The Only Koh Tao Itinerary You Will Ever Need

Koh Tao is one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand. But it’s not just about beaches and sunsets here. This tiny island is the scuba diving capital of Southeast Asia. And if you’re even slightly curious about exploring the underwater world, this is the place to do it.

In this itinerary, I’ll show you why Koh Tao is the best place on earth to learn to dive, where to swim with sharks and turtles, even if you don’t know how to scuba dive, and one of Thailand’s most unique and stunning island hopping trips. Let’s dive into day one.

Koh Tao Is the Scuba Diving Capital of Southeast Asia

If there is one thing that Koh Tao is famous for, it’s having some of the best scuba diving sites in the whole of Thailand. But not only that, it’s famous for its relaxed and easy to learn scuba diving conditions.

Now, admittedly, if you are learning to dive for the first time, you’ll need more than 3 days on the island. The PADI Open Water certificate takes 3 days to complete and involves a mix of theoretical training, but also includes at least three scuba dives where you’ll learn to dive up to 18 meters, which on Koh Tao will open up some absolutely stunning dive sites.

Diving even just at shallow depths will open up to a world full of clownfish, parrotfish, butterflyfish, and giant groupers and moray eels.

Koh Tao is one of the best places in the entire world to learn and dive because not only does it have some of the cheapest diving courses you’ll find anywhere in the world, the island is a diving hub.

So, it’s home to expert instructors with lots of experience, and the island is known for having calm conditions most of the year round, so you don’t have to worry about getting swept away from your dive boat or getting caught in a storm, allowing you to focus on learning how to dive without fear of drowning.

Day One Learning to Dive and Exploring Sail Rock

But if you really want to explore the best dive sites around the island, ones that will allow you to see some of the biggest fish in the world, you have to go further and take the PADI Advanced diving course. This course will take another two days, but here you’ll learn to dive to depths of 30 meters, do even more advanced dives at dive sites, and even learn to dive at night.

And by having your advanced certificate, it opens up the absolute best dive site in Thailand. One where the fish are absolutely enormous, you can spot huge schools of barracuda and if you’re lucky, possibly even see whale sharks.

If you only have one day to dive on Koh Tao and you want to make it the best dive possible, make sure to dive at Sail Rock.

When I first dove at Sail Rock about 5 years ago now, it was really quite a life changing experience. I had spent like 2 weeks on the island at the time and I hadn’t really anticipated staying on the island that long, but I really just fallen in love with diving and just wanted to do it as much as possible.

The whole time on the island, I’d heard people talk about this site like it was a mythical place. The Sail Rock dive site lies about a 2 hour boat ride away from Koh Tao. So, it is a full day adventure. And I’m not going to lie, diving it is a little bit intimidating. Sunlight can’t completely reach down to 30 meters. So, as you’re descending, you can see the other members of your group just descending into the darkness.

Once you’re down there, though, you’ll notice that the fish down there are so much bigger. I remember seeing giant groupers that were about the size of a small car and thousands of barracuda that were just swirling around like it was a hurricane. Kind of felt like it was a theme park or something because everywhere you looked there was something different going on. As you ascend back to the top you have to go through a rock formation called the chimney which is a 13 meter long vertical tunnel. It’s still one of the craziest ways I’ve ever ascended from a dive and you just have to make sure you mind your head on the way up.

Day One Sairee Beach Nightlife After Diving

Sail Rock is certainly one of the best dive sites that I’ve ever done but it isn’t for everyone. It is intense and does require some previous experience. But on day two, I’ll show you one of the best snorkeling spots on the island where you don’t need a scuba dive. But for day one, Sail Rock is absolutely one of the best dive sites in the world.

But after conquering Sail Rock, you’re going to need to unwind. And there’s no better way than hitting the island’s biggest nightlife spot.

If you’re looking for good music, amazing sunsets, and delicious cocktails, there’s no better spot than the main beach on the island, Sairee Beach. This is not only one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, but also its nightlife hub.

One of my personal favorite bars is Fishbowl Bar, which is great for live music.

But if you really want to party hard, Koh Tao is home to one of the biggest bar crawls in Thailand. It’s called the Koh Tao pub crawl and happens multiple nights a week. It’s a great way to meet other people when you’re traveling. And if you join in, you get a free tank top, discounted drinks, games, fire shows, and entry to some of the island’s top bars and beach parties.

It usually kicks off around 6:00 p.m. and ends in the early morning after hitting all the best bars in Sairee. Just make sure you don’t do the bar crawl if you’re diving again the next day.

Day Two Snorkeling at Shark Bay

But even if you don’t know how to scuba dive, you can still see some of the island’s best marine life at our next spot, which is home to blacktip reef sharks and an enormous green turtle.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Is it really safe to go swimming with sharks? And the answer is yes. There actually hasn’t been any shark attack fatalities in Thailand for over 40 years. And blacktip reef sharks are harmless to humans. They can grow to around 1 to 1.5 meters long, and they’ll actually swim away when you get close to them. So, the best time to spot them is in the early morning before all the other swimmers get there.

The area is also home to a massive green turtle that has made the bay its home. Green turtles can grow to almost 1.5 meters long, and it’s amazing to see them up close.

This spot is known as Shark Bay, and it lies at the southern tip of the island. You don’t need to hop in a boat to have a good time here. You can simply rent a snorkel and hop in the water straight from the beach, and within minutes, you’ll be in shark territory.

After you dive, head back to the surface, grab some lunch, and relax for a bit because the evening is all about catching that golden hour glow.

Day Two Viewpoints and Sunset Cafes

Koh Tao is a fairly mountainous island, which means it has some amazing viewpoints to watch the sun go down.

Outside of Sairee Beach, the island has a fairly relaxed vibe and there are amazing places to chill out at to watch the sun go down. Right next to Shark Bay is John Suwan viewpoint.

Because it’s at the southern tip of the island, you get an amazing panoramic view of the entire island.

But if you do a bit of hopping around, you can find lots of viewpoint cafes where you can grab a beer or a smoothie if you’re on a scooter.

When I was last there, we visited Treehouse Cafe overlooking Outlook Beach, which is a great spot to watch the sun go down.

Day Three Koh Nang Yuan and the Japanese Garden

But I’ve saved the best for last. On day three, you can visit not only one of the most beautiful spots on the island, but one of the most unique beaches anywhere in the world.

Towards the north of the island lies a group of islands with a fascinating structure. These three islands are connected by a white sandbar between them, which at low tide functions as a sandy pathway between them, allowing you to walk over the ocean across the islands.

There is a similar island in Krabi that connects two islands, but this is one of the only groups of islands in the world that is connected by three sandbars.

This is known as Koh Nang Yuan, and it’s just a 15 minute boat ride from Koh Tao and makes for a perfect half day trip.

But these islands are not just stunning above the water. The side of one of these islands is known as the Japanese Garden, which is an excellent snorkeling and diving spot, especially if you’d rather not swim at shark infested waters like in Shark Bay.

Day Three Nang Yuan Viewpoint

But for one of the best views of the island, you need to head to Nang Yuan Viewpoint.

This is one of the most iconic views in all of Thailand. And it’s the best place to see how these three islands connect with such a unique structure.

It’s just a short hike up for one of the best views on the whole island.