Koh Yao Yai Travel Guide

Yes, if you want space and quiet more than a lively beach strip. Koh Yao Yai sits about 13 km off Phuket's east coast, and it still feels like a working island of rubber trees, fishing boats and village mosques. The karst islands of Phang Nga Bay are on the doorstep, so the longtail trips that take an hour to reach from Phuket start a few minutes from the pier.

It suits a resort stay best. The big hotels have their own beaches, pools and boats, and the island's size means most guests pick one area and stay there. If you'd rather walk to dinner at a different café each night, Koh Yao Noi next door does that better, and if you want clear water at any hour, Phuket's west coast or Koh Lanta will suit you more. There's no nightlife here, and that's why people come.

Koh Yao Noi is the easier first visit. It's smaller, at about 36 km², with a strip of cafés and boutique resorts along its east coast that you can loop by scooter in an hour. Koh Yao Yai is more than twice the size and emptier, with a few large resorts, the Laem Haad sandbar, and Loh Pared, the one beach on either island that swims at any tide and gets the sunset.

Choose Yao Yai for a resort stay, a family that wants a pool and room to spread out, or sunsets. Choose Yao Noi for eating out and a little more life in the evenings. They're 10 minutes apart by longtail between Chong Lard pier and Manoh pier, so a day on the other island is easy from either side. Our Koh Yao Noi guide compares the two side by side.

The best day on Koh Yao Yai is spent on the water, and the best afternoon is spent on a scooter with no plan. The tide decides the order.

Koh Yao Yai is almost entirely Muslim, and alcohol is sold in the resorts and selected bars, restaurants and shops rather than everywhere. A beer with dinner is easy at the resorts and around Loh Pared, and harder in the villages. Dress modestly away from the beach, and cover shoulders and knees if you visit a mosque.

Seafood is the thing to eat. Baan Rim Nam is built out over the water at Klong Hia pier, and the small restaurants near Loh Pared cook Thai food and a few Western dishes. There's no nightlife, so dinner is the evening's event.

Three nights suits most stays. That gives you two full days, one for a longtail into Phang Nga Bay and one for a scooter, the sandbar and the sunset, and a slow morning before the boat. The boats from Phuket wind down around 17:00, so an evening flight into Phuket can cost you the first night.

A fourth night works for a resort stay or a day on Koh Yao Noi. Much longer and the island can feel too quiet unless that's exactly what you came for. A day trip from Phuket is possible on the public speedboat, but the island is at its best early and late, which a day trip misses.

From Phuket, the public boats leave Bang Rong pier on the northeast coast, 25 to 40 minutes by car from Phuket airport and much further from Patong or the southern beaches. Speedboats cross to Chong Lard or Klong Hia pier on Koh Yao Yai's north side in about 15 to 35 minutes, depending on the boat and the pier, from 08:30 until around 17:00. Some of the boats to Koh Yao Noi call at Klong Hia on the way. From June to September there are about half as many sailings, so plan the last leg with a little slack.

From Krabi, speedboats leave Nopparat Thara pier near Ao Nang, Ao Thalane, or Klong Jilad in Krabi Town, and take about 40 minutes to an hour and ten, depending on the operator. The cheap wooden boats from Ao Thalane go to Tha Khao pier on Koh Yao Noi instead, and from there it's a ride across that island to Manoh pier and a 10-minute longtail to Chong Lard.

The resorts run their own boats. Santhiya leaves from Ao Po Grand Marina and Anantara uses Laem Sai pier, and if you've booked one of them, ask the resort before you buy a ticket. Wherever you stay, arrange a pickup at the pier, because taxis there aren't guaranteed.

Rent a scooter. At about ฿250–350 a day it's the only practical way around an island this size, and hotels and shops near the piers can arrange one. The main roads are paved, flat and nearly empty, but the tracks to the outer beaches are dirt and slippery after rain, and nothing is lit at night. There are a few songthaews and tuk-tuks, and no regular service, so hotels collect guests from the boat.

Carry cash. There are several ATMs, but they can be empty or out of order, and small restaurants and scooter rentals take cash only. Bring enough from Phuket or Krabi for a couple of days.

November to April, and December to March is the calmest stretch. Koh Yao Yai runs on the Andaman calendar. The nearest weather station, in Phuket, records just 24 mm of rain in February and 350 mm in September, its wettest month, and the rain arrives in May.

The rainy season matters more on an island you reach by small boat. From June to September Bang Rong has about half as many sailings, the crossing can be rough, and the longtail trips into the bay depend on the day's sea. May and October are the shoulder months, green, quiet and cheaper, and fine if your plans have a day of slack. Our month-by-month weather guide has the full Andaman pattern.