Finally time for some beaches! I haven’t seen a beach since I was in the South of Cambodia and I was more than ready for some chilled out island time. After a brief overnight stay in Chumphon following a seven-hour bus journey from Bangkok, I headed to the pier and jumped on the speedboat to Koh Tao. It took just under two hours to reach the island and it was the simplest journey ever, we got picked up from our hostel in Chumphon, dropped to the pier, and then got picked up from the pier by my new hostel. The excitement was so real and even though I was staying in a dorm, I was also staying in a Resort, a little slice of wonderfulness for a few days, or maybe a week or so, who knows, we’ll decide as we go.

Within minutes of arriving, I’d got my swimmies on and headed straight to the pool. It was crazy that after only 45minutes of being off the boat, I was checked in and in the pool with an iced coffee. It was definitely time for some relaxing. I had a few hours sat chilling and met some others staying at my hosted and then headed to watch the sunset at the beach and grab some dinner. I found a really cool place on the beachfront where you could just sit on the sand and it felt so peaceful, and dinner was really good.

Day two included some tanning time by the pool, before heading to the beach for a swim and a stroll, I then sat and watched the sunset and it was honestly stunning. The colours were dancing through the sky and changed so much over an hour as the sun set below the sea line. Whilst watching the sunset I was on the phone to a friend back home, and just kept describing the view that was in front of my eyes (and sending photos of it too) in no attempt to make anyone jealous. It was so nice catching up with them as I’d not spoken to them since I left England and it felt like there was loads to chat about! I then headed back and got ready to go for dinner with some of the others at my hostel. We were craving some western food and managed to find a spot to get a burger and it tasted so good!

Day three was another chill day. I headed out and got some brunch as I slept in, without even realising. I then had another afternoon chilling by the pool. It was quite nice to be able to do some swimming again as I’d really missed this, so was lapping it up whilst I had the chance. Before long it was time to head down and grab some dinner and I found somewhere that looked decent, I grabbed some drinks with others and then tried to attempt an early night ready for a very fun day tomorrow!

Day four was the turn of scuba diving, it’s a must when you’re on Koh Tao. It’s the place where so many people go to complete their PADI as it’s one of the cheapest places in the world, and has some of the best diving spots. I scuba-dived in Australia when I last went travelling back in 2018/19 and loved it. I saw sharks and sting rays and loads of other cool fish, and was super excited to be going again! I only booked a one day package as I didn’t have enough time on the island to do my PADI, and was planning on hopefully getting back here to do it later in my trip.

The day included two dives at two different spots, which were both insane! After a quick recap on some of the rules and principles of diving we got kitted up and jumped on the boat. We started off in Mango Bay which was a shallower bay (around 10metres) and we got to see some really cool sealife here and some beautiful corals. The fish were all so colourful and it was so hard trying not to open my mouth in awe with fear I wouldn’t be able to breathe if I did. We then jumped back on the baot and headed to Twins Bay, another stunning spot and slightly deeper (around 12-15metres) and we again got to see some insane sealife which was just incredible. I fully understood why this is such a cool spot for diving. After a day out on the sea we headed back to shore and snapped some photos for memories.

I so wasn’t ready to leave this paradise yet so I ended up extending my stay (very much expected) and spent Sunday snorkelling in five different places around the island. I went with Oxygen Tours Koh Tao and couldn’t rate them enough, they made the day so much fun and it was really was an incredible experience from start to end. It cost 650baht (around £15) and included lunch, mask and snorkel, drinks whilst on board and underwater photos. You had to pay an additional 250baht (around £5) for entrance to the first island as it’s a national park, so this was mandatory for everyone who wanted to enter, but it was so worth it.

We started the day on the island of Koh Nangyuan where there was a famous viewpoint to climb, the views were exceptional although I do not recommend doing a hike in 35°C and wearing flip flops! However, by the time we got to the top we completely forgot about the hike as we were looking down at the most stunning little island. After the walk back down we cooled off (not really) in the sea and did a bit of snorkelling around the bay, it was beautiful with crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches and you could see all the sealife below you.

We got lunch on board whilst sailing to the next spot and it was a Thai buffet lunch with rice, tofu, glass noodles, fried veggies and chicken curry and it all tasted insanely good. You never really know with these things what you’re going to get when lunch is provided but this did not disappoint. It was nice watching the world go by whilst we were cruising around the island to our next snorkel spot. The views were just incredible, we sailed around the whole island of Koh Tao over the course of the day and it was just super awesome.

Next up we headed to Hin Wong Bay for another snorkel, here we saw some really cool fish and the water was so lovely. I’ve become completely obsessed with this little island and decided I never want to leave. It’s so cool just being able to head out to the ocean which is like 30 steps from where you’re staying and explore a whole new world, getting the sea breeze on you throughout the day and smiling because life is so laid back at any given time.

Aow Leuk Bay was next on our trip, I didn’t snorkel at this spot as I was super relaxed on deck and was just enjoying watching the world pass us by, it was also peak sunshine time so I was definitely keen to topup my tan. From wearing a wetsuit scuba diving I’d managed to gain a really funky tan line on my legs so desperately wanted to even it out, it’s mad how these are life’s biggest troubles at the minute.

Shark Bay was our penultimate stop, and you guessed it! The home of little baby sharks in the bay. They like cool shallow water so it was cool to be able to spot them. They were so tiny and adorable and meant absolutely no harm, they were just happy swimming around together minding their own business. It was here I was mesmorised that there is a whole other world under the sea that is something else to be explored and absolutely amazed by. I could’ve spent everyday hanging out and exploring the reefs around here.

Final stop of the day was Freedom Bay and it was honestly insane! The water was so warm by this point in the day and we got to watch sunset whilst snorkelling and seeing sea turtles in the ocean! This was such a surreal experience, they were so happy floating around under the sea just doing their thing. Seeing them in their home is just incredible, other fish were coming over to them and they were happy just chilling on the corals and relaxing. We didn’t get too close but managed to snap some wicked pics of them!

We got to watch the sunset whilst sailing back to the pier and it was at this point where my gratefulness just soared, I was as watching one of the most beautiful sunsets over the horizon, with the ocean continuing for miles, and I couldn’t help but just smile and think about how much I love this life and my opportunities to travel. I got back and showered and then headed out to dinner with some people I’d met and we grabbed a drink or two which was really nice. I’m really loving being a little bit more laid back and not having an agenda of things I want to do and see each day and constantly chasing my tail, island life is the one for me.

By Monday I was actually quite tired and spent the day chilling by the pool after a few days at sea. As much as I love ocean activities, it’s nice being able to go swimming without being surrounded by fish and fearing you going to swallow a whole mouthful of salt water everytime you head under. I was actually also starting to get the feeling of being on a boat even though I wasn’t and the floor around me was bobbing all the time, so I was more than happy to just chill out. I also extended by one more night just so I could have a final day relaxing on this little island paradise. One of the guys I met in Cambodia was arriving here today so it meant that we could spend some time together too, I love the part of travelling of just being able to design your agenda as you go, and if you want to stay anywhere longer, you just do it.

There was also a pub crawl tonight that me and a pal ended up going. It goes along the whole of Sairee Beach (Koh Tao is a very small island) and let’s just say we had a fair amount to drink. The whole night was insane and it’s meant to be the biggest in the whole of Thailand, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was, there must have been about 200 of us walking along at any given time. We had the best time and headed to four different bars over the course of the night. First up was the lady boys cabaret show which was just incredible, hilarious and so cool. We enjoyed watching this and then headed to a pool party, followed by a bar with some seriously good live music and finally the biggest beach bar on the island. I had a lot to drink this night.

It’s probably not a surprise to say I spent the next day by the pool suffering and nursing a fairly mean hangover, but there’s worse places to be I guess! I also spent a bit of time scrolling through my camera roll and it began to make sense as to why my clothes were damp, we were in the ocean at 1am that was next to the beach bar and I didn’t even remember, but from what I do, it was a really good night and I’m so glad I got to experience it with some of the best people. It topped off a great week on this dreamy island.

It really was an amazing week of ocean sunshine beachy paradise and was exactly what I needed after being in different cities for so long. After a final day of hanging out and catching up on editing and my blog, I was off to the pier for my next stop. I’m off to Koh Samui, which is another island near Koh Tao. I’m here for a few days now and I’m excited for what’s to come! See ya there, Mads x