Mae Haad Pier

Almost every trip to Koh Tao starts and ends on this stretch of concrete, so you'll see it at least twice whether you plan to or not. Ferries and speedboats run from here to Chumphon on the mainland and down to Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, and the whole thing is functional rather than pretty. Ticket offices, luggage storage, touts wanting your business, songthaews and taxis idling just outside waiting to take arrivals to their guesthouse. There's a small cluster of shops, restaurants and dive shops around the pier for anyone killing an hour.

The pier itself never closes, but boats don't work that way. Departures bunch up in the morning and afternoon, so the place swings between dead quiet and shoulder-to-shoulder. Boarding gets messy when a full boat unloads and another loads at the same time, which is my main reason for turning up with time to spare rather than cutting it fine.