We woke up early and had breakfast at our hotel with the most amazing views. We took our sweet time enjoying the honey pancakes topped with fruit because we knew we wanted to start our longtail boat journey around 10am.
After enjoying breakfast, and the views even more, we rode our motorcycle down to Sairee Beach to find ourselves the right longtail boat. Yesterday we were told (by multiple locals) that the cost for a personal longtail boat for the day would be 2,500 baht (about $75 USD). We knew this was more than we wanted to spend, but no matter who we talked to on the beach, they all said the same price.
This morning, Joey decided to pass by the representatives holding signs along Sairee Beach and ask one of the boat captains himself. We were able to list the four major coves and bays we wanted to snorkel and come to a price of 2,000 baht (about $60 USD). It was still a bit expensive, but we knew we wanted to have our own boat and go at our own pace, and we’re so glad we did. At a few dive spots, we saw some larger charter boats that had 30+ people snorkeling and it looked like a zoo. Our longboat captain even mentioned that most of the larger charter boats don’t go to the best spots because boats aren’t allowed to drop anchor on the reefs and the larger boats can’t tie up to the smaller mooring buoys in the best locations.
We set off just before 10am and didn’t get back until just before 5pm! We started off at Koh Nangyuan, a chain of three islands connected by the smallest sliver of a sandbar. Our captain dropped us off, and we decided that three hours would be the perfect amount of time here. These islands are not affiliated with Koh Tao, although they are within stones throw of the northwest coast, so there is a 100 baht per person entry fee (about $3 USD), so keep that in mind when traveling there.
We spent two of those hours at the Japanese Garden reef, where beautiful parrotfish will come right up to you and the rocks are littered with spiny sea urchins. By the time we were getting out of the water (just before noon), it was getting very crowded, so make sure you go here early/first.
After we finished snorkeling, we decided to hike to the Nangyuan Viewpoint. It was a pretty short hike that was steep at some places, but very manageable…and nothing compared to the difficulty of John-Suwan Viewpoint near Freedom Beach. This also gets busy as the day goes on, so making this an early or late stop is your best bet.
Our captain met us at the dock at 1pm and we were off to the next stop, Mango Bay. Mango Bay is the northernmost bay in Koh Tao and known for a local school of fish that goes in between Mango Bay and Hin Wong Bay. We spent some time appreciating the soft coral and Christmas tree worms at Mango Bay, but soon shipped off to Hin Wong in search of the massive school.
As we putted into Hin Wong Bay, on the eastern side of Koh Tao, we were splashing some water on our mask when our guide frantically started making a commotion. “Dive here, dive here,” he said. “The school is right under!” Joey was in the water before he finished his last exclamation and popped back up after a few moments underwater and said, “There are thousands!” Our captain laughed and responded, “No, there are millions.” To see this many fish grouped together and swimming in unison is beyond words. At first, it looks like a black abyss, or a large dark rock of sorts; but after watching for some time, your eyes can catch the glimmer and shine of these beautiful creatures moving in unison.
After spending some time at Hin Wong Bay, we headed south to Shark Island. This little islet is situated just off the southeast coast of Koh Tao. We actually have a perfect view of this beautiful little island from our bungalow, which is just beyond beautiful Ao Leuk Bay. The island gets its name for the numerous black-tip reef sharks that once called this island home. These fish are pretty safe to swim with, but our captain informed us that most of the shark population has moved to the southern coast of Shark Bay, and even further out to sea away from human activity. Here we saw beautiful angelfish, butterfly fish, triggerfish, and even pink skunk clownfish with their gorgeous anemones!
After we finished at Shark Island, we headed northwest and completed the full loop around Koh Tao. We arrived in back to Sairee Beach around 5pm and had dinner at Babaloo Restaurant. This was a very secluded place towards the southern tip of the island on the way to Chalok Bay…we missed the turn the first time, as it’s up a pretty steep dirt road, but don’t let this scare you away! We order vegetable spring rolls and an amazing seafood fried rice in a pineapple! The rice had fresh vegetables and was cooked perfectly. The squid and prawn were lightly breaded and pan-fried to the same perfection!
After dinner, we went back to bungalow to shower and rest a bit. After a little recharge, we headed back to Sairee to catch a little bit of the nightlife. We stopped by the Lotus Bar to watch the fire dancers as they put their skills to the test with tourists of all ages watching and interacting with the balls of spinning fire.
On our way back from the beach, we stopped at the famous Koh Tao pancake cart to admire the master at work. The pancake itself was very tasty (we ordered a banana, peanut butter, and nutella pancake), but the way this man makes it needs to be witnessed live.
After our sugary snack, we walked a couple blocks to have a craft beer at Beer Masons. They have four rotating taps and many bottle choices from all over the world…we even saw some American representation, like Alesmith, etc. We settled on the two Thai craft bottles they had in stock, and they were both delicious (The Circus Brewery’s Animal Trainer India Pale Weizen and Full Moon Brewery’s Chalawan Pale Ale). The local beers were great, but talking with both owners at length about the craft beer scene in Thailand was even better. We learned about the triumphs of the emerging beer culture here, but also how historic governmental regulations still dampen the possibilities of bottling and sale, and therefore local growth and profit.
After a beer each, we went back to our bungalow for some much need rest. Tomorrow we plan to hang around Koh Tao for one last day and catch a 3pm ferry south to Koh Samui, so stay posted!