Koh Tao 2-7 Jul 2025

General Info

This island is renowned as a diver's paradise, from beginner to professional. It’s a popular spot for people who want to learn scuba diving, with a lot of dive schools all over the island.

This island is located in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 74 kilometers from the coast of Chumphon and approximately 110 kilometers from the coast of Surat Thani. It’s not far from Koh Samui and Koh Phangan.

Interesting Marine Life

• There are bountiful coral reefs around the island, both natural reefs and artificial reefs, including underwater sculptures that serve as artificial reefs.
• This island is one of the places that whale sharks regularly visit. If you see a whale shark here, you can post a photo to the Facebook Group: Koh Tao Whaleshark, which use patterns in left side of the shark to identify individuals and collect the data into a citizen science database.
• Even though the name Koh Tao comes from the shape of the island that looks like a turtle (Tao means turtle in Thai), sea turtles are also easily found here, both green turtles and hawksbill turtles, even a rarer olive ridley turtle has been reported. Like the whale shark program, there is Koh Tao Turtles Program, in which divers can submit photos of turtles with left and right cheeks, which the pattern can be used to identify individuals. Until now, there have been more than 160 turtles in the database and all of them have been named.
• There are also many other interesting sea creatures from big to small: blacktip reef sharks, stingrays, barracudas, moray eels, pufferfish, porcupinefish, batfish, scorpionfish, lionfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, parrotfish, clownfish, octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, sea slugs, flatworms, etc.

Cautions

• In July to December, be extra careful with box jellyfish, especially for night dives since the box jellyfish often come to reefs to feed at night and are attracted by flashlights.
• The Titan Triggerfish of Koh Tao are known for their aggressiveness, especially during the nesting season. There are many cases where the fish chased and bit divers who came in their territories.

If you encounter a titan triggerfish, please keep the distance. If you notice its dorsal fin is erect, that means the fish feels threatened. You should immediately swim away. The best way to escape this fish is to swim horizontally, because its territory is conical (V-shaped) from the sea floor. And it’s recommended to swim backwards, always facing the fish to avoid being bitten.

• Diving Type

  Boat Diving, Wreck Diving

• Level

  Beginner, Experience Diver

• Visibility

  5 - 15 m.

• Current

  None - Medium

• Dive Site

  Chumphon Pinnacle, South West Pinnacle, Sail Rock, Shark Island, White Rock, Twin, Ao Luek, Japanese Garden, Hin Wong Pinnacle, Pee Wee Rock

• Season

  March - October

• Highlight

  Whale Shark, Bull Shark, Titan Triggerfish, Snapper, School of Barracuda, School of Jack Fish

Traveling to Koh Tao can be departed from many areas including Koh Samui, Surat Thani, and Chumphon.

From Koh Samui : After landing at Koh Samui Airport, you can take the Lomprayah speed boat to Koh Tao.

From Surat Thani: Whether you come by plane (Surat Thani Airport), by train (Surat Thani Station) or by bus (get off at Surat Thani city), there are two main types of boats to Koh Tao:

• Speedboat: such as Lomprayah, which takes about 4 hours and costs approximately 1,000 baht. There is a pick up service from the airport or train station.

• Night boat: departs around 9-11 pm and reaches the island in the early  morning. Tickets are cheaper, around 600 baht. There are several companies taking turns each day, such as the Koh Charoen, Sandee Maneesap, Mae Tapi, Secret, etc. You can check the boat schedule each month from this Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/gov.kohtao.

From Chumphon: You can arrive in Chumphon either by plane, train, or bus. Then you can catch a boat to Koh Tao, either speedboat or night boat.

• Speedboat: The most popular one is Lomprayah, which costs around 750 baht and takes approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. The company has a pick up service from either the airport or train station to Thung Makham Noi pier, where the boat departs.

• Night boat: departs around 9-11 pm and reaches the island in the early  morning. Tickets are around 500 baht. There are several companies taking turns each day, such as the Talay Sap, Pornthaweesin, etc. You can check the boat schedule each month from the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/gov.kohtao.