Tiny but mighty, Koh Tao is a gem in the Gulf of Thailand! On a sunny day, tourists will flock to some of the most popular beaches on the island including Shark Bay and Freedom Beach – with reason, those are some stunning beaches.
But as big fans of exploring the unknown (or at least the lesser-known), we found six paradisiacal beaches excitingly empty on a half-day trail through the coast. This trail is not well-known or marked so we’ll share all the details with you on this post!
Also read: Diving into Paradise: Your Ultimate Koh Tao Island Guide
Things to know before you go
This is a 3:30h easy-to-moderate hiking route, about 6km long through the southwestern coast of the island. The starting and end points are not the same: the trail starts at the Mae Haad Pier and ends at the Chalok Bay.
Instead of taking the same way back you can either walk back from Chalok Baan to the pier (35 minutes) or grab a taxi, which should cost around 400-500 baht per person.
Due to the lack of signposting on this trail, we recommend downloading a map of Koh Tao in the app AllTrails. We also recommend doing this trail during the morning time as Thailand‘s heat is no joke! No need for boots or proper hiking shoes – flip flops allowed.
As usual, it’s always advisable to let a family member or a person of trust know of your hiking plans as well as what emergency numbers to call in case of need. In Thailand, the emergency number is 1333 for rescues and 1155 for the tourist police (note that call should be made from a mobile phone equipped with a Thai SIM).
Last but not least, please do not forget your water bottle!
Itinerary
1. Departure
The starting point is set at the Mae Haad Pier. From the pier, take the road that leads to the best café on the island: the Coconut Monkey. If you’re early, make sure to grab a bite here before the hike!
Follow this road until the very end. You’ll then walk through both Koh Tao Beachside Resort and Sensi Paradise Beach Resort – follow the path until you reach the now-abandoned Charm Churee Resort.
Explore the abandoned resort at your own pace by following the paved path. It’s quite interesting (and a bit sad) to see the place still has most of its furniture inside the closed bungalows. Pay attention to the Jansom Bay signs outside the bungalows and follow them all the way to the beach.
2. Jansom Bay
The first stop on this trail! This small bay has turquoise waters and a few sun beds available. Locals may request a fee of around 100-200 baht per person to stay on the bay, although if you don’t take long there, they might not charge you.
From Jansom Bay, continue your way to Sai Nuan Beach by following the paved path.
3. Sai Nuan Beach 1 & 2
You’ll arrive at Sai Nuan 1 which is a really lovely gem: the beach is lined with palm trees and there’s no other sound but the crashing of the waves. We love this one!
You can also reach this beach by taxi boat from Sairee Beach, so it is probably the busiest of the bays on this itinerary as tourists can more easily come and go.
The same thing happens here with locals charging you for using the bay – 100 to 200 baht per person. Even if you’re just taking photos, you might not escape this one.
If you continue your way through the end of the beach, you’ll reach Sai Nuan 2 where a small hotel and the popular Banana Rock restaurant are located. The beach itself is not as stunning as the number one but since the restaurant sells 420 cigarettes for cheap, you’ll definitely find some people smoking by the beach.
From here, you can go uphill to a road that leads to Tao Thong Bay.
4. Tao Thong Bay 1 & 2
On this road, take the first turn right to go down to the beach (take the right again at the bifurcation). You’ll arrive at this beautiful peninsula with beaches on both sides and bungalows perched on the hills. It’s stunning! And super peaceful too.
Tip: you can book a night at one of those beachfront bungalows for around 20 euros! Note that the location is quite remote and the only restaurants around here are the ones from the hotel at Tao Thong and the Banana Rock at Sai Nuan Beach.
Take the concrete walkway along the shoreline to Tao Thong 2 where you’ll find a lovely restaurant.
From here, you’ll take a narrow forest trail all the way to Chalok Bay.
5. June Juea Bay
The trail is marked with red signs on trees and rocks and once you reach a small wooden shack with a blue pipe coming from it, take the way down right. You’ll reach the small but peaceful June Juea Bay.
From here, make your way to the end of the beach and you’ll find yourself within the premises of the Pinnacle Resort, which offers panoramic views of Chalok Bay.
6. Chalok Bay
From the resort, follow along the shoreline until you reach a concrete walkway to our endpoint: the beautiful Chalok Baan Kao Bay.
We love this part of Koh Tao! There are beautiful beachfront hotels, restaurants, and lovely cafés in this area. Fisherman is our favorite.
Hot tip: still have energy? Walk 20 more minutes to the stunning Freedom Beach!
As mentioned before, instead of taking the same way back to the pier (or whatever you’re staying on the island) you can either walk back to the pier (35 minutes) or grab a taxi, which should cost around 400-500 baht per person. You can find taxis on the main road next to the famous Sandwich Lady stall.
This half-day trail is one of the best things to do on the island while also escaping the usual tourist crowds – make sure not to miss it!
Also read: 7 Best Things to Do in Koh Tao – Thailand
