Plan your trip
Everything for Koh Tao, in one place.
Where to sleep, how to get here, and the best things to do. We live here, so you land sorted.
An independent island guide · Gulf of Thailand
Small island. Giant blue.
21 km² of granite, jungle and reef. The easiest place on Earth to learn to dive, and the hardest to leave.
Turtle Island · Gulf of Thailand
Once a prison. Then a fisherman's secret. Now the island the world comes to learn to dive.
They call it Turtle Island, for its shape and the green turtles that still glide along its reefs. Barely 21 square kilometres of granite and jungle in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Tao was a penal colony in the 1930s, then home to a handful of fishing families, until backpackers washed up in the nineties and never quite left. Today it certifies more divers than almost anywhere on Earth, and still, somehow, feels like a place you weren't supposed to find. Stay a few days and you'll understand why so many people never book the boat home.
Plan your trip
Where to sleep, how to get here, and the best things to do. We live here, so you land sorted.
You come for the diving. You stay for the sunsets.
This month on the island
Jungle raves, pool parties, cabaret, festivals. What's happening, and how to get in.
Boat trips & tours
Snorkel loops, sunset cruises and first dives, run by licensed local operators. Browse the island's trips, then book with them or through our partners.
Diving
Warm water, 20-minute boat rides, whale sharks in season. Try it this afternoon or get certified this week, with the island's own dive schools.
The island guide
Getting here
Every route ends with a ferry across open water: from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Samui or Phuket. We mapped every combination of night train, bus, plane and boat.
Plan the journey →Good to know
February to April brings the calmest seas and best visibility. Whale shark sightings peak March to October. November and December are monsoon season: beautiful, but ferries occasionally cancel.
Backpackers manage on ฿800 to ฿1,200 a day (bungalow, street food, scooter). Mid-range comfort runs ฿2,500 to ฿4,000. Dive courses are extra, but among the cheapest on Earth.
Four days minimum if you are doing an Open Water course. A week lets you add the viewpoints, a boat trip and a proper lazy beach day. Many people simply never leave.
No. Koh Tao Thailand is an independent guide, not a travel agency or tour operator. We tell you what's on and who runs it, and link you to the organisers, dive schools and booking partners. You book with them, directly.
Each trip page tells you what the day involves and links you to book with the licensed local operator, or through a partner like GetYourGuide. We don't take payments or run the boats ourselves.
Not at all. Snorkelling here rivals diving elsewhere, and the hikes, beaches, food and nightlife fill a trip on their own.
On Instagram
The island, every day: reefs, sunsets and what's on. Follow along.
