshly landed on the island of Ko Tao, north of Ko Phangan. We had a good part of the afternoon left to go for a little walk once we had dropped off our luggage at the hotel, the island being smaller than its two sisters to the south, walking is quite possible.

Obviously, like everywhere, you are greeted by touts, some hotels come to pick you up, otherwise taxis are available. Concretely, Ko Tao is relatively small, unless your hotel is particularly "far" and they don't come to pick you up, avoid taking a taxi, it's excessively expensive. To go barely 1km you have to pay something like 400 baht!

The room in our hotel is spotless, brand new or at least recent, the Toscana has the only drawback of not being on the seafront, but again Ko Tao being small is not really a fault. Given the accident on Phangan we will be content to walk (because otherwise there are plenty of scooters to rent as usual) which will prove to be largely feasible given the size of the island.

At the back, it remains fairly untouched by any type of construction for the moment.

On the way to the nearest beach in the south of the island, in Chalok Baan Kao Bay.

We feel that it is a small island that has kept a certain calm and that is frankly a pleasure.

I almost booked the hotel you see opposite, the Freedom Beach resort, in the end I don't really regret my choice because if the setting remains pleasant here, the beach didn't seem great for swimming, and the hotel itself was much less "classy" (at least the rooms, according to the photos I saw) for the same price.

We feel that there are French people here too (well, like everywhere...)

The pace of life is much less stressful here...

Here are some long things for the guests of the main hotel in the area next to the beach, we are still far from the brothel of Phuket or elsewhere.

The flower bed used to hide the hotel swimming pool is magnificent.

As a reminder, Ko Tao means turtle island.

Some buildings are really perched to have the best possible view (and the price that goes with it)

It's time to go shellfishing right on the beach for tonight's dinner.

Here the scooters have motocross wheels because the secondary roads/paths quickly become chaotic.

Back at our hotel, now it's a matter of finding somewhere to eat, and the choice here is relatively limited...

Basically there was almost only this one (apart from an Italian restaurant which frankly didn't seem welcoming...) It's an all-you-can-eat buffet, Barbecue for 159 baht, well if you're hungry it's still a good choice, personally it's not the best I've eaten at but it did the trick let's say.

Roman

When I discovered Thailand in 2006, I certainly didn't expect to settle down there 2 years later! Since then, I've been based in Bangkok and regularly travel throughout the country (especially in the north!). I share my stories, photos, and tips to help plan your trip to Thailand and other Asian countries. This blog is for anyone who wants to discover the land of smiles, who's looking for a bit of adventure, and those who dream of Asia.

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