Koh Yao Yai, where the pace of life is slower
Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai are Thai islands in the Andaman Sea, halfway between Phuket and Krabi. Koh Yao Yai is the bigger of the two islands but it sees fewer tourists than Koh Yao Noi. While the Koh Yao islands are close to Phuket and Krabi, the pace of life is much slower on the Koh Yao islands, the food is just as good, if not better and lodging isn’t nearly as expensive. Some of the best things you can do on the Koh Yao Islands include kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, diving, and swimming.
Koh Yao Yai, or Big Long Island in Thai, has pristine beaches, mangroves, palm plantations, rubber plantations, and fishing villages. The waters surrounding Koh Yao Yai are rich in coral and contain world-class scuba diving sites, such as Shark Point and the King Cruiser Wreck. The population of less than 20,000 is mostly Muslim, around 90%. All over the island, you will hear the daily calls to prayer from the different mosques on the island. As the islanders are intent on preserving their traditional ways, please be respectful by dressing modestly and not drinking alcohol in public areas.
Upon reaching Koh Yao Yai, don’t expect a big welcome. Arriving on this island of 16,000 people is a lot different than arriving in Bangkok and its 10 million residents or Chiang Mai and its 1.1 million residents. We had someone from BetterView Bed, Breakfast and Bungalow (which may now be permanently closed) meet us at the ferry dock. There was another taxi here, we guess that one or two taxis show up for each of the daily ferry stops, just in case someone needs a ride.
At most points on the island, you aren’t far from a great sandy beach. Some of the best beaches are Laem Haad, Laem Nok Ok, Khlong Son, and Loh Pared Bay. You can explore the island on your own searching for that one particular harbor beach as most resorts have motorbikes/mopeds for the use of their guests. One main road goes around the whole island, with just a few small side roads. Almost everywhere you go, you’ll see the lush jungle on one side of the road, and the Andaman Sea on the other side. You will get waves and smiles from fishermen that you pass, from children playing as you ride through villages, and from farmers working the plantation. Such a friendly and welcoming island! Just as we didn’t see any shopping malls, we also didn’t see any gas stations. One day out on the motorbike we were running low on gas and stopped at a roadside hut where a lady with one-liter plastic bottles of gas filled up our tank. Our fuel came from a Fanta bottle.
However you spend your day, you should treat yourself to a seafood feast for dinner. The island is known for its seafood, with many restaurants offering fresh, delicious, and affordable dishes.
How to Get to Koh Yao Yai
Longtail boats and ferries make daily trips to the Koh Yao Islands from Bang Rong Pier, located on the east coast of Phuket, and from Krabi. We were in awe on the ride from Phuket, soaking in the views of the huge Andaman Sea, with its limestone cliffs and karsts and rock formations. You can also book a private longtail boat or speedboat. Check for daily departure times, there are multiple departures from Phuket. From Phuket, our ferry ride was about 20 minutes. Koh Yao Yoi is the first stop, then the boat will cross over to Koh Yao Noi.
Where to Stay in Koh Yao Yai
There is limited lodging in Koh Yao Yai. Most places are small, intimate lodges. There are high-priced luxury options and mid-range options. To our knowledge, there isn’t any budget lodging on Koh Yao Yai. We stayed at BetterView, which had 12 different bungalows, a pool, a restaurant and bar, and a lawn with great views of the Sea. It’s too bad this place is closed, we really enjoyed our time here.
What We Did in Koh Yao Yai
We didn’t do a lot here, and that was part of our plan. After being in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, always on the go, surrounded by lots of people, dealing with the noise and chaos of big cities, a few days in the peace and quiet here was what we were looking for. We were there in October, which is the rainy season. And, the rainy season lived up to its name.
On our first day on the island, we learned our afternoon dive was canceled due to rain and rough seas. So, we took a motorized scooter and drove around the island. There is only one main road, so we rode through villages and past a lot of mosques and made some stops. At one spot, we tipped the scooter into the mud. Driving this was a new experience for Jason, he was learning on the fly. Probably was a little tougher to learn since he had a passenger. It was all good though! We found some great views and did a little shopping. One of our favorite sites was seeing a herd of goats along the side of the road with a monkey riding on one of the goats' backs. We rode the scooter to dinner at the Pier that night, and it started raining really hard. I was worried about driving the scooter back to BetterView, so we ate slowly and watched the storm move out before heading back for the night.
Jason’s favorite baseball team hadn’t made it to the World Series since 1945, so he was often up early to listen to Cubs games in the 2016 National League Championship Series. The 12-hour time difference meant that he was occupied from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on game days. He found a spot at the water's edge where he could still grab the wifi signal from the BetterView restaurant. While we were there, he listened to a Denver Broncos game, a Nebraska football game, and the game in which the Cubs beat the Dodgers in game 6 of the NLCS to advance to the World Series!
Boat Tour, Phang Nga Bay
We’ve done the Phang Nga Bay tour, also known as Ao Phang Nga National Park, a full-day tour twice, once from Koh Yao Yoi and a couple of years later, with our kids from Phuket. Largely, the tours were the same. Phang Nga Bay, also known as Ao Phang Nga National Park, is famous for limestone cliffs and rock formations, many small islands, and numerous caves. Ao Phang National Park also protects one of the largest native Thailand mangrove forests. A sense of awe may overcome you while taking in this landscape (or is it a seascape?) as the boat glides across the emerald-green water. You can read about the tour from Phuket in our Phuket article. BetterView arranged this tour for us, in a traditional Thai long-tailed boat with Mr. Long and his Captain. The first part of the ride, from Koh Yao Yai to Panak Island was rough. Heavy rains and big waves left us both quietly wondering about the sturdiness of the long-tailed boat. As the vessel wasn’t certified by the US Coast Guard, we didn’t notice any life jackets. Thankfully, Mr. Long has been doing this for years and told us that we weren’t in any danger. Or, that we were in great danger. There was a bit of a language barrier.
Panak Island and Hong Island
The first stop is Panak Island and kayaking is the activity here. Thankfully, it had stopped raining and the sun had appeared. Both tours we took here had three-person kayaks, two of us and a guide. The guide is important, not only for doing the actual work in the kayak but for pointing out different items. The guide works his way through some sea caves, some of which are pretty narrow, and shows you many nooks and crannies that were naturally developed. You can see some mangrove trees inside the cave. We got back into the boat and headed over to Koh Hong, where we got back in the kayaks (we dropped a Go-Pro camera in the water here, if you find this, please let us know!) We went in and out of caves, with guides showing us rocks that looked like Buddha, Scooby-Doo, and elephants.!
Kaoh Phing Kan, aka James Bond Island
Jason was really looking forward to the third stop of the day, the site of a villain’s hideout from the 1974 James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun. It had stopped raining us now, and we enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings. Well, except for all of the vendors that were selling souvenirs, trinkets, and other crap. We had plenty of time to take pictures of the iconic rock, get in the cool water for a bit and explore a small area of the island.
Koh Panyee, the Muslim floating village
You can see Koh Panyee from far away, a bunch of buildings built on stilts, and a shimmering mosque all with a huge rock monolith as the backdrop. Koh Panyee is a remarkable village, with about 1,600 residents. The village consists of hundreds of huts, shacks, houses, restaurants, at least one mosque, a school and a floating soccer field, a health center, and lots of small souvenir shops, all on stilts above the shallow sea. The village was first a Malay fishing village, but now many of the locals make their living by the dozens of tourist boats that visit each day. This is a Muslim community, and while the locals are very friendly, inappropriate clothing that shows too much flesh (short skirts, short shorts) may result in a cold shoulder from a resident. On each of our visits here, this was around lunchtime and the tour included a feast of a meal at one of the restaurants here.
Ice Cream Cave and Lawa Island
The fifth and sixth (and final) stops of the day. At Ice Cream Cave we were given helmets and flashlights so we could go walk through the cave. Jason felt a little claustrophobic here. Once we were in, we noticed phenomenal formations of stalactites and stalagmites and crystals inside the cave. After walking a bit on the slippery cave floor, the cave started to narrow a bit. We eventually ended up in what feels like the inside of the island, with high limestone cliffs on all sides and a beautiful lagoon right in the middle. At Koh Lawa it was raining again, but the boat stopped and let people hop in for a short swim. It was warmer in the water than on the boat. This brief stop was a nice way to end the day.
Scuba Diving
We went diving with Elixer Dive and were joined by people from all over the world; England, Australia, Israel, and our dive masters from the Czech Republic. We dove at Shark Point, where we saw colorful corals, lots of marine life, and reef sharks, and at the King Cruiser wreck, which is a car ferry that sank that is now teeming with coral and more marine life, including barracudas and turtles.
Relaxing and Last Day
On our last day on Koh Yao Yai, we spent the morning listening to the Cubs World Series game and then took our last scooter ride around the island. We stopped for an amazing, and cheap, Thai massage and some delicious Thai iced tea.
We then left for our speedboat ride back to Phuket and to the JW Marriott, where we were upgraded to an incredible suite with a large wrap-around deck that offered a view of the resort's gardens and a phenomenal view of the Sea. We were guests at a Platinum Member reception with appetizers and drinks, where we met the executive chef, the exercise director, and the guest relations person at JW. We also got a relaxing chair massage and then went to dinner at the Thai restaurant on the Marriott property. So good. Our last meal in Thailand. Sadly, we had to leave the next morning for the airport to begin our trip home.
Where We Ate in Koh Yao Yai
Ban Rim Nam - Our favorite place on the island, we ate there three different times
Several fantastic meals at BetterView
Chada Cafe, known for their iced coffee
Chill Chill @ Pai - a small lunch spot with a beautiful view
Jikgo Bar & It Daeng
Hillside Resort
