Discovering Koh Tao: A Tropical Paradise

Our wonderful island Koh Tao, lies in the Blue Gulf of Thailand, the northern most islands in the Samui Archipelago.

It wasn’t until 1947 that the early settlers first came to stay on Koh Tao. The first families here had a tough but satisfying life working the land to produce fruits and vegetables to barter with neighboring islanders and passing fisherman. Within a short 20 years a small community had developed, the islanders all ‘feeling good’, a weekly boat use to come over with supplies and to do trade with the small local populations. It was with these cargo boats that the first tourist ventured to Koh Tao, adventurous backpackers were the first to see the pristine tropical paradise. As the local population grew so did the number of tourists. The early back backers found there way to Koh Samui in the 1970’s, yet it was another 15 years before you would see tourists on Koh Tao. At first the island was mostly for relaxation and a little diving, maybe some time tomorrow.

But slowly and surely tourism on the island expanded to what we have today.

Now a days, Koh Tao is more well known as a diving mecca, as well as a place to relax and do yoga, or a place to party well into the night at the island’s beach bars. There are still many fantastic spots and we are sure you will be blown away with the beauty of this island.

We hope that our resort Baan Talay Koh Tao reflects the tropical paradise that Koh Tao can be. The bungalows are built into the tropical forest and have a small nature trail going down to the sea. The path goes down to our small private sea front areas where you can jump into Aow Leuk Bay to see some of the best coral reefs on the island. The nature is amazing both above and below the water line.

Today in Koh Tao you can find the full scope of Thai tourism. Bars and nightlife are plenty in the busy areas such as Sairee. But, small tucked away spots still exist in some of the more secluded bays. Being such a small island nothing is far from each other, our island is only 8km by 2km, you will find top international restaurants, yoga and other activities. But most important when you come to Koh Tao you will feel the vibration of the sea and feel what its like to live on a small tropical island.