Ko Tao

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Ko Tao (????????), literally Turtle Island, is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in the south of Thailand.

	ko tao Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 3 Get around 4 See 5 Do 6 Eat 7 Drink 8 Sleep 9 Stay safe 10 Contact 11 Get out

Understand

Ko Tao is a great place for divers who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Ko Samui and want more than the Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Tao is a great place for backpackers to learn how to dive. There are really no currents and you have to travel in a boat for at least an hour to find depths deeper than 40 meters..

Get in

The only option is by boat.

If you're coming from the south, you can take a ferry from Surat Thani (around 9 hours) on the mainland, or from Ko Samui (1.5 hours) or Ko Pha Ngan (1 hour). If you're taking a boat from Surat Thani, one possibility might be an overnight ferry - depart around 23:00 and arrive in the morning, about 08:00 (subject to changes). It's advisable to arrive early to grab a mattress position as most are formerly cargo boats, so facilities are basic.

If you're coming from the north, you can catch a ferry from Chumphon. Numerous agents sell tickets for a variety of boats of varying size and speed. The fastest takes about 90 minutes, the slowest almost 5 hours.

Get around

There is only one road on the entire island, so the only other means of transport is water taxis.

You can rent pedal bikes and mopeds at a few places on Saree Beach. Be careful if you rent a moped as the dirt roads can get dangerous.

See

Take a bike around the island. Careful on the mopeds as the dirt roads get very hectic in places. Shark Cove is a good place to go snorkeling for the day (don't worry too much about sharks, they are only small ones).

However, to see the best places, go on foot as some are inaccessible to motorists.

Do

Diving is by far the biggest attraction on Ko Tao. As the island is easily accessible as a day trip, many people choose to dive with operators on Ko Samui (particularly Chaweng) or Ko Pha Ngan.

Diving in Ko Tao is easy, fun, and you can see turtles, stingrays, barracuda, lots of small fish, and there is a very small chance of seeing sharks, or even a whale shark.

Nearly any time of the year except November is good diving weather in Ko Tao, In November, the visibility is reduced and the seas are choppy, but diving is good by the standards of many other destinations.

When diving is good, the visibility can be 40+ meters. Average visibility is around 15-20 meters.

There are a huge number of dive operators on the island, many offering budget accommodation (This is usually sold as 'free' accommodation, but this is not really true as you will generally get a discount if you are staying elsewhere). It is probably one of the best and cheapest places to learn to dive, with Oct 2005 the price is 9000 Baht for a PADI open water certification including training, rental equipment, boat dives, certification and some shops include free insurance but not free accommodation any more. Shop around as the price is the same but not all shops teach the same way...

Avoid shops that use swimming pools to teach. It's cold and boring in a pool and with 100's of students in and out every week - dirty too! Others will instead take you to a private beach so you will see fish and coral from the start (you can also squeeze an extra dive in this way). Also try and find a shop with a private pier as climbing across several boats with all your dive gear is not a fun start or end to a days diving. These are the little things that will make the difference between an ok course and a great one.

• EASY DIVERS, 1 (http://www.kohtaoeasydivers.com). Fantastic Dive Shop with really experienced instructors. Professional and fun with great accommodation. Based right in the heart of Ko Tao - they are the best on the island by far!

• Phoenix Divers, 2 (http://www.phoenixdivers.com/). Right on Sairee Beach, has good boats, new gear and multilingual often western staff.

• Stingray Divers, 3 (http://www.stingray-divers.com/). Very modern dive resort overlooking Chalok Ban Khao Bay.

• IDC Ko Tao, 4 (http://www.idckohtao.com). Instructor development courses (IDC's) run every month by English PADI Course Director Matt Bolton.

Eat

Huge selection of Thai food, including lots of sea food. BBQ Fish is one of the local favourites. As a large portion of the population seem to be expats, you will find plenty of other cuisines too. Thai food is cheapest, with October 2003 prices ranging from 45 Baht for stuff-on-rice through to 220 Baht for a nice hunk of fresh BBQ fish at a decent restaurant. 25 Baht would get you a fresh banana pancake, and 60 baht a bowl of porridge with honey at a budget resorts restaurant. 200-300 Baht would get you a bowl of freshly made Italian pasta, and 160-200 Baht for pizza..

Drink

When you get a break from diving, there are a few bars on the island. The bars on the island rotate nights, so the best bet is to ask someone working at dive shop which bar will be crowded that night.

Sleep

You can usually find accommodation at the pier when you arrive. However, during peak times it is worth booking ahead unless you want to sleep on the beach or spend the night in one of the more expensive lodgings.

During busy periods, most resorts with dive outfits will not want you to stay unless you are diving at least every second day with them. If you don't want to stay with your dive operator and use their free accommodation, ask for a discount (although they will probably just give it to you without asking - competition is stiff!)

In October 2003, 300 Baht/night would get you a room for two with a fan, 24 hour electricity, and a hole in the floor right on the beach. Prices generally go up with quality and features such as a fridge or air conditioning. The swankier bungalows may go for around 1200 Baht/night.

Stay safe

Contact

When you are on the island, remember to pick up the free tourist magazine Ko Tao Info.

Get out

There are a few ferries that run between Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan, Ko Samui, and Surat Thani. There are extremely slow ferries and fast hydrofoils. Ask around to find times and purchase tickets ahead of time.

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