Ko Tao, literally Turtle Island,
is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in
the south of Thailand.
Ko Tao is a great place for divers who
want to get away from the hustle and bustle
of Ko Samui and want more than the Full
Moon Party on Ko
Pha Ngan. Ko Tao is a great place to
learn how to dive. There are hardly any
currents and you have to travel in a boat
for at least an hour to find depths deeper
than 40 meters.
Tao Island is located on the east coast of
Surat Thani Province ,45 kilomaters to the
northwest of Pha Ngan Island.Its total surface
area is 21 square kilometers or approximately
13000 rais. Frpm noth to sount it is 7.5 kilometers
long and from east to west it is 4.5 kilometers
wide.Allmost all of the island is mountainous.There
are two amall island nearly; Nang Yuan Island
which measures about 202 rais whis has a sand
bar which connects its three islands together,and
Gong Sai Dang Islands (Shark Island),a tiny
island to the northeast of Koh Tao which has
a total area of just 6 rais
Koh Tao (Island) in the Past
Before 1927 when Thailand was ruled by the
People's Party,The Department of Corrections
used Koh Tao and Koh
Tarutao,which is locates is located
on the west coast of thailand in satun Province,as
prisons for polictical prioners during the
baworagej and the Sergeant Revolutions.Later
on this island was registered as Royal Property
and it was abandoned for a long time in
1937.More and more people came to settle
here and now Koh tao is a Tambon of Pha
Ngan Island district ,Surat Thani Province.There
are three village o the island ;Hat Sai
Ree, Mae Hat and Chalok Ban Kaw
Sai Ree Beach
This id the longest beach on the island
which is around 2 km. long.The beach is
covered with soft,white sand and the water
crytal clear and warm year round.This is
a great place to go swiming or just laying
around.Here is where the largest community
on the island is.All along the beach you
can find many accommodations,diving centers,shops
and restaurants. From here you can see the
island of Nang Yuan very clearly
How to get here
The only option
is by boat.
If you're coming from the south, you can
take a ferry from Surat Thani (around 3
hours) on the mainland, or from Ko Samui
(1.5 hours) or Ko
Pha Ngan (1 hour). If you're taking
a boat from Surat Thani, one possibility
might be an overnight ferry - depart around
23:00 and arrive in the morning, about 06:00
(subject to changes). It's advisable to
arrive early to grab a mattress as most
are formerly cargo boats, so facilities
are basic.
If you're coming from the north, you can
catch a ferry from Chumphon. Numerous agents
sell tickets for a variety of boats of varying
size and speed. The fastest takes about
90 minutes, the slowest almost 5 hours.
You can also day trip on diving charters
from Ko
Samui. Many have high speed boats that
can make the trip to Koh Tao in about an
hour.
Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran is probably
the fastest and most comfortable way to
get to Ko Tao. They run twice a day from
Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan and Chumphon. They
also have online booking - useful for checking
availability at peak times and all their
boats have air conditioning and movies for
all passengers.
Getting around
There is only one road on the entire island.
There are usually plenty of taxi cars available
on both Sairee village and Mae Haad.
You can rent bicycles and motorcycles at
a few places on Sairee Beach, Mae Haad,
and Chalok. Be careful if you rent a motorbike
as the dirt roads can get dangerous.
What to see & do
See
Take a bike around the island. Shark Bay
is a good place to go snorkeling for the
day (don't worry too much about sharks,
they are only small black-tip reef sharks).
However, to see the best places, go by
foot as some are inaccessible to motorists.
Do
Scuba diving is still the biggest attraction
on Ko Tao. Diving in Ko Tao is easy, fun,
and you can see turtles, stingrays, barracudas,
lots of small fish, reef sharks, and there
is a very small chance of seeing a whale shark.
Nearly any time of the year except November
is good diving weather in Ko Tao, In November,
the visibility is reduced and the seas are
choppy, but diving is good by the standards
of many other destinations.
When diving is good, the visibility can
be 40+ meters. Average visibility is around
15-20 meters.
There are a huge number of dive operators
on the island, many offering budget accommodation
(sometimes described as "free"
accommodation, but this is not really true
as you will usually get a discount if you
stay elsewhere). Currently (2006) the price
for PADI open water certification including
the new PADI training manual, professional
instruction, rental equipment, boat dives,
and certification is around 10,000 baht;
insurance and basic accommodation may also
be included. Shop around as not all shops
teach the in the same way. Look for experienced
dive instructors instead of a low price.
A common method for teaching new divers
is to train in a pool first by being taught
about 20 basic skills before being taken
out into the open water. Others will instead
take you to a private beach so you will
see fish and coral from the start (you can
also squeeze an extra dive in this way).
Also try and find a shop with a private
pier as many others will make you climb
across several boats at the main pier. Find
out maximum number of dive students in a
group. These are the little things that
will make the difference between an OK course
and a great one.
Eat & Drink
Eat
A huge selection of Thai food is available,
including lots of sea food. Barbecue fish
is one of the local favourites. As a large
portion of the population seem to be expats,
you will find plenty of other cuisines too.
Thai food is cheapest, with October 2003
prices ranging from 45 baht for stuff-on-rice
through to 220 baht for a nice hunk of fresh
barbecue fish at a decent restaurant. 25
baht would get you a fresh banana pancake,
and 60 baht a bowl of porridge with honey
at a budget resort's restaurant. 200-300
baht would get you a bowl of freshly made
Italian pasta, and 160-200 baht for pizza.
Thipwimarn Restaurant on the north of the
island has wonderful sunset views and a
'higher class' feel about the place - however
the prices are not much different from the
rest of the island.
El Toro Restaurant - between Ban's and
AC BAR - offers great Tex-Mex, Pizza and
Thai food.
Java Juice-behind the Koh Tao Physicians
Clinic, offers free Wifi and fresh juices.
Playhouse is a groovy restaurant/bar/nightclub
with great mediterranean food.
Drink
When you get a break from diving, there
are a few bars on the island. The bars on
the island rotate nights, so the best bet
is to ask someone working at dive shop which
bar will be crowded that night or check
the posters.
About Koh Tao Thailand
