View Point Resort

View Point Resort sits on the headland at the western end of Chalok Baan Kao Bay, on Koh Tao's quiet south coast, a long way from the bars of Sairee and the boat traffic at Mae Haad. Rooms climb the slope from beachfront cottages on the rocks to sea-view and garden-view cottages in the trees, and private pool villas higher up.

There's a free-form pool edged with stone that looks over the water, The Cape restaurant and bar, which grows some of its own herbs, and a hut for massages. The resort can arrange a private longtail snorkeling trip around the island, plus yoga and cooking classes. Reviewers praise the breakfast, the service and the quiet, and warn that it's a lot of stairs between the rooms, the restaurant and the pool, and that dinner is on the pricey side.

It suits couples who want a resort to stay put in. The restaurants and dive schools of Chalok are a short walk around the bay.