Koh Tao was the first time I saw the sea in Thailand having spent half a month up north in the wonderful Chiang Mai and Pai, so it was exciting for that reason alone, but also it’s a flipping wonderful little island. Read on for my hot tips.

Where to stay

I stayed in GoodTimes Hostel which is *right* on the beach, and when I say ‘right on the beach’ I am not kidding, it took me all of 10 seconds to run into the ocean each morning. The dorm rooms here are pretty luxe and have balconies overlooking the beach. It’s a little pricy for a hostel at £11 a night but worth it for a couple of nights as a treat.

Where to party

Sairee Beach is full of great bars and clubs and if you walk along the shore then you’re bound to find somewhere to party. Personally I loved Rock Bar, and if you walk by outside enough you’ll get a ton of free shot tokens which can all be redeemed at once making for a very cheap night. There fire dancers there are also sooooo good. Check out Maya and Lotus bar too.

Where to Eat

There’s loads of places to eat here, Indie Cafe does a great breakfast bagel, Samantha does a fab burger and Ban’s Restaurant does the best mediterranean salad with prosciutto ever. You may note I mention only western food here, this is because I had the vilest Thai food here, with literal sugar poured into it. Yuk.

What to do

Swim, snorkle, paddle board, snog boys, get a tattoo… seriously, it’s a small island so there’s not much to ‘do’ but it’s such a gorgeous beach, what more could a gal need?