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Koh Kood, Thailand is a large jungle-covered island with very little development situated in the Gulf of Thailand precariously close to Cambodia. It’s also known by the name Koh Kut. Not super popular yet among foreign tourists — this island has been a haunt for pirates bound for nearly lawless Cambodia and wealthy Thai vacationers sailing on their own private yachts for decades. But it’s truly a spectacular slice of paradise.
Let me just preface this Koh Kood Guide by saying, THIS is my favorite island in Thailand. Probably one of my favorite islands in the world for relaxing on white sand beaches and swimming–but not for snorkeling.
Literally, nothing compares to the Maldives however. And they are only a $90 flight from Bangkok. It’s also totally possible to visit on a budget. Be sure to check out my blog posts if you are interested. Or my full Thailand itinerary while you’re at it.
Your Complete Guide to Koh Kood
Koh Kood, Thailand is nestled up against Cambodia and in a lot of ways it reminded me of Koh Rong Sanloem. But it’s not popular with the backpacking crowd yet.
Don’t forget to pull out money from a gold ATMs (Krung Sri). These let you pull out 10,000 baht at one time with just the single 220 baht fee. There is one on the island.
Why Visit Koh Kood?
The beaches, obviously. The lack of tourists and rugged jungly vibe of this pirate island is just an added bonus.
The island has remained undeveloped and will likely remain that way, mostly because the entire Eastern half is a Thai Army base. This means no resorts or visitation of any kind of this part of Koh Kood’s shores. Its relative isolation is what made this place popular with pirates hiding their booty and what has also discouraged tourists from making the arduous bus + boat journey from Bangkok to Koh Kood.
But bus rides deter no backpackers. In all honestly, it’s not THAT difficult to get to. It’s just likely out of your way. But it’s 100% worth it.
Read More: My three (other) favorite islands in Thailand- Koh Libong, Koh Muk, and Koh Kradan.
The Best Time of Year to Visit Koh Kood
This is a super important piece of information that I feel like most blogs on Koh Kood gloss over.
While many Thai Islands like Koh Samui, Koh Lanta, and Koh Phangan are relatively serene and beautiful year-round, albeit with a little more afternoon rain— Koh Kood is practically closed for 6 months out of the year. During that half of the year, currents swell causing otherwise calm beaches to crash with unpredictable waves and poor weather. Ferries also run infrequently to the island during the off-season, mostly just to serve the people who live there.
Time to Visit: November-April
During the high season, you can expect that Koh Kood is generally a little pricier than other islands. This is because it has virtually no backpacker scene. The visiting crowd is typically older travelers or families looking for that postcard-perfect beach getaway at a very nice resort. Of those, there are plenty. Hostels on the other hand, not so much. But don’t let that discourage all you budget travelers. Koh Kood can still be very affordable.
How long should I stay on Koh Kood?
As long as you can! This island is paradise. But I would recommend no less than 3 nights using my Koh Kood Guide because of the ferry departure times. If you want a good mix of activity and relaxation while seeing the whole island— I say 5 days. You can easily add in a trip to Koh Mak and even stay on the island overnight with 5-7 days allotted for the region.
How to Get to Koh Kood
To reach Koh Kood island, you’ll have to transit through the small Southeastern town of Trat. To reach Trat, you’ll likely come from Bangkok (or Pattaya if you were unfortunate enough to visit the town).
I’ll break down the cheapest options here.
If you’re not necessarily looking for cheap you can always fly from Bangkok to Trat or from any other regional airport in Thailand. Just be warned your flight will most likely route through Bangkok.
Bangkok to Koh Kood
At the Mochit MiniBus Terminal in Bangkok (across the street from the Mochit Bus Terminal) you can buy a minibus ticket from Bangkok to Trat for 270 baht per person ($8) at ticket station C. It leaves several times per day (we took the one at 12:30 PM) but it would be best to go as early as possible.
This terminal has a few food shops, 7/11, and a coffee stand if you need breakfast.
The journey will take about 5 hours, after stopping once for lunch, and will drop you at the Trat bus terminal.
If you have arrived before 1 PM you could continue on to Koh Kood the same day by taking the 1:30 PM ferry BUT I don’t recommend it. Instead, stay one night at Pano Solar Guesthouse in Trat. It’s within walking distance or a 30 baht per person songthaew ride from the bus station and very close to the Trat night market which has lots of great local food stalls.
Another reason I suggest one night in Trat is that there is one ferry to Koh Kood (at 12:30 PM) that costs 350 baht per person. The rest are all 500 baht or more.
Trat to Koh Kood
When you wake up in Trat make sure to arrange your Koh Kood ferry with your homestay host. Preferably the night before. He will make sure a songthaew arrives at 10:45 to pick you up (for 70 baht each) to deposit you at the Princess Ferry office about a 45 min drive away. The ferry leaves from Laem Sok Pier. Your 350 baht per person ferry ticket covers your transport from the boat office to the pier, the 1.5-hour ferry itself, AND transport directly to your accommodation from the pier on Koh Kood island. This is awesome because the island is quite large and it’s unlikely you’ll be staying anywhere near the arrival pier.
You should arrange your ferry ticket with your host in Trat. He gets a small cut which helps his business survive and you don’t pay any extra. I promise you— it’s the cheapest way to the island.
If you don’t want to do the cheapest option from Trat to Koh Kut you can also do one of these ferry routes, some of which are on a catamaran…
Koh Kood Express
- 10 AM – 600 Baht
- 11:30 AM – 500 Baht
- 1:30 PM – 500 Baht
Don’t confuse your piers!
Travelers visiting Koh Chang (the most popular island in the region) will leave from Ao Thammachart pier. This is also 45-min for Trat but this pier does not sail to Koh Kood. Koh Chang is not recommended to visit (by me) because it’s overcrowded, overpriced, not as pretty, and super over-developed.
Koh Kood Guide to Getting Around
You will need to rent a motorbike to get around on Koh Kood. The island is large and the sights are far apart. Okay, not that far just a 15-20 min drive but still too far to walk. Unless you just want to sit on one beach the whole time you will need to rent a bike for 250 baht per day. Your guesthouse can arrange this.
Koh Kood Accommodation
As I mentioned Koh Kood is quite popular with the bougie luxury travelers. Because of this most accommodation options are $50+ per night with some being far more expensive like Koh Kood Resort ($87), Soneva Kiri ($1,077), and Tinkerbell Resort ($268). These alongside The Beach Natuaral Resort Koh Kood are supposedly the best Koh Kood hotels.
But two options run by the same Aussie host are budget-friendly. For about $20 or 700 baht per night, we snagged a private room at the centrally located Chor Chaba. While it’s not on a beach, it is within walking distance of two of the best beaches and far cheaper than all other options on the island.
A few other budget options are Ao Salat View, Koh Kood Garden House, and PD Guesthouse.
Best Places to Eat in Koh Kood
Koh Kood had a surprising amount of restaurants. Literally all over the island. But the best ones are again, within walking distance of Chor Chaba. The best budget ones with local food that is. Thai food is the absolute best.
- Chor Chaba itself has great tofu dishes + a wonderful Muesli with fruit for breakfast. And fresh press coffee for when you just can’t handle another packet of instant.
- Full Moon Bar.
- Chill Out. Exceptional food. Get there before 7:30 PM or they will likely be full.
- Chonthicha Seafood. This is one of two places inside the small fisherman village on the other side of the island that’s a favorite spot for pirates. The seafood is good, fresh, but not cheap. We paid 500 baht for seafood fried rice and a whole fried fish that was perfectly cooked. It’s pretty cool to visit and eat right on the water.
- Night Market. Every evening on the road to the Khlong Chao waterfall a night market pops up. Here you can get cheap grilled fish (180 baht), sausages, Pad Thai, and beer. There are also a few good used clothing shops here.
There is a shop up the hill from Chor Chaba where you can buy all sorts of snacks including cheap beer and wine. You’ll see it labeled on maps.me and it’s very easy to find. There aren’t many shops around.
Things to do in Koh Kood
It’s perfectly acceptable to spend your time on the island laying in the sun and swimming in the crystal clear warm oceans that kiss the white sandy island. But there are some fun things to do and see in our Koh Kood Guide. Here’s a quick collection of the non-beach attraction in Koh Kood for my fellow restless souls.
Warning! There are lots of sandflies on Koh Kood. Coconut oil is a great solution to prevent the bites. You can bring your own or buy some high-quality stuff on the island. There is also Malaria on this island. Be sure to use lots of mosquito repellent.
Head to Khlong Chao Waterfall for an early morning swim.
This is a popular swimming hole on the island and gets busy mid-day. But in the early morning hours, you’ll have the jungle all to yourself.
If you are visiting during the off-season you can also hike to Khlong Yai Kee waterfall and Huang Nam Khiao waterfall. They become basically dry during the busy dry season though.
Visit the Fisherman village
There’s a very beautiful viewpoint along the drive. The village is called Laem Ao Yai. This is where the old pirates have congregated now that they have realized tourism makes even more money than pirating.
Catch an epic sunset at Sunset Beach
This is one of my favorite beaches on the island. It’s by no means remote or free of fellow travelers but it’s absolutely perfect for a sunset swim and maybe a beer shared on the sand.
Jump off the stunning pier at Ban Ao Phrao (my favorite beach)
This beach is incredible. Hands down my favorite. At high tide, it is the most swimmable. It’s mostly undeveloped with only a few small hotels and guesthouses on the shore.
Take a snorkeling trip to Koh Rok Marine Park
This is where the marine park is located and even at 1400 baht per person and an hour from the island, it’s the only good place to snorkel from Koh Kood. The water here is spectacularly clear but there is very little live coral and fish on and around Koh Kood.
Some people recommend snorkeling at Bang Bao Beach but we checked and there was very little to see even in the rockier area of the beach. There’s also an underwater sculpture park on Koh Kood but that wasn’t our kind of thing.
Padi Certified? Try a dive!
Paradise Diver comes very highly recommended.
Rent a sea kayak or SUP and explore the shores at Bang Bao Beach.
I don’t recommend splurging on a clear kayak (300 baht per hour). As I mentioned, there isn’t too many fish so you might as well just have a cheaper regular one.
Hop over to Koh Mak.
We didn’t make it here so I can’t speak too highly. But from what I’ve heard it’s an even more remote destination than Koh Kood. Our guesthouse owner in Trat recommends it highly for those who love nature. He runs a beautiful seaside bungalow (Pano Resort for $16 per night) there as well.
Best Beaches on Koh Kood
No Koh Kood guide would be complete without the best beaches. The beaches in Koh Kood are exceptional all around. My advice? Stay away from the main ports and towns for clean water and always go at high tide! High tide made all the beaches prettier and more swimmable. Look the tides up online — but typically the morning hours are best.
Ban Ao Phrao Beach
100% this is our favorite beach on Koh Kood for swimming. The waves were minimal, the water was crystal clear, and you can jump off the pier into the sea. It’s palm-fringed and picturesque. The kind of beach you see on postcards with huge swathes of white sand and enough shade for lounging. There are a few hotels on the beach but no huge resorts— another major perk.
Bang Bao Beach
I would say this was our second favorite beach for daytime use. It’s also the most popular and it can feel a little crowded with all of the insane resorts rimming the shore. This is the beach Koh Kood Resort is on. We enjoyed it because it also had a diving pier, shallow warm clear water, and it had an array of activities you could do.
This is where you can rent sea kayaks!
The only downside to this beach (besides the crowds) is that the beach itself although white and soft — it is rather narrow. Just a thin line of sand by the water. There can also be a lot of jellyfish when the tide turns. We saw two people get stung back to back when the current changed. If you do get stung be sure to put some lime or vinegar on it after scraping off the invisible barbs and tentacles while in the salt water. The resorts here have special stuff to help you out with the sting too.
We also saw some tree snakes here. We looked it up and it was a Golden Tree Snake which is venomous but not harmful to humans.
Sunset Beach
This one also tops our list of best beaches in Koh Kood. Facing west it offers exceptional sunset views and the beach itself is huge!! Great for a sunset swim or stroll.
We did not like Nang Yai Beach. It was rocky, overcrowded, and a little dirty. Most bloggers disagreed in their Koh Kood Guide so I don’t know if we visited at the wrong time of day or if they have changed over the years but I wasn’t impressed.
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