Koh Tao
Koh Tao is the place to be when it comes to diving and snorkeling. It is a vibrant island in the evening and a relaxing place during the day. With more then 5 beaches to choose from you will always find the perfect place for you!
Snorkeling trip
I booked my tour through my hostel but it was a full day tour to 5 snorkeling spots. Including a stop at the famous little island Koh Nang Yuan. The price for the tour is 650 bath and if you like to visit Koh Nang Yuan you pay 250 bath extra. We got picked up at our hostel at 9.30h and got our goggles at the office. Then we went to the boat and left around 10.30h to Koh Nang Yuan where you have the option to enter the island or stay on the boat and do some snorkeling from the boat. Koh Nang Yuan are three little islands which is connected by beautiful white beaches. After that we went for the 4 other snorkeling spots including Shark bay where you can spot baby sharks and really big turtles. We got fresh fruit, water, tea, coffee and lunch which was all included in our tour ticket. We arrived back around 17.30h.
Koh Tao is one of the nicest places I have seen for snorkeling because of all the different corals, fishes and the clear water. Definitely consider snorkeling while you are staying on this island.
Best beaches
There are many beaches on Koh Tao where you can enjoy a tanning day or go snorkeling from the beach. But I will share with you my favorite beaches.
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First one is Aow Leuk beach because it is not extremely touristic, has a nice bar for drinks and food with some hammocks you can relax in and there is a nice big rock where you can jump from into the ocean. Besides that it is a nice place for snorkeling as well.
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Second beach is Freedom beach. You have to pay 50 bath to enter this beach but it is clean, has a lot of lounge chairs and a big restaurant. This beach is a lot more touristic so in case you would like to have a chair or a spot in the shade, you have to be fast.
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Third beach is shark bay, not necessarily for the beach but for the fact that it is easy snorkeling here and you can find different baby sharks and really big turtles here. It is not a 100% guarantee that you will see them but this is definitely the best spot to find them.
Koh Tao pub crawl
One of the must do's on your list in Koh Tao besides the snorkeling and diving is the Koh Tao pub crawl. You pay 580 bath for the evening and they bring you to 4 different places including a free shirt, a free bucket and a few free shots. Besides that you will visit a ladyboy show and a fire show and you will get good live music at the third place. It is one of the nicest ways to meet a lot of tourists and potential new friends and just having a fun evening out. You can make it as late as you want to and they have a nice change with the music at every bar. The pub crawl is every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and the ticket sale for those evenings start at 18.00h at the Choppers bar. When you have your ticket and you still need to eat, you can have a 20% discount on different meals at the Choppers bar as well.
Food places
I will share with you two of my favorite food places on Koh Tao. They are both close to the pier.
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The first one is Yang Thai Food. A great place with good service and local prices. You can eat local and western dishes here and the food is just delicious! It is good for your stomach and your wallet.
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The second place with amazing food is Breeze. It is a more western and modern restaurant which is perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner but is also a bit more expensive compared to other options. Just try it out when you are there and I know for sure will love it as much as I did. The view over the ocean is making it worth your while.
Impian divers
I tried out diving before on the Gili's but I decided to try it out again with Impian Divers. It is a Dutch diving school just across Loft hostel and for me this was the reason I went here. I already did everything in English but I wanted to try it out in my own language. Had a very productive day there with 1 hour theory and 2 dives in the ocean. On my first dive I did some exercises like finding my mouthpiece back and taking my goggles off and on under water. After that we went for a swim around for another 20 minutes on 6 meters deep. The second dive we went slowly down to 11 meters and we were swimming for around 40 minutes. I have a great experience with this school and they really took their time for me and helped me with some of my struggles like breathing to fast and floating up again. They are not only great teachers but they also love to connect with everyone and make it a special experience for everyone. Koh Tao is one of the cheapest places in the world for getting your Padi and for all the Dutch people I would highly recommend Impian divers. For all the Spanish speaking people: go check out Nitro. In both schools they also speak English. Just make sure you book on time because both schools are populair and quickly fully booked.
Loft Hostel
Loft hostel is located by just 1 minute walk from the pier where you arrive from the mainland of from Koh Samui/Koh Pan-ngan. Loft hostel has different rooms, with and without airconditioning, comfy beds and a maximum of 6 people per room. Every room has it's own bathroom and it looks very urban and is clean. The hostel has it's own bar and is located in between a lot of diving schools. You can play beer pong here or just socialize with some others. You can also arrange different things through the hostel like the laundry service, boat/bus tickets to the mainland and different snorkeling tours/diving courses. You can rent a scooter here as well and from what I heard they are the cheapest on the island.
