Koh Kood Travel Guide

Yes, if what you want from an island is clear water, empty sand and quiet. Koh Kood's bays are as pretty as any in the Gulf, the resorts are low and spread out, and even in high season the beaches feel half empty. It suits couples, honeymooners and anyone who's done the busier islands and wants a slower week.

It isn't a party island. There are a few beach bars and a small night market, and that's the evening. The island is also big and hilly, so you'll need a scooter or your resort's transport to get around, and the trip from Bangkok takes most of a day.

Koh Kood, Koh Chang or Koh Mak? Koh Chang is the big, developed one, with more hotels, restaurants and nightlife, and a car ferry from the mainland. Koh Mak is smaller and even quieter. Koh Kood sits between them for size and has the best beaches and waterfalls of the three, which is why I'd pick it for a beach week. Boonsiri's boats link all three, so you can do two.

If you take one boat trip, make it a snorkeling day. The boats leave Bang Bao around 09:00, stop at three reefs around Koh Kood or Koh Rang, depending on the sea, with lunch on board, and get back between about 16:00 and 17:30. Turtles turn up on lucky days. Bring ฿200 in cash for the Koh Rang park fee.

Four nights suits most people. The trip takes most of a day each way, so anything shorter is mostly travel. Four nights gives you a snorkeling day, a scooter day for the waterfalls and Ao Salad, a morning on the river, and at least one day doing nothing on the beach.

A week works well if you want to slow right down, and the island pairs easily with Koh Mak or Koh Chang by boat.

Koh Kood has no airport and no car ferry, so every trip ends with a catamaran from Laem Sok pier near Trat, about an hour to Ao Salad pier. From Bangkok, Boonsiri's bus and catamaran leaves Khao San at 05:00, 07:00 and 09:00 and lands at 11:45, 14:15 and 16:45 for ฿1,100, with pickups at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, and Seudamgo sells a van and catamaran for about the same. To fly, Bangkok Airways goes to Trat, and Boonsiri's airport van and boat leaves at 09:40 and 14:30 for ฿950.

From Koh Chang, Boonsiri's boats leave Bang Bao at 09:00 and 13:00 and take about an hour and a half for ฿900, and they also link Koh Kood with Koh Mak. That timetable runs from 1 October to 31 May, with fewer sailings from June to September. Our Bangkok to Koh Kood guide has every departure and the trip back.

There's no public transport, so rent a scooter, about ฿300–350 a day, or rely on your resort's transfers. The roads are hilly and not all of them are paved, so take it slowly after rain.

Bring enough cash for your stay. There are a few ATMs, around Klong Chao and near the hospital, but they don't always work, and only the bigger resorts take cards.

November to April is the season. December and January are the driest months, with about 28 mm and 51 mm of rain at Trat, the sea is calm and clear, and every boat runs. Christmas, New Year and Thai long weekends fill the resorts, so book ahead for those.

From May the rain builds, and June to September is very wet, with about 1,000 mm in July at Trat and rain on most days. Boonsiri runs a reduced timetable, the sea is rough, dive visibility drops, and only about 40% of the resorts stay open. The waterfalls are at their best at the end of the rains, so November is a good compromise, with the falls still running and only about 85 mm of rain at Trat.