Koh Tao Adventures Unveiled: What To Do on Thailand’s Enchanting Island

Tip: If you want to avoid paying the fee you can also go swimming or rent a kayak to Taa Toh Lagoon and start climbing!

Rent a Kayak at Chalok Bay and visit Freedom Beach

It was one of our favorite moments! We stayed right in the beach and the water was so calmed and beautiful all day that we decided to rent a kayak for the whole day, I think we paid around 3-4$ for the both of us. The beach after Taa Toh Lagoon is freedom beach, I’m not sure if you can get there walking but didn’t seem easy!

Freedom was so beautiful and we were alone all day! We also brought our own snorkel equipment and after a few meters in we started seeing all kinds of colorful fishes.One of the best places to snorkel without anyone!

Shark Bay

Shark bay is located on the other side of Chalok Bay, some people decide to stay in this area as it’s usually more luxurious, but unless you want to stay there all the time you may need a scooter to move around.

If you don’t have time you can join a snorkel trip as they always include shark bay in the itinerary. And yes, you will see reef sharks, it’s full of them! They won’t do anything to you, so don’t worry.

Have a cocktail in the beach

Either if you stay in Chalok or Sairee beach you will find many beach bars, they are perfect after a long day in the water or hiking! You will love the sunsets here.

Go on a Snorkel Trip

We booked our Snorkel Trip the day before with Oxygen, we paid around 20-25$ per person for a whole day and free vegan lunch on the boat

The trip stopped in 6 different spots where we had around an hour in every place. We started in Koh Nan Yuan island for 2 hours, so if you don’t have time for a whole trip here you won’t miss it in this trip!

Each person had a bracelet and they will count every time you get back so they don’t forget anyone in the water (Believe it happens in some companies!). The stops are usually fixed, but it depends on the weather conditions, wind and ocean current.

For us the snorkel trip was really worth the price as we managed to see so many fishes, turtles and sharks!!

Visit Koh Nang Yuan

This private island is just stunning, it’s only 20 mins by boat from the main island and you won’t be disappointed. If you come on your own make sure to bring snorkel googles as they have a beautiful Japanese underwater garden.

Another highlight of the island is the View Point on top of the hill, we missed it this time as we ran out of time because I stepped on a rock and cut my feet a little bit!

Remember if you come here you can’t bring with you any kind of plastic, including water bottles and drones (There are signs every where).

Tip: Bring coral safe sunscreen to not damage this beautiful world.

Enjoy Sunset at Love Cafe Koh Tao

It’s a famous bar for sunset, It’s usually packed with tourists at sunset and can be difficult to find a spot! We didn’t go as we preferred to stay at Chalok to watch sunset alone

Sunset at Mango Bay

We only visited Mango Beach with the snorkel trip and it was beautiful! If you have time, grab a scooter and enjoy sunset here

Join a cooking class

Who doesn’t love food? You can join a cooking class and learn how to cook traditional meals! Prices usually start at 20-30$ per person, you can found some here

Scuba Diving

For a lot of people Koh Tao is scuba diving paradise, it’s also one of the cheapest place to get their license. We thought about it but didn’t have enough time as it will require a whole week to get certificate!

You will find many options, there are packages that include accommodation and scuba diving lessons!

Some people just stay in Koh Samui and come for the day!

Where To Eat (Vegan)

Here is a list of all the vegan restaurants in Koh Tao, we didn’t have the chance to try all of them so I will do the review of the ones we did try.

Big Bite Burger & Ba

I love Sala

Non vegan but they have salads and burgers.

Tree House Cafe

Gecko Republic jungle CafeGecko was one of our favorite places in Koh Tao and I think we went 3 times! It’s not traditional thai food but it was. really good! They serve you one bread pizza and 3 tapas that you choose from their menu. The menu is around 6$ and can be shared between 2 ppIt is also a hostel and they serve breakfast.

Babaloo Restaurant

Babaloo was our favorite and probably one of the best ones we’ve tried in Thailand. They cook traditional vegan meals using fake chicken, fake fish and other vegan substitutes. 1-3$ each plate.

Coconut Monkey

The Factory Cafe

We went to the Factory Cafe for breakfast, even if they messed up our order a little bit, it turned out to be delicious! Try the vegan scramble eggs and the pancakes! It won’t disappoint you

Delish Plant Based Kitchen

Living Juices

Where To Stay

There are many options to stay in the island and most of them are very similar. We split our stay between Sairee beach that is where all the bars and clubs are, and Chalok Baan Kao Bay.

If you don’t have enough time and need to choose between one, I would recommend Chalok Bay, as it’s more tropical, best beaches, perfect to go snorkeling and not as busy as Sairee. Also both places are only 15 mins apart from each other!

$-$$ Hotels:

Fisherman Koh Tao

We stayed here 4 nights and even if we read bad reviews on the internet our stay was perfect, we rented a bungalow that was literally a few steps from the beach. It was clean and the decoration reminded me of Bali so much. Highly recommend it! They have an infinity pool next to the beach.

Rooms start at 20-60$, we got a private separate bungalow for around 45-50$ a night including breafkast.

Be aware they don’t serve vegan breakfast, I had to buy my own soya milk for the oats and for the coffee, It was a bit disappointing as every place in Thailand has coconut or soya milk or at least they offer me to go and get it, especially for the price we paid for the room (50$

Tropicana Resort

AC2 Resort

In Touch Resort

We also stayed a couple of nights here in Sairee, it was a very nice hotel. We spent around 35$ a night and it was quite luxurious for that price. (Breakfast not included)

Tip: Go to the Factory Cafe for breakfast 🙂

$$$ Resorts

1. Cabana Resort

2. Monkey Flower Villas

3. The Place Luxury Boutique

4. Charm Churee

For more information regarding accommodation you can check www.booking.com as most of the places are quite similar in Koh Tao.
Hope you enjoyed my guide about Koh Tao and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any question