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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Ko Tao
เกาะเต่า
Give Ko Tao 3 nights if you dive, 2 if you don't: the island is small, the reefs are close to shore, and most people come to get certified.
Ko Tao is a 21 km² island in the Gulf of Thailand, about 3 h by catamaran from Surat Thani or 90 min from Chumphon. It is the cheapest place in Thailand to learn to scuba dive, with reefs a short boat ride from the pier. There is little to do beyond diving, snorkelling and viewpoints, so most trips run 2–4 nights.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- เกาะเต่า
- Best months
- Mar–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov (choppy seas, visibility down to about 5 m); Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug are peak and can book out
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿1,200–2,000 excl. bed · Mid ฿2,000–3,500 excl. bed · High ฿3,500+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance 1669 · Tourist police 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| PADI Open Water course | about ฿9,800 |
| Fun dive, two tanks with equipment | ฿1,800–2,500 |
| Thai rice or noodle dish | ฿80–180 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a shop | ฿90–150 / ฿40–60 |
| Scooter rental, 125 cc | ฿200–300 per day |
| Taxi, short hop | from ฿300, or ฿100 per person |
| Longtail to a nearby bay | ฿100–200 per person |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | ฿300–600 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- URT · Surat Thani
- Bus to Don Sak or Surat Thani pier, then catamaran about 3 h
- CJM · Chumphon
- Closest airport; transfer to pier then ferry about 90 min
- USM · Ko Samui
- Bangrak or Maenam pier, catamaran about 1.5–2 h; Bangkok Airways fares are high
Typical fares
- Surat Thani → Ko Tao, catamaran
- about ฿600–700 one way, about 3 h
- Chumphon → Ko Tao, Lomprayah
- about ฿750 one way, about 90 min
- Ko Samui → Ko Tao, catamaran
- about ฿600–700 one way, 1.5–2 h
- Taxi Mae Haad → Sairee
- from ฿300, or ฿100 per person
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
One main road links Sairee, Mae Haad and Chalok; side roads over the island spine are dirt and can be impassable after rain. Scooters rent for about ฿200–300/day, but rental scams are common: photograph every scratch and dent before you ride. Taxis start around ฿300 or ฿100 per person in a group. Longtails reach beaches with no road, from about ฿100–200 for short hops to ฿2,000 for a full circuit.
See and do
Known for
- Scuba diving and dive certification
- Freediving courses
- Snorkelling at Shark Bay and Hin Wong
- Ko Nang Yuan sandbar
- Viewpoints at John Suwan and Two View
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Ko Nang Yuan | Longtail or taxi boat from Sairee or Mae Haad, about 15 min | About 30 min |
| Shark Bay (Ao Thian Ok) | Scooter or taxi to the south coast, then a short walk down | About 20 min from Sairee |
| Hin Wong Bay | Scooter over the east-coast track, or longtail from Sairee | 20–30 min |
| Ko Pha Ngan | Lomprayah or Seatran catamaran from Mae Haad pier | About 1.5 h |
Sleep
- Sairee
- Longest beach, most dive shops, bars and restaurants; walkable along the Brick Road to Mae Haad.
- Mae Haad
- Ferry pier and main village; convenient for early boats and dive shops, less beach.
- Chalok Baan Kao
- Quieter southern bay, good for families and longer stays; 10–15 min by taxi from Mae Haad.
- Tanote Bay
- East-coast bay with a house reef; few shops, so stock up before you arrive.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
| Where is the pier? | ท่าเรืออยู่ที่ไหนtha rua yu thi nai |
| I don't want it | ไม่เอาmai ao |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Motorbike rental shops near the Mae Haad pier and the Sairee 7-Eleven have a record of holding passports and charging for pre-existing damage: photograph the bike, including the underside, and ask for a cash deposit instead of your passport.
- Roads are steep, concrete or dirt and often wet: only ride if you are confident, and wear a helmet.
- The island has no proper waste or water system. Tap water is not drinkable and plastic waste is a real problem: refill and carry your rubbish out.
- November brings choppy seas and poor visibility; ferries can be cancelled.
- Thai holidays can fill every room on the island: book ahead.
Ko Tao is a small island with a good safety record for divers, but the real risks are motorbike crashes on steep wet roads, rental deposit scams and strong sun. Use a dive operator with small groups and check your travel insurance covers diving.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Ko Tao yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Scuba diving and dive certification
- Freediving courses
- Snorkelling at Shark Bay and Hin Wong
- Ko Nang Yuan sandbar
- Viewpoints at John Suwan and Two View
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand: www.tourismthailand.org/
- Lomprayah High Speed Ferries: www.lomprayah.com/
- Seatran Discovery: www.seatrandiscovery.com/
- Wikivoyage: Ko Tao, revision 5293166 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5293166
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Ko Taoเกาะเต่า
ไปที่ที่อยู่นี้
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies on the island; the nearest consulates and embassies are in Bangkok. Your dive shop and hotel are the fastest route to help.
Keep a photo of your passport and your insurance policy on your phone.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/ko-tao). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.