Ko Tarutao
Our first stop was Ko Tarutao, a big and beautiful island covered with mountains and rain forest. Most of the tourists stay on the ferry to go Ko Lipe and just a few of them stop in Ko Tarutao. We stayed at the bungalows next to the park headquarters (Bh600) but wished we would have stayed at the bungalows on Malae Bay, same price but the bay is much nicer and quieter (1h walk from the park headquarters or Bh25 for the charter bus). In Malae Bay there is also a restaurant offering the same menu as the one next to the park headquarters, but this one is smaller and more friendly. In fact the best solution will be to bring your own tent to camp on the beach (of your choice), or rent one at the park headquarters. What we really liked on Ko Tarutao was the afternoon we spent at Jack Bay (1h walk from the park headquarters or charter bus) as we had this very nice beach for ourselves and saw thousand of small crabs (see picture). On the same day we walked to Malae Bay, 5min from Jack Bay, and discovered this lovely bay where we saw a lot of monkeys (see pictures). We also liked the walk to the point of view at the back of the park headquarters. We wished we would have stayed longer on the island to go to Sone Bay (2h walk or charter bus) an isolated beach further than Malae Bay or do the 3h walk from Sone Bay to some waterfalls. However what we did not like in Ko Tarutao was that the ferry dropped us at sea and not at the port so we had to get a long tail boat (Bh30 each). Moreover the employees in charge of the accommodation were not nice. The ones at the restaurant were nicer but very lazy. The Thai food was good but the European food and the breakfast were not good. It was a bit frustrating that there is only one restaurant to choose from on the island. The sea was not so clear and was itchy when we went swimming, but it was much better on the day we left the island, so we might have been unlucky. The last annoying bit was that they were building new bungalows next to our bungalow so from 7am it was quite noisy. But overall we liked discovering this wild island.
Our first stop was Ko Tarutao, a big and beautiful island covered with mountains and rain forest. Most of the tourists stay on the ferry to go Ko Lipe and just a few of them stop in Ko Tarutao. We stayed at the bungalows next to the park headquarters (Bh600) but wished we would have stayed at the bungalows on Malae Bay, same price but the bay is much nicer and quieter (1h walk from the park headquarters or Bh25 for the charter bus). In Malae Bay there is also a restaurant offering the same menu as the one next to the park headquarters, but this one is smaller and more friendly. In fact the best solution will be to bring your own tent to camp on the beach (of your choice), or rent one at the park headquarters. What we really liked on Ko Tarutao was the afternoon we spent at Jack Bay (1h walk from the park headquarters or charter bus) as we had this very nice beach for ourselves and saw thousand of small crabs (see picture). On the same day we walked to Malae Bay, 5min from Jack Bay, and discovered this lovely bay where we saw a lot of monkeys (see pictures). We also liked the walk to the point of view at the back of the park headquarters. We wished we would have stayed longer on the island to go to Sone Bay (2h walk or charter bus) an isolated beach further than Malae Bay or do the 3h walk from Sone Bay to some waterfalls. However what we did not like in Ko Tarutao was that the ferry dropped us at sea and not at the port so we had to get a long tail boat (Bh30 each). Moreover the employees in charge of the accommodation were not nice. The ones at the restaurant were nicer but very lazy. The Thai food was good but the European food and the breakfast were not good. It was a bit frustrating that there is only one restaurant to choose from on the island. The sea was not so clear and was itchy when we went swimming, but it was much better on the day we left the island, so we might have been unlucky. The last annoying bit was that they were building new bungalows next to our bungalow so from 7am it was quite noisy. But overall we liked discovering this wild island.
