We spent 18 days on the Thai island of Koh Tao. We had a hard time picking which Thai island to spend our time on, but ended up choosing Koh Tao because we really wanted to get our open water PADI scuba diving certifications. We checked that box, and also managed to spend a ton of time snorkeling right off the beach! We’re glad we picked Koh Tao because it was big enough to offer some good hikes, good snorkeling, and great diving.
6 favorite things about Koh Tao
- Getting PADI certified! It’s perfect to get certified in such a beautiful place, plus it’s about half the cost.
- Diving at the White Rock diving site. It’s huge and we had great visibility!
- Snorkeling at Ao Luek, but all of the beaches had good snorkeling
- Sunsets
- Tropical Island! Flip flops and bathing suit are all you need to pack
- Mango sticky rice
Cost of Koh Tao as a couple
| Spending Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lodging | $472 |
| Food | $578 |
| Transportation | $160 |
| Activities (2 fun dives, entrance fees, snorkeling gear) | $169 |
| PADI scuba certs x2 | $555 |
| Insurance & Misc Bills | $158 |
| Total | $2,092 |
Our total per day spending on Koh Tao was $116 / day
This only excludes the flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok, which was $438 for two tickets. This does include the ferries and buses to get out to the island as well as our PADI certifications!