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Thailand is one of my favorite travel destinations. The country has it all; Beautiful beaches, diverse rainforest and buzzing big city life. In the upcoming time I will share some of my favorite destinations in Thailand, starting of with beautiful holiday-island Koh Tao.
Island life at Koh Tao
We arrived at the island after traveling all night from Bangkok. Spending a night in an over-air-conditioned bus is no ones favorite way to travel, so we were exhausted when we finally arrived. The crystal clear water, the long, white sand beaches and the beauty of the landscape were exactly what we needed to forget all about our long night of traveling. Koh Tao is breathtakingly beautiful!
Basically, we didn’t know anything about Koh Tao before we went, as it was a pretty spontaneous trip. Our host at the hostel we stayed at in Bangkok had recommended us to go for scuba diving and told us, that if we wanted to get a diving certificate, this was the perfect place to do it as it is both cheap and there are plenty of things to see below the surface. So we bought a ticket and the next night we traveled to Koh Tao.
The combination of the lush, green island and the clear, turquoise water was literally one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was like walking into a tiny piece of paradise. It is the kind of place you want to visit if you want to experience complete relaxation and not having to stress to go anywhere since everything is within reach. Ah, so good!
Scuba diving in the ocean around Koh Tao
I quickly learned that scuba diving is not for me. I simply don’t feel comfortable under the water. So while Mr. Bosman was getting his certificate, I spend most of my time taking long walks at the beach, relaxing in the sun and eating amazing food. Which was not too bad either!
The instructor at the diving-school was really great. Obviously, he knew A LOT about diving and what animals and stuff you could see in the area, but he was also great at listening to me when I explained to him why I wanted to quit the course and even gave me different solutions. He really encouraged me to finish the course, since he said it would be a great experience for me. On the other hand, he agreed that it probably would be too dangerous to dive too deep if I felt as uncomfortable under the water as I did, so we found a compromise and I actually ended up doing the whole theoretical part of the dive course.
Nightlife at Koh Tao
At night all the divers and other tourists meet at the bars along the beach. There is a great atmosphere and we often stumbled upon different shows. One night we found some guys doing a dancing show with fire at the beach. They were very talented and I thought it was a fun thing to watch while enjoying drinks and snacks. When people do these kind of fire-dances I am always afraid they are going to burn themselves or in other ways get hurt. Luckily that did not happen.
Koh Tao in the news
One of the first things that come up, when you google Koh Tao is this article from the Independent, that gives you reasons why you should not visit Koh Tao. All of these reasons are very scary and I can’t believe all of that is going on at Koh Tao. Nonetheless, one has to be careful when traveling and always use one’s head!
I must emphasize that we didn’t experience anything scary or unpleasant while we were there and I hope that is the case for most tourists.
Do you also love Thailand’s islands?
Gonza from Journal of a Yogini shares her love for Koh Phangan on her blog. Read all about why that’s her favorite island, what to do at Koh Phangan and more importantly, what to eat on the island. Her photos are also amazing, so make sure to check them out.
Another post I think you should read if you love Thai islands is written by Heraa from HF tours, who has written about her experiences with renting a beach house in Laem Sor in Koh Samui.
Want to read even more about Thailand? Find it here.
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Sounds like a beautiful and picturesque island. I am glad that you and Mr. Bosman were safe there. 🙂
Thank you. It is an absolutely breathtaking place 🙂
We went to Thailand over Christmas this past year and it was absolutely INCREDIBLE! I wish we had more time to spend there! I love all of your gorgeous pictures it makes me want to go back!
xo, Kam
Aww, thank you! I really want to go back asap too!
This looks like a beautiful place to visit! I would love to go Scuba diving in the ocean! Awesome pictures!!! 🙂
Thank you! It’s stunning ?
Oh wow, that is just beautiful. The pictures are stunning! Now I want to go!
Thank you! Hoped to inspire someone to go to this beautiful place ??☀️?
Thailand is the number one place I want to go, so I was super excited to read your post! BEAUTIFUL pictures! I’m with you on scuba diving 😉 I would also be safely above water!
Thank you so much for your nice words ? Glad to know I’m not alone with the scuba diving thing!
I will visit Thailand in September this year. Mrs Bosman’s blog gives me a lot of helpful tips for my trip. Thank you very much.
Your welcome! I hope you found some inspiration. There’ll be a post up later today on Chiang Mai 🙂
I keep seeing so many posts about this island and it sounds wonderful!!! Your photos though are breathtaking!!! What camera do you use?
It’s just a super photogenic island, because most of my pictures are actually taken with my old iPhone 5 😀
We were going to do our advanced diving course at Koh Tao in the last couple of weeks, but we ended up doing it at Koh Phi Phi instead, which is also beautiful. After everything I’ve heard would have liked to have seen Koh Tao anyway, it looks beautiful! Thanks for sharing your experience.
You’ll have to visit next time then 🙂
I haven’t been to Koh Phi Phi yet, but it is definitely on my list!
There are often so many negative comments about a place in the press that if you accept them all you will never go anywhere. It’s great that you went to Koh Tao and found out just how fabulous it is.
I know right? The press is always like “don’t go here because so and so”. I am so glad I went!
I would love to visit Koh Tao as well. It seems like a lot of fun. Thanks for your post!
Thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment. Koh Tao is really awesome. You should go! 🙂
Thailand has so many beautiful islands to visit. My personal fav is Krabi and Koh Sa mui. Not sure if you got chance to visit those. Thanks for sharing about Koh Tao, looks beautiful .
Thank you for stopping by. Unfortunately I did get to go to Krabi or Koh Samui, but they are definitely on my list! 🙂
your pictures are so stunning. I always wanted to visit Koh Tao…we are planning a trip this year.. your post will come really handy..thanks for all the detailed info.
Thank you so much! I’m happy you found it useful! 🙂
Have an amazing trip! I’m so jealous ?
I am a frequent visitor to Thailand and Koh Samui and always pop over to see my friends that live on Koh Tao, it is truly a beautiful island and your photos capture its charm. Great post enjoyed reading it.
Thank you for stopping by! I’m very glad you liked it ?
Reading your blog post on a snowy cold day in London make me envious! Thailand is the dream!!!
I feel you! Thailand is absolutely amazing and I miss travelling there ?
UGH, that linked article really is enough to make you hesitant, isn’t it? I think it is even more valuable that you wrote this after reading that one. It looks lovely, I would love to do scuba but I found that I didn’t really like it as much as I wanted to! I will stick to snorkeling. Cheers and Happy Travels!
Yes, that article is so scary. I really hope it doesn’t scare too many people not to go, because it is a really beautiful place to miss out on. Happy travels to you too!
I have never visited Koh tao but I am going to be in Thailand next Week. This time we are only doing northern Thailand for its authentic Thai culture but I am sure southern Thailand has so much to offer to. This looks like a wonderful place to be in. It’s clean beach and pristine water is what I got attracted to most. Glad you clarified that there is nothing unpleasant about your stay there. I will definitely plan something there next time.
Sounds like a fun trip! If you need inspiration for Chiang Mai I have written this post about it https://www.mrsbosman.com/chiang-mai/ 🙂