8 Hotels on
Koh Tao, Surat Thani
That We've Reviewed

If the Koh Tao in your head is Sairee Beach buzzing with bars and dive schools, Chintakiri Resort is the opposite of that picture, and it's why it ties for the highest score on this list at 8.7 · it's 19 tropical wooden bungalows climbing the hillside in the quiet Chalok Baan Kao area to the south, almost every one with a full sea view, plus a hillside pool with a lovely view that reviews mention again and again, and real air-con wooden rooms a step up from the fan huts common around the island · it suits couples and anyone wanting a quiet boutique that isn't diving-focused, starting around ฿1,900/night · the honest caveats: it's on a hillside, so there are stairs up and down, it's about 200 metres from Chalok beach, and there's no in-house dive centre like the diving-focused resorts.

If Sairee Beach is the buzzing main strip full of restaurants and bars, Koh Tao Heights Pool Villas is the stay that chose to hide away up on the North Sairee hillside, above all that bustle, quiet, private and adult-focused · every villa is around 120 sq.m, with a private infinity pool plus a jacuzzi, facing out over Sairee bay and Koh Nang Yuan in a panorama, the pool-villa option couples eye for a special celebration · it starts around ฿5,500/night with a score of 8.7 · the honest caveats: the hill road is steep enough that you'll rely on the villa's taxi shuttle, getting out to beachside food isn't as easy as at a beachfront stay, and it's the highest price on the list.

Koh Tao is a divers' island, and Sairee Beach is its busiest main strip, restaurants, bars, cafés and dive shops lined up by the dozen the whole way along · Sairee Cottage Resort sits right in the heart of it, one step down onto the sand and a few minutes to everything, with two swimming pools (one with a swim-up bar), a beachfront restaurant with sunset views, and an in-house PADI 5-Star dive centre · the real selling point is that it's the best value on the list, starting at just ฿700/night, with a score of 8.7 from a big base of 1,264 reviews · the honest caveats: the cheapest rooms are basic fan bungalows, and being in the heart of the bar strip, there's loud music at night, so light sleepers should pick a unit deeper in the garden.

Koh Tao is better known for divers' bungalows than luxury resorts, but Jamahkiri Dive Resort & Spa is the closest the island comes to a true luxury resort · Balinese-style villas and pavilions step down the cliff on Ao Thian Ok (Shark Bay) to the south of the island, looking out over an open turquoise bay, with a clifftop pool and poolside bar, a private snorkelling bay below the resort, a large spa and an in-house dive centre · it suits anyone wanting luxury plus diving in one place, starting around ฿3,500/night, with a score of 8.3 from a big base of 1,411 reviews · the honest caveats: it's a cliff, so there really are a lot of stairs up and down, it's far from Sairee Beach so you'll need a car, and some rooms are starting to age relative to the rack rate.

If you've ever heard that Tanote Bay is one of the prettiest snorkelling spots on Koh Tao, Mountain Reef Beach Resort is the main resort planted right on it · it's a quiet, remote east-coast bay with no town to stroll like Sairee Beach, and the draw is that swimming just a few metres off the sand puts you over healthy coral, shoals of fish and sometimes sea turtles · there are both waterfront rock-side bungalows and affordable fan huts up the forested slope, starting around ฿1,100/night with a score of 8.3 · the honest caveats: the cheapest rooms are simple fan huts up the hill that you have to climb to, it's remote so you'll be taking a taxi across the island, and the choice of restaurants around the bay is thin.

If most Koh Tao stays are budget dive hostels or buzzing Sairee Beach resorts, Sensi Paradise Beach Resort is the quieter, more characterful alternative · it's around 40 wooden bungalows spread through a shady tropical garden on Mae Haad beach, which is both the pier and the island's main village, so you step off the catamaran at Mae Haad and walk a few minutes to get here, and you can walk out to eat or shop in the village · there are 2 swimming pools and a beachfront restaurant with sunset views, starting around ฿2,900/night with a score of 8.3 from 1,736 reviews · the honest caveats: they're charming old wooden bungalows but some are starting to age, and Mae Haad is the pier, so it gets busier than a quiet bay when the boats come and go.

Talk about Koh Tao, the island that certifies the most new divers in the world, and Ban's Diving Resort is a name almost everyone has heard · it's a big PADI 5-Star dive resort open since 1993, right on Sairee Beach, the island's busiest main strip, full of restaurants, bars and dive shops · the place is like a little village, with 4 swimming pools, a beachfront restaurant, a sunset-view bar and an in-house dive centre, so you can learn to dive and stay in one place, starting at just ฿700/night, with a score of 8.0 from the biggest review base on the list, 2,293 · the honest caveats: the vibe is a dive camp, so it's busy, the cheapest rooms are basic fan huts, and it's in the bar strip, so it's loud at night.

If the Koh Tao in your head is Sairee Beach buzzing with dive shops and bars, Haadtien Beach Resort is the opposite pole, a villa resort tucked at the far south of the island on Ao Thian Ok (Shark Bay), a quiet private bay with its own white beach around 380 metres long · the draw is that you can snorkel straight off the sand, clear water with coral and shoals of fish without getting on a boat, and 70 villas spread through a coconut grove of over 45 rai · it suits couples and anyone wanting the most private beach possible, starting around ฿3,200/night with a score of 7.8 · the honest caveats: it's a closed, remote bay, so you arrive by taxi/boat, getting out to eat beyond the resort isn't easy, and the villas are spread across the slope, so some involve a lot of stairs.