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| Ocean kayaking near Pearl Bay on Koh Thalu |
The day began as many do in Thailand. Tiger groggily climbed out of bed and staggered over to the living room. After some clattering of dishes and the soft whirring of the coffee machine, he drew the curtains, sipping on a hot cup of joe while watching the sun slowly rise over the waking city of Bangkok. Bird woke up shortly after, joining Tiger at the breakfast table.
Bird unexpectedly announced her desire to travel, suggesting the small island of Koh Kood, situated near Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, as a potential destination. Surprised but intrigued, Tiger countered by suggesting a visit to Koh Chang, which translates to elephant island in English even though there are no elephants there. In due course, Koh Samed, Hua Hin, and even Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay came up.
Finally, Tiger suggested something he had heard about: far beyond Hua Hin, but closer to Bangkok than the famous (infamous?) island of Koh Tao, lay a small island called Koh Thalu. Bird thought the 400km (250mi) distance, a minimum five-hour drive at the best of times, was too far. Tiger disagreed, and Bird eventually demurred.
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Today’s post may read like an advertisement
It isn’t – we receive no compensation in any form – but our stay at Koh Talu Island Resort was such an unexpectedly phenomenal experience we decided we might as well spread awareness of it. The island is unique, a genuine tropical paradise. Distance from the capitol makes accessibility difficult, resulting in obscurity among even the Bangkok expat community. So join us today as we travel to the island of Koh Thalu!
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| Koh Thalu as seen from the mainland |
Koh Thalu is a tropical paradise, replete with white sand beaches and clear waters near the main bays. The island is privately-held, meaning that only boats with permission may land on the island. The single resort on the island is positioned across two bays with natural white sand beaches. The ocean is relatively calm on the mainland-facing western shore (which is where the resort is situated), and rougher on the ocean-facing eastern shore.
Koh Talu Island Resort is full board and all-inclusive. This means complementary meals are provided by the hotel, within set meal times. Complementary (voluntary) activities are scheduled for intervals throughout the day to provide guests with the option of keeping busy. Additionally, use of snorkeling gear, kayaks, stand up paddle boats, and mini catamarans are also complementary. Scuba diving is available to PADI-certified divers for an additional fee.
Tiger and Bird recommend a three-day, two-night stay at a minimum (possibly three-night max, unless you are traveling in a large party) as an ideal timeframe to enjoy all that the island has to offer. Boats depart a small marina (using this term loosely) on the mainland for Koh Thalu twice a day; once at 10am to accommodate guests bused from Hua Hin, and again in the afternoon around 2:30pm for guests driving themselves to the resort. Free parking is available at the marina. We managed to catch the 10am boat by leaving Bangkok at 5am and only making a short bathroom break on the way down to the dock.
The first impressions of Koh Thalu are provided as the speedboat stops for guests to take photos of the northwestern cliff face of the island. Here, we quickly figured out how the island got its name: “Thalu” roughly translates to passing through, like an opening. The area seems to have a considerable amount of volcanic-like rock and red clay, creating strange, reddish formations.
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| Cliffside on the northwestern face of the island |
Soon after this, we were enthralled with the beauty of the crystal-clear waters around us as the speedboat moved past Pearl Bay towards the main resort.
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| Reef and clear waters as the boat skirts the island towards Pearl Bay |
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| Map of Koh Thalu. This image is uncompressed. You can download and zoom in for better viewing if you so desire |
Koh Talu Island Resort consists of two campuses, both of which face the mainland, resulting in a relatively tame ocean waters. The main campus lies along what the map refers to as the “Big Bay”, a natural white sand beach that stretches about 400m in length from the dock to a rocky point at the end of the bay. The dining hall, diving shop, office, and main dock are located here, as well as a majority of the free-for-use boats. Tiger and Bird recommend staying on this beach since it is more active.
Around the western point and accessible by an oceanside path is the quaint and sleepy Pearl Bay. Here is located the second campus of the resort, a set of beautiful and relatively new bungalows and small houses set among coconut and fir trees. Ultimately, if one is looking for modern amenities on a tropical island, this is the place to be. Here, the sandy beach stretches throughout the buildings, and small sand crabs can be seen digging tunnels into the sand during the day. The water in Pearl Bay is crystal clear, with myriads of small fish moving around the coral formations making for a fun snorkeling experience.
Below is a detailed schedule provided by the resort during our recent stay. Note that all the activities can keep you quite busy for a day or two! Squid fishing is much like regular fishing and turned out to be quite relaxing and enjoyable- just don’t forget to grab a cold beer before going out on the boat!
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Daily Island Schedule (as of January 2019)
Food
Breakfast 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Lunch 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Dinner 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Activities
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Snorkeling
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Trekking
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Squid Fishing
Scuba Diving – time varies, available on request for additional fee
Kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and miniature catamaran (complementary use)
Hotel
Check out time 11:30 AM
Boat departure for mainland 2:30 PM
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| Ocean kayak on the main beach |
The beach was perfect. Natural white sand. Picturesque bay with shimmering, clear waters. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and made extensive use of the paddle boards and kayaks. Then, when worn out, we enjoyed laying out on the beach with some adult beverages. The boats were all relatively new and in good working order. Additionally, whenever guests were out in the bay, resort employees manned a small beachside bar and kept an eye on the adventurers in the water.
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| Tropical paradise. An employee waits for the barge carrying the guests who have been snorkeling to return |
Hotel facilities, relative to international standards on the mainland, would probably be in the three to four star range. For an island, however, the facilities are great. For what it's worth, Tiger and Bird found their room to be very satisfactory.
Rooms near the Big Bay (not pictured) are actually small houses- large and beautifully made following traditional Thai design and construction. Our large Thai house had king-sized beds, a huge walking area, small closet, chairs and small tables, medium-sized refrigerator, and an enclosed bathroom with a rain shower.
The room itself was not fully sealed, following traditional Thai design, which allowed for some airflow from the outside (although, please note, all rooms do have air conditioning). Since all electricity on the island is provided through generators, the rooms themselves can be quite dark at night with limited lighting.
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| After-breakfast coffee. A basic cup of joe tastes even better when you have this view! |
The buffet meals provided at the resort were excellent! The food was naturally more Thai than international, but the quality was a pleasant surprise. Lunch and dinner usually consisted of perhaps six various Thai dishes (fish, chicken, etc), two made-to-order dishes, fresh tropical fruit (ripe mangoes, papaya, dragon fruit, pineapple), and dessert (mango sticky rice, crepe cake with strawberry sauce, fluffy chocolate cake).
Complementary beverages included three juices, water, coffee, and tea. Alcoholic beverages included wine coolers, beer, whisky, and wine (Tiger discovered the prices for these are quite reasonable relative to mainland hotels).
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| Walking along the shore from Big Bay to Pearl Bay |
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| Rocky formations around the southern point of the island |
Fully rested yet worn out from all the activity, Tiger and Bird reluctantly bid farewell to the delightful island of Koh Thalu and the equally delightful Koh Talu Island Resort. It was time for a drive back to the big city and a return to big city life. Oddly enough, although we had spent only several days on the island, it felt as if we had been away for several weeks! A true tropical retreat indeed- and a trip that we plan to repeat again in the near future.
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| Beautiful sunset at the end of a long and relaxing day |
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Next up, we'll move further north and explore the resort beach town of Hua Hin!
Previous post: Day trips to the Chonburi shore
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