Koh Nang Yuan Travel Guide

Most people take a longtail taxi boat from Sairee Beach. The drivers wait on the sand, with a stand at Lotus Bar on busy days, and the crossing takes 10 to 15 minutes. Expect about ฿250 to ฿300 a person for the round trip. Agree on the price and a pickup time before you leave, and ask for the driver's number in case you want to change it. Longtails also run from Mae Haad pier, a slightly longer ride.

Lomprayah runs a ferry from Mae Haad that takes about 15 minutes, and in the low season it goes on demand rather than to a timetable, so book it the day before. A few people kayak over, and from the hotels at the north end of Sairee it's about a 15-minute paddle in calm water, but check the wind first, because from farther down the coast it's 45 minutes to an hour each way. Don't swim across. The channel carries strong currents and steady boat traffic.

Koh Nang Yuan is state land leased to one resort, which runs the island and charges every day visitor ฿250, ฿120 for children and ฿50 for Thai nationals, in cash at the pier. Overnight guests don't pay. Day visitors are allowed from 10:00 to 15:00, and you'll see later times in older blogs and some boat schedules, but I'd plan the day around 15:00 and treat anything after it as a bonus.

The rules are strict and staff check bags on arrival. Plastic bottles and cans aren't allowed, so fill a metal or glass bottle on Koh Tao and leave the plastic one in the boat. Fins aren't allowed either, because the reef is shallow and easily kicked, and drones can't be flown over the island or the water around it. On the sand, loungers and umbrellas cost day visitors about ฿200 for the day, and the only food and drink come from the resort's restaurant and beach cafe, at prices above Koh Tao's, so I'd eat before you go.

The viewpoint is the reason most people come. The trail leaves from the boardwalk near the pier and climbs steps and rocks through the trees for about 10 to 20 minutes, with ropes on the steep parts, before a short scramble onto the boulders at the top. From there you look straight down on the sandbar curving between the three islets, with Koh Tao behind it. It's steep and hot rather than difficult.

The top is small and only a few people fit at once, so at busy times there's a queue of 10 to 20 minutes for the photo. That's the best argument for going first. Climb as soon as you land at 10:00, before the tours finish snorkeling, or near the end of the day if you're staying the night. Wear shoes with grip, not flip-flops, carry water and bring insect repellent for the wait at the top.

The Japanese Gardens is the shallow, sheltered reef between the islets, a short swim from the sand and gentle enough for beginners. Expect hard and soft coral, parrotfish, butterflyfish and angelfish, and now and then a small blacktip reef shark or a hawksbill turtle. The reefs were badly damaged by Typhoon Gay in 1989 and by an El Niño in the 1990s, and the plastic ban is part of how they've come back. Swim inside the buoyed areas, because boats come in close, and never stand on the coral.

Twin Peaks, Green Rock and Red Rock are the dive sites around the island, and Duck N Dive, the resort's dive center, rents gear and runs shore and boat dives from the beach. Snorkelers can bring a mask from Koh Tao or rent one on the island. Leave the fins behind. If the Japanese Gardens is busy with tour groups, the far side of the islets is usually quieter.

The sandbar joins the three islets and gives Koh Nang Yuan beaches on both sides, one facing Koh Tao and one facing out to sea. It changes with the tide, wide and walkable at low tide, a thin strip with water on both sides at high tide, so check the tide times if you want the classic broad curve. There's little natural shade on the sand, which is why the loungers and umbrellas rent.

From Koh Phangan, the speedboat tours take about an hour to reach Koh Tao, snorkel two of its bays and give you about three hours on Koh Nang Yuan with lunch, the landing fee included. Lomprayah's 08:30 catamaran from Thong Sala also lands at the island at 09:45 for ฿600 if you'd rather go on your own. It's a good day, and I'd pick it over Ang Thong if snorkeling is the point.

From Koh Samui the boat ride is longer, and the speedboat tours run about 9 hours door to door with roughly an hour and a half on Nang Yuan. It works if a day is all you have, but the island is at its best with time to spare, so if you can, take the ferry to Koh Tao and spend a night or two there instead.

Koh Tao follows the Gulf calendar, not the Andaman one, so its dry months are the opposite of Phuket's. February to April are the driest, with about 64 mm of rain on four days in February at the Ko Samui station, and the sea is calm and clear. December to April is the high season, with the clearest water and the biggest crowds. The summer months are drier than you'd expect and quieter on the sand.

October to December is the wet season, and November is the one to avoid, with about 445 mm of rain on 16 days. Seas get rough, boats to the island can be canceled, and the snorkeling clouds over. Whatever the month, the time of day matters more than the season. Go at 10:00 or stay the night, and check the tide if you want the sandbar wide.

Cash for the fee, the boat, loungers and lunch. A metal or glass water bottle, filled on Koh Tao. A mask and snorkel, no fins. Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and something to cover your shoulders, because there's little shade on the sandbar. Shoes with grip for the viewpoint, insect repellent for the queue at the top, and a dry bag for your phone and cash on the boat.

Yes, with the right timing. It's touristy, it costs more than anything else on Koh Tao, and at midday it's a crowded sandbar with a queue for a photo. But the view really does look like the pictures, the reef is a short swim off the sand, and in the first hour, or after the day boats leave, it's one of the prettiest places in the Gulf. Give it about three hours, arrive at 10:00, and if you can afford one splurge night on Koh Tao, this is where I'd spend it.