Koh Cheuk, Trang
Snorkeling the Colorful Soft Coral

🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026

The Trang sea has plenty of well-known islands, but ask "where's the best snorkeling?" and locals and boat guides will give you the same answer: Koh Cheuk. The island itself is two limestone rocks poking out of the water with a few trees on top — no sand, nothing to walk around. The boat ties up to a buoy and you get straight in to look at the coral around the rocks. The draw is the colorful soft coral growing thickly on the underwater rock walls, which is hard to find at the average snorkeling spot.

What makes Koh Cheuk special

The name "Koh Cheuk" (literally "Rope Island") comes from the sea whips and sea fans that grow in long, rope-like strands along the rock walls. The real selling point is the soft coral that blooms in vivid clusters — different from the other Trang islands, which lean toward hard corals like staghorn. The water here is fairly clear and shallow, so you can see the coral from the surface, which suits people who mostly snorkel and don't want to dive deep.

• Colorful soft coral — orange, white, yellow, purple and red clusters along the rock walls. This is the highlight people come to photograph underwater.
• Sea fans and sea whips — swaying with the current, and the reason behind the island's name.
• Staghorn and bushy corals — the hard-coral reef in the shallows around the island is still in good shape.
• Schools of bright fish — sergeant fish, clownfish and parrotfish swim in close enough to see clearly.
• Clear, easy viewing — when the water is calm the visibility is good and you can see the coral while you're still floating on the surface.

How to get to Koh Cheuk

Koh Cheuk sits within Hat Chao Mai National Park, about 12 km from Pak Meng pier in Sikao district. There's no scheduled boat straight to the island, since you can't actually land on it — everyone comes on a day-trip tour boat that hits several islands in one loop. The piers used most often are Pak Meng and Khuan Tung Ku. People staying on Koh Lanta can also take a speedboat tour across to the Trang sea.

• From Pak Meng (Sikao) — the main route, about 40 km from Trang town, and most tours pick you up from your hotel in town.
• From Khuan Tung Ku pier — another pier Trang-sea tour boats leave from, close to the Koh Mook area.
• From Koh Lanta — for people staying on Lanta, speedboats run across for the Trang 4-island tour.
• Longtail vs speedboat — longtails are cheaper but slower and they rock with the swell; speedboats are faster and steadier but cost more.

The Trang 4-island tour — Koh Cheuk is on it

The most popular way to do it is a Trang-sea day-trip tour with Koh Cheuk as one of the stops. The favorite programs tack on the Emerald Cave, Koh Kradan, and one or two more islands, so you get snorkeling, beach time and a cave all in one day. These are the programs you'll see most often on the market.

A sample 1-day Koh Cheuk day trip

Here's the overall shape of a Trang-sea day trip with Koh Cheuk as the highlight. The real timing shifts with the tides and the weather, but the outline looks roughly like this.

When to go, and when the island is closed

The Trang sea is best during high season, November to April — calm seas, clear water, and good underwater visibility so the coral shows up sharply. In the monsoon the swell is strong and the water turns murky. Importantly, Koh Cheuk and Koh Waen close under the national park's annual notice, roughly 1 June – 30 September every year, to let nature recover. During that window tours won't stop at Koh Cheuk, so if you're coming specifically to see the soft coral here, avoid the monsoon.

• November–April — the best stretch: calm seas, clear water, boats running daily.
• June–September — Koh Cheuk and Koh Waen close to recover, and tours skip this spot.
• An early start helps — the sun isn't as harsh, the water is calmer, and you make it in time to swim through the Emerald Cave at low tide.

Park fees and costs to budget for

Koh Cheuk is inside Hat Chao Mai National Park, which charges an entry fee that some tours include and others have you pay on the spot. Check this clearly when you book. The current rates are:

• Park fee, Thai nationals — 40 THB for adults, 20 THB for children.
• Park fee, foreign visitors — 200 THB for adults, 100 THB for children.
• Hotel transfer — some operators add around 200 THB/person for an in-town pickup; Trang airport costs a bit more.
• Tips for the guide/crew — up to you and not required, but a nice gesture if the guide looks after you well.

Who Koh Cheuk is and isn't for

To be straight with you, Koh Cheuk is a "snorkeling spot," not an "island to hang out on." If you're after a sandy beach to lie on, seaside restaurants, or somewhere to stay on the island, none of that is here — you'd want Koh Kradan or Koh Mook instead. But if you love snorkeling and want to see vivid soft coral, Koh Cheuk is the best value in the Trang sea, and because it's already part of the 4-island tour, you get snorkeling, beach and a cave all in one trip.