"Ko Tao" Ko Tao by steevie_wanders

Ko Tao Travel Guide: 218 reviews and 524 photos

Ko Tao - Monsoon moments

Ko Tao is a beautiful, small, mountainous island, offering any number of different types of holiday experience. My visit was during the rainy season, but despite the grey skies and occasional storm, I managed to enjoy some great Bouldering (a type of rock climbing), sea kayaking, swimming and snorkelling.
One 3 day storm meant that no fresh supplies could reach the island, nor could any fishing boats venture out. This was soon reflected in the restricted menus of the local restaurants. Although not good for the livelihoods of the local people, this storm and it's immediate effects, made sure you knew you were on a small island, and mother nature was in charge - quite exciting really!
Despite the bad weather, it was still pleasant to swim, indeed some days it felt warmer in the water, then out of it. There is something deeply calming about swimming underwater during a rainstorm, and hearing the raindrops plopping into the surface of the sea, a few feet above you!
Ko Tao was also a lovely place to relax and do next to nothing. Plenty of bars and sea front restaurants to load up on goodies, and read a book or watch a particularly good storm whisk in.
I would like to return to Ko Tao to see the other side of the coin - the dry season, and sunny blue skies. Perhaps my only gripe was that I only saw one sunset in 2 weeks (an important part of beach life for me).

Bouldering

Jungle bouldering

I spent some really quality time Bouldering whilst in Ko Tao. This particular form of rock climbing is a concentrated discipline, sometimes consisting of only a few moves up or across a large rock, or boulder. It's generally performed without ropes, just using a crash-pad below to break any falls. It can be done with a partner (perhaps a little safer), or alone - a very peaceful experience.
During my trip to Ko Tao, I contacted James of Zen Gecko climbing, who acted as my guide for a couple of days, to get me into the swing of things again, after a long break from climbing. He has an informative website about bouldering in Ko Tao: www.zengecko.com

Last visit to Ko Tao: Dec 2005
Intro Written Jan 18, 2006
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Reviews (2)

Try sea kayaking combined with rock climbing - Ko Tao

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Climbing and Bouldering Things to Do (2)

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Comments (2)

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SLLiew Aug 9, 2006 at 9:14 AM

Brings back memories of Ko Tao. We also went to Ko Nyuyen which has 3 bays coming together.
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mizzzthanggg Jan 26, 2006 at 12:52 PM

hiya steevie! ta very much for the bday wishes! great tips here, now this is something i didn't quite get up to in koh tao ;-)