I arrived on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand last week from Bangkok. The island and its smaller neighbor, Koh Nang Yuan, sit 1.5 hours by boat from the mainland and 2 hours north of the larger islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. Koh Tao is known for its spectacular diving and for certifying more divers than any single location in the world per year. Having come here specifically to dive myself, I can see the appeal. The island is beautiful, cheap, and the weather is good 11 months of the year. There are a variety of accommodation meeting all price points and restaurants and food carts of every cuisine.

The cheapest way to get here is with an overnight train from Bangkok first to Chumphon which takes 9 hours. Then you board a 30 minute bus to the ferry which takes another 90 minutes. All in the trip costs just $33. If you can’t stomach such lengthy train travel, you can get here much faster via a flight to Koh Samui from Bangkok for $130 and then a 2 hour ferry ride for $15.

The little island of Koh Nang Yuan is a 10 minute longtail ride northwest of Koh Tao. The private island resort charges a 100 baht ($3) entry fee to non-guests. Once there, check out the lookout point trail where I took this shot, walk the crushed coral beach, and snorkel the shallows. Makes for a nice half day trip.