Ko Tao Things to Do

2 more images

For a beautiful day excursion, head out to the beautiful island of Koh Nang Yuan. Brillant for snorkeling, swimming or just chilling on the pure white sand beaches. The water is so clear it is like looking at an aquarium. You almost don't need goggles. For a killer hike, but a wonderful view, follow the signs for the viewpoint. It is quite the hike, and not just boardwalk and steps, but in some instances climbing over rocks. Quite trickly but well worth it. It is an outstanding view of the island and habour, so bring your camera. Great way to kill a few hours or the entire day.

2 more images

Sairee beach is the most popular beach on Ko Tao, but the funny thing is, it does not feel to overcrowded. Mainly because most people are on dive excursions I suppose. This is a beautiful beach to chill or take a dip. The water is crystal clear and the waves are minimal, which can be a good or bad thing depending on if you wanted to do some hardcore swimming. There are palm trees lined up and down the beach to protect you from sunburn while you read or snooze or talk with that attractive traveler next to you. There are also restaurants and clubs lined up and down the beach to grab a bite, a beer and watch some impressive fire dances at night while you sack out on a cushion bean bag.

Really be careful when you rent the scooters, make sure you truly know how to ride one or just stay on completely paved road if you aren't completely confident because they do charge plenty of money if you scratch the bike.

Unfortunately, we had gone off the main road and it was pretty bumpy and ended up falling over. Cost us over $200 and that's because we were nice otherwise I've heard stories that they want to keep your passport and raise the cost even more.

Also, it'd be wise to rent from a place that doesn't want your passport. There's plenty of places to ask.

There are many reputable resorts on Koh Tao suitable for a family. All of them will be able to offer you PADI Open Water diving courses either through their own in-house dive shop or via the big chain of dive shops.

The price you pay will be the same at every resort as dives and courses are a regulated fixed price all across the island.

I have stayed at Nang Yuan Island and dived there. Its beautiful but not ideal for kids as there is no pool and options for doing anything apart from diving or lying on the beach are limited. Its not really got the facilities for learning but I know they do offer that option.

If you want specific recommendations have a look on the following diving forum www.divernet.com and post a message in one of the overseas sections. There will be bound to be people who can advise you as its 4 years since I was last there. Incidentally I will be there in early December though.

Good luck!

They're cheap enough, and the island is a perfect size for travel by Motorbike.
Most roads are good enough for beginners to negotiate, however access to some of the coves can be difficult to say the least.

All you'll need is a drivers license, (some even hire out without one of these).

The roads aren't too busy, so it's ideal.

It was my last day on the island and I was bored. I saw on the map that there was a resort on the northern side of the island that stores a whale skeleton. I took a 15 minutes bike ride and honestly I was quite disappointed with it because the owner did not really take care of it but on the bright side the view here is really nice. Worth checking out if you are bored.

I cannot tell you for sure that everyone dives but most will at least snorkel. In addition to diving, I have also done a couple of snorkeling myself and saw amazing stuffs. While some snorkeling areas are easy to get to which you will also see some common sea creatures, it is the out of the way/off the beaten track snorkeling sites which offers you more that just a glimpse. When I say “out of the way”, I literally mean tracking over the island for about 1 hour up and down slopes after traveling by bike for 15 minutes until the road is no longer accessible by normal vehicles other than a 4 wheel vehicle or a motorcross bike.

Locations that I have found amazing and worth the hassle are:-

1) Ao Leuk
2) Leam Thian
3) Thian Og Bay

Try talking to a local dive shop and they will be more than willing to share with you some information on the local snorkeling sites around the island

Being the main activity here, there are loads of dive shops that exist along Sairee beach and around the jetty area. You can bet to have good competition in terms of price and service among the few top dive schools around.

I had a good time diving with Scuba Junction. Scuba Junction is one of the first few diving school that exist in the island and so traditionally they have better knowledge on the history and dive sites around the island. Their staffs are excellent and friendly. A few instructors look like they need a long break away from work while the rest area really nice. They offer daily boats trips out with different dive sites everyday. Pop by and talk to these guys while you are here and you might just decide to stick with these guys anyway.