Best known for being the diving mecca of Thailand, coral-reef fringed Ko Tao is also full of creative, considerate locals making their little island the spot for on-trend wellness, food and wine that would be the envy of any Bangkok neighborhood, and a sustainability-forward way of life that inspires travelers to tread lightly. Here’s our four-day guide to Ko Tao… once you sink into this eco-island, we’re betting you’ll book at least another four more.

I’D LIVED IN THAILAND for 11 years and had never been to Ko Tao until this summer. What a mistake I had been making. Blessed with natural reefs and crazy-clear waters brimming with fish, sharks and turtles, it has long been known as a diving mecca, and you can’t go five steps without tripping over a dive school. As it turns out, you also don’t have to travel far for solid Burmese or Mexican food, wellness-craze-of-the-moment ice baths, lush jungle-clad co-working spaces, and – perhaps the largest surprise of all – lengthy, organic-heavy wine lists worthy of the best Bangkok restaurants, with island-low prices to boot. 

Ko Tao is the smallest of a trio of sister islands nestled in the northwesternmost corner of the Gulf of Thailand, with internationally famous, luxury-resort-populated Samui and plant-forward wellness wonderland Pha Ngan, once better known for its full-moon parties. The easiest way to get to Ko Tao is to fly to Samui, take a car to the pier, and then board a two-hour ferry that first stops in Pha Ngan. I should have put “easiest” in quotes – but that’s actually the beauty of the place. The only people on Ko Tao are the ones who really want to be there. The effort required means you need to have real intention. You’ll want to plan a visit for at least several days to make the trip worth it… and you’re likely to want to extend your stay once you arrive and see all the natural beauty and local creativity buzzing all around.

I hardly need to put Ban’s Diving Resort on a recommendations list, as it is a powerhouse on Tao with a smooth operation, from a cafe near the ferry pier to their multi-wing hotel on either side of the main street that cascades down the hill and winds up at a beachfront resto-bar that’s both kid-friendly and the spot for a post-dive drink (or, on Sundays, hilariously, a raucous beer-pong tournament). It’s not fancy, but it’s comfortable, clean and convenient – they run their own dive school and have several pools for practice, and sit smack in the middle of Sairee Beach. From Ban’s lobby, you can walk the entire neighborhood. 

Watch our visit to Ko Tao with artist and environmentalist Notep, part of our Secret Thailand series, here:

On one side you’ll find Catta Go, a little streetside restaurant with a simple, but simply genius idea. They work with local fishermen to get sustainably caught fish, which they dry-age, both to bring out the flavors and to preserve in an environmentally friendly way. The fish is cooked in the method of your choosing, and served with options for various rices, sauces and marinades. After one bite I declared I could eat this simple meal daily, and was promptly informed that a new location in The Commons in Bangkok had just opened. Yay!

On the other side of Ban’s is a little alley called “Island Dive Club Road,” but that we took to calling “Wholesome Street.” Here’s you’ll find the best breakfast (croissants, coffee, salmon avocado toast) at Nui Bakery, Beijing-forward spicy Chinese at Stuffed North China Taste, a natural-wine bar straightforwardly called Weed and Wine, and three storefronts from quiet eco-warrior Khun May that are all about maki ng life better.

May and Co General Store is filled with organic household cleaning products; handmade, locally sourced, sometimes upcycled home goods and jewelry; and some fantastic coffee. PlasTao is a little two-room storefront that collects plastic from all over the island, shreds it and runs it through an injection molding machine to create a kaleidoscope of cups, coasters, games and more. You can take workshops to make your own dishes or art work (perfect for kids or kids-at-heart on a rainy day), or commission them for custom products branded with your logo, as Thai musician, artist and environmentalist Notep does with her jewelry line. Finally, there’s Pippin’s Gelato shop, which, well, I don’t have stats on their eco-cred but doesn’t homemade ice cream always make life better?

Along the way to the other two walking streets in Sairee, you’ll pass Whitening – a toes-in-the-sand upscale restaurant with a surprisingly great gin list – and Charcoal Bay, which could be a Bangkok lounge with a shockingly good wine list. The sizable Burmese population on Ko Tao ensures that Bambu is the spot for authentic Myanmar food. Get the tea leaf salad, bamboo shoots, and corn fritters. Suggest dining there on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday or Friday for front-row seats for the pub crawl that parades through the streets, starting at the ladyboy bar next door.

You mustn’t spend your entire time in Sairee, though, as Aow Leuk Bay beckons with the kind of tropical-perfection beach of everyone’s dreams that’s rarely a reality. Clear, calm, crazy-blue waters good for paddleboarding, with not-far-offshore reefs for snorkeling and beginner diving. Hop a longtail boat from here to nearby bays or islands where we spotted thousand-strong schools of fish and a pair of sea turtles. All the better if your boat is crewed by four golden retrievers who swim, surf, and fetch pollution from the sea. (Track down the lovely married duo behind the “Fanta Money Boat Tour,” Lung Chai and Pa Lai, for a good-boy fueled snorkeling adventure you’ll never forget – and your IG engagement will thank you for.) 

Overlooking Aow Leuk Bay is the over-the-top charming Baan Talay Koh Tao, a hotel whose accommodations are a collection of cottages, huts and glamping tents designed to offer privacy immersed in nature, capitalizing on open-breezes to reduce energy use. Kind and multi-talented founder Devrim Zahir also offers yoga, sound baths, ice baths, dive lessons and coral regeneration activities. Take your time and relax into this place. In fact, change your tickets home and relax a few days longer. That’s what we did.

Article sponsored by Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Images by Fat Mango Studios, unless otherwise noted.

Layovers don’t have to be a bummer – just make sure they’re long enough to get out of the airport and into the destination. We spent 12 hours in Taipei on a layover between Japan and Australia and flew away wanting more, but totally energised from a day full of exploration. Here’s our ultimate one-day itinerary for Taipei. You might even call it “Taipei 101.”

TAIPEI IS A BRIGHT AND FRENETIC assault on the senses. It can overwhelm even the most seasoned traveller, and if you happen to be there on a stopover, don’t just stay in the airport scrolling on your phone while eating overpriced food. No, friends, my advice is to get onto the metro and submit yourself to the frantic nature of this modern Asian metropolis. Let yourself become consumed by the city’s lights, colour and sounds. 

Taipei vibrates with the tones of Tokyo, the sophistication of Singapore and the alluring hedonism of Bangkok. I happened to find myself in the Taiwanese capital on a 12-hour layover between Okinawa, Japan, and Melbourne, Australia, with China Airlines, and it turned out to be a full day of fun. So, let me share my one-day itinerary in Taipei; if you have more time, good on you, but if not, this’ll give you a great taste of one of the world’s tastiest towns.

12:40 pm – Taipei Taoyuan Airport

Taipei Taoyuan Airport is pretty good as far as transfer airports go. The gates in the international transfer area are themed with different Taiwanese environmental or cultural adornments, making it a destination in and of itself. Still, you want to hot foot it out of there as quickly as possible after arriving because you’ve got a bit of a journey on the metro to reach Taipei 101 — and we’ve got a full itinerary to pile into just one day.

Taoyuan Airport MRT to Taipei Station = NT$160 (US$5.20)
www.tymetro.com.tw

2:15 pm – Taipei 101

For a short time, this colossal skyscraper held the title of the highest in the world until the Burj Khalifa in Dubai came along. Most impressive are the elevators, which transport you up 89 floors in just 37 seconds. With seating areas adorned with polar bears, floral arbours, and swings, all with 360-degree views of the city, this is a clear front runner for your first stop on a clear day. On a not-so-clear day, you can watch the giant steel ball at the centre of the building sway like a pendulum to counterbalance the movement of the skyscraper in high winds.

Taipei 101 Floor 89 = NT$600 (US$19.60)
stage.taipei101mall.com.tw

2:45 pm – kafeD Taipei 101 Shop

Baristas brew coffee on the 89th floor of Taipei 101 with scientific precision. A Salted Bonn Cherry Blossom Latte is hard to avoid. But really, any caffeine at this altitude is welcome and necessary, as you’ll need the energy for the rest of your whirlwind visit through Taipei.

Salted Bonn Cherry Blossom Latte = NT$180 (US$5.90)
www.kafed.com.tw

3:30 pm – Dihua Street

Dihua Street is the oldest street in Taipei, and the architecture throughout the Dadaocheng, Datong District is simply stunning. It’s a gorgeous spot for wandering in the early afternoon, traversing between laneways where century-old businesses and temples sit alongside modern cafes and beer bars. Don’t miss the City of God Temple on your visit, built-in 1859. This sacred Taoist temple has been beautifully maintained and is known as the temple for finding love.

4:45 pm – Twatutia Coffee Design & aLife Project

Around the cobblestoned corners of the historic Dihua Street, the city’s ambience consumes you in the fading afternoon light. Dihua is not a place for just textiles, old stores and traditional medicine. Scratch the surface a little further, and you’ll find young Taiwanese gathering around baked treats and cups of coffee beneath flickering Edison globes. The baristas and bartenders wouldn’t be out of place in Melbourne. Twatutia Coffee is a cafe-cum-homewears studio that roasts its beans and serves your coffee alongside traditional Taiwanese mooncakes with sweet taro yolk.

Romano Espresso (served with honey and soda) with a Taiwanese mooncake = NT$250 (US$8.15)
www.instagram.com/twatutia

6:00 pm – Ximending 

Ximending is your chance to wander and look up in awe at the city above you. Only by looking at the buildings can you fully appreciate the city’s vast scale. The streets around Ximending are Taipei’s version of Shinjuku. The city’s main artery is simultaneously bustling with motorbike traffic and pedestrians, cafes, underground bars, gaming machines and flickering neon. Get lost in Ximending for 20 minutes, and you’ll fall in love with this city forever.

6:20 pm – 梁山泊小籠湯包 (Dumplings Ximending)

Blink, and you’ll miss this local, heaving market restaurant tucked in the side streets of Ximending. The only advice I can give is to plug the name into Google and follow your nose. There are two options for food here: “set menu a” or “set menu b.” Set menu b will unearth a pork dumpling experience that will genuinely change you. Consider this your warning – if you eat here, you’ll never enjoy another dumpling anywhere else again.

Set menu “b” = NT$120 (US$3.90)
www.tripadvisor.com.tw

7:00 pm – Ximen Beer Bar

They take their craft beer seriously in Taiwan. At Ximen Beer Bar, dozens of local draught beer options and cans are available in a self-service fridge, making it a magnet for young travellers and local beer lovers. There is a minimum service charge, but that’s OK because you’ll need to try at least three glasses of beer for the whole experience.

Minimum service charge = NT$350 (US$11.40)
www.facebook.com/XimenBeerBar

8:05 pm – HANKO#60 Bar

Might feel a bit early in the day for speakeasy vibes, but we’ve only got one shot on this Taipei tight itinerary and HANKO#60 deserves a drink (or two, if you drink fast). To find this hidden bar, you must first look for the innocuous Bruce Lee or Leonardo Di Caprio cinema posters on a dimly lit, grey wall. At first glance, it seems more like a fridge or factory door. When you peek through the small cut-out hole in the door, a doorkeeper should let you inside, where they will guide you to a tall table, and the madness of Hanko begins. Barmen flare their bottles of spirits and muddles across the room while silhouetted against deep red neon signs. Most cocktails are movie- or cinema-themed, so my True Blood cocktail came in a dry ice-wrapped blood donation bag.

True Blood Cocktail = NT$400 (US$13)
www.facebook.com/hanko60

9:00 pm – Taoyuan Airport MRT 

You’ll want to return on the train no later than 9 p.m. for the 45-minute journey to Terminal 2 at Taipei Taoyuan Airport, so don’t linger at Hanko#60. Don’t let Taipei’s metro fool you either, as you’ll need to rush to Taipei Main Station before you get on the specific Airport MRT.

Taoyuan Airport MRT to Taipei Station = NT$160 (US$5.20)
www.tymetro.com.tw

9:50 pm – Arrive back at Taipei Airport

Remember you’ve already checked your bags onto your flight, and you should also have your boarding pass, so all you’ll need to do is head through airport security and go straight for the gate. If you’re flying with China Airlines and have Sky Priority status like me, one of the four China Airlines VIP lounges is a very comfortable spot to grab a shower and a Taiwan Lager before your departure to, for example, Australia at 11:50 p.m.

news.china-airlines.com/bvct/VipLounge

This month, T+L celebrates travel by highlighting all the wonder and awe you can find in this great, wide world of ours.

I RECENTLY READ AN article that inspired me. It was about how injecting awe into your life can change everything for the better. Awe, according to Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, is a powerful emotion that can generate a positive physical response and the amazing thing about it is we can find it everywhere if we just take a minute to be mindful.

“Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world,” Keltner told the New York Times in an interview about his book, “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life,” and what better way to describe the essence of why we travel. Shift your worldview, change your perspective, and guess what. Not only do you think you’re washed over with a sense of calm, your heart rate actually slows, your breathing deepens, you release oxytocin, your digestion eases, and – perhaps best of all in this hyperconnected world – you quiet that self-critical voice in your head.

I bet we could all think of a favorite travel experience that meets some of the top examples of experiencing awe. Small sightings of singular beauty. Immersing in nature. Participating in collective movement. Going on a pilgrimage. Witnessing the world through a child’s eye is a good one, and I need only think of watching my toddler nieces and their pure joy in the waves in Phuket. “Hoorayyyy!” rings in my ears. and brings a smile to my face.

The vastness of the universe? For me, that would be during the inky nights of a weeklong sailing in the Mergui, the archipelago off the west coast of Burma where there’s zero cell reception but there are a gajillion stars. It made me think in wonder of the real intrepid sailors who centuries ago navigated our world’s waters just by the celestial patterns so far away and so much older than we could imagine.

Many experiences of awe are tinged by fear. Skydiving – check! But also getting up close to wildlife; animals are unpredictable and nature doesn’t necessarily follow rules. I’ve swum with mantas in the Maldives and dolphins in New Zealand, both in the middle of the open ocean. Both were awesome experiences I couldn’t stop gushing about for months after. Both put me in check about how much of the world is a mystery to me.

Witnessing random acts of kindness. Well, I could likely find awe in that every day if I looked up from my phone more, but I certainly notice it almost every time I travel, when a local person takes time to offer directions, translate for me, or not only allows me to use the bathroom in their home but then offers a parting snack – thank you to the Mexican grandmother in the wooden house on the mountain pass between Oaxaca and Mazunte; you really saved that roadtrip.

So, now that travel is truly back for almost all of us, let’s take this month to think about how awesome it is. February at Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia is all about the #awefactor. We hope it’ll help change your perspective and inspire new journeys.

Image Credit: swissmediavision/Getty Images Signature/Canva.

With white-sand beaches, crystal waters great for diving, and blue skies for days, no wonder the 52 islands of Trat province are sometimes called the Maldives of Thailand. They’re also some of the country’s best-kept secrets. Come sail away to Koh Chang with a local pirate king who just wants to make paradise a better place. 

I LOOK AT THE SKY AND I KNOW what’s going to happen,” says Chaiwat ‘Leo’ Ainthachot on a stunningly clear-blue morning on Koh Chang. “We look at the sky, stars, wind. We check the moon. We check the sun. If the sunset is orange, it’s going to be very beautiful, like today. If the sunset is red color, one-million percent a storm will come in the next one, two, three days. Tourists look at that and feel very happy. But fishermen, we see it and we know to run away.”

He (fisherman) and I (tourist) are sitting in the bow of his bar, which is shaped like a boat, and overlooks—bobbing in the shallow bay below—his actual boat, both of which he made with his own hands out of found and upcycled materials. His hair is tied up, freshly washed after spearfishing—a skill his father taught him at age seven—using a wooden spear, also handmade.

Leo hails originally from Trat, on the mainland just north of us, the namesake city of this province in the southeastern-most corner of Thailand on the Cambodia border. Trat contains 52 islands, all of them lush, fringed by white sand, and scarcely populated, if at all. They’re also, compared to Phuket and Samui, scarcely visited, making this region one of the best places to channel that castaway vibe I’ve always romanticized for my Thai travels but rarely found. While mountainous Koh Chang does have a decent amount of tourism infrastructure with great places to eat, drink and explore, the beaches are lined with independently owned small hotels (no international brands), immersion in nature is practically unavoidable, and nightlife is mellow. “It’s an island for slow life,” Leo says. “You cannot find many people in one party here like on the ‘full-moon island’ in the south.”

Other islands in this archipelago include Koh Kood, home to a collection of boutique hotels tucked on small coves as well as pioneering barefoot-luxury resort Soneva Kiri (doubles from US$1,080), which has its own pair of private planes that land on a baby island next door, so that’s fun. The newly developed vegan menus here are persuasive, the pool villas are inside-out treehouses, and you get to drive your own golf cart. Turns out this is not exclusive to #resortlife.

If you head to Koh Mak (population 900), the slow life is deeply and purposefully a sustainable. The community has banded together to become a low-carbon island. Foam packaging and motorized water sports are banned, there are recycling bins everywhere (unfortunately still a rarity in this region), and, in addition to the standard motorbikes, you can rent much greener e-bikes and golf carts to tool around in. This is an especially fun proposition during Fly to the Moon, an annual music festival with an eco and equality ethos that takes place over New Year’s. Whenever you go, be sure to visit Koh Mak Seafood for grilled fish with crispy garlic, soft-shell crab also with crispy garlic, squid steamed in garlic and celery, and giant prawns. Then have fun waddling back to the beach. It’s a 40-minute speedboat ride to Koh Chang from Koh Mak; stop at the Hin Raab coral reef for snorkeling along the way.

FROM BANGKOK, TO GET TO Koh Chang, I’ve taken a 45-minute flight on a prop plane so small that the luggage goes in front and the passengers load from the back, a 20-minute drive to the pier at Trat, and a 40-minute ferry ride across a sliver on the Gulf of Thailand. That it’s a five-hour drive from the capital perhaps helps explains the lack of mass tourism here (though that’s actually how long it could take you to get to much-closer Hua Hin on a bad-traffic day), but whatever the reason, the sense of serenity is sweet relief.

The first time I visited Koh Chang, a friend who’s been to the island a dozen times brought a group of us for lunch at Flora I Talay (doubles from Bt1,300), a cute seafront resort with a large restaurant and bar on the long stretch of sand on Klong Prao Beach. The bay is so shallow that at low tide you have to walk 50 meters out for the water to reach your hips. We posted up on a stilted bamboo table, made friends with the waiters who quickly learned our drink orders, and spent the day throwing a frisbee in the ocean and tossing a baseball on shore. Or, I should say the days, because during that week we returned to Flora nearly every day, and I went back again once on this most recent trip.

On Klong Prao, the sun sets over a promontory and watching a fisherman wade through the waters to place his nets in the tangerine (beautiful tomorrow predicted) glow is truly cinematic. But don’t leave yet. Afterwards is the nightly fireshow with a twist you’ve probably not seen: it stars two dads and two sons who couldn’t be more than 10 years old, and who come out swinging flames with fierce looks of determination and pride. No such thing as overtipping at this show. 

It’s tempting to just laze on Koh Chang, but there’s nature to explore and you’ll be rewarded if you make the effort. The east side of the island is full of ecosystem-enhancing mangroves. Salak Phet Mangrove Walkway is a pretty red boardwalk that meanders through the trees to an inlet of the ocean. At low tide, keep your eyes peeled for the black crabs scurrying around in the mud. Salak Kok is a village collective: together the residents bought several ancient gondolas that date back to the reign of King Rama V and row tourists through the mangroves for a small fee. It’s romantic and calming—once you get past the rickety stilts that act as a pier, that is. 

There are a handful of waterfalls to hike to on Koh Chang (and, importantly, the water is potable), but I like my hiking to come with a reward, which is why I am delighted when Leo, walking barefoot up a steep mountain, detours via a red-clay path to Kangplaeng Secret Garden (ask a Koh Chang local how to get there; it’s secret on purpose). This cafe and bar is hidden high in the jungle and eclectically decorated in a strong 1970’s-basement vibe. We fortuitously arrive just before a storm rolls in, so find ourselves looking down on a thickly wondrous mist. After waiting out the rain here for more than an hour and then attempting a return descent to our car in the mud, we help the owner, A (no more name given), achieve what he says his goal is: “When guests are drunk, they can roll back down the mountain.”

If you do find yourself in such a state, you and your hangover will be delighted to know that there’s an American diner on Koh Chang for your comfort-food pleasure. A hole-in-the-wall on the side of the road, Annie P (66-6/1768-1194) makes authentic barbecued ribs, pulled pork, pastrami on rye, chili cheese dogs—and, if you’re lucky and they’ve managed to procure the right beef, French dip and Philly cheesesteaks. Goodbye, bikini body.

IN WHAT I LIKE TO THINK is less a sign that Koh Chang is going upmarket than that upmarket food is going everywhere, there’s now fine dining on the island and it is beautiful. Chef Nongrat ‘Yaa’ Noppawan used to run a cooking school before the pandemic stole her customer base, and led her to open Khao Kwan (66-8/1940-0649). Named after an old method of cooking rice in coconut milk then combining it with tamarind sauce (khao means “rice” and kwan means “spiritual”), the open-air restaurant on the main strip of Kai Bae serves 80-percent-locally sourced dishes presented in a parade of hot pinks, purples, bright oranges, verdant greens. It’s all fresh seafood (mmm, the scallops!) and fresh veggies, adorned by pretty, edible flowers. Girly, sure, but not too precious, and certainly like no other dining experience on the island. Get the tasting menu.

Across the street is Koh Chang Wine Gallery, which has a convenient bottle shop and a restaurant turning out tasty pan-European food. Down the road, you will want to book ahead in high season for authentic Mexican food, a lengthy margarita menu and a surprising selection of mezcals at El Barrio. At neighboring, newly renovated Fin, the live music and elevated comfort food make the buzzing resto-bar the closest you might get to city-style nightlife here. 

For that classic island-style nightlife, though, it’s Lonely Beach, where you’ll find a cluster of laidback drinking dens, reggae music, Jenga on tables to while away the night. Many of these bars look handmade, and some of them, like Cafe del Sunshine—a community hub with murals on the walls, smoothie bowls and quality Thai and foreign food—and of course Leo’s own Rude Boy, actually are. 

AS LEO STARTS A FIRE AND PLACES the fish he’s caught on the grill, then starts to prepare his own firedancing equipment for his show at his bar tonight, I’m feeling deeply useless in terms of my own life skills.

We had spent much of this glorious day on his toy boat, puttering out to little Koh Man Nok, which you can see from Lonely Beach. We collected litter from the beach (Leo recycles plastic for money, although I think he deserves a better rate—it takes about 100 bottles to make one kilogram, for which he gets paid one Thai baht) and swam in the impossibly clear blue water. I was keeping my eyes peeled for the blue-spotted stingrays and whale sharks Leo had seen earlier in the morning, but he said they usually stick to the strait by Koh Man Nai, alas.

With his teardrop tattoos on his cheekbone, I want to call Leo a pirate. But he’s not a plunderer; he’s a preservationist, one of many on Koh Chang who’ve shown me all the ways in which this is a way of slow life worth saving—and a secret worth keeping, if only at least a little while longer. 

All Images Credit: PJan De Rycke.