Koh Tan, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

4Travel.n.pleasure 5:00 PM Dec 21, 2020

panoramic view
The tourist usually come here for scuba or diving. But the timing of our visit was still in monsoon, so the sea was not clear, therefore, we just stop by as the route of long tail boat. So we asked the local people for info and they said we can hire the golf cart to travel around the island. We have visited big Buddha , Had kraud, had Fai mai, and mangrove forest. Nice experience indeed.

5donavan94563 5:00 PM Jan 5, 2015

Day Trip to Koh Tan (Ko Tean)/Koh Mat Sum from Cruise Port in Ko Samui
Had one day in Koh Samui during a cruise and wanted to visit the outer islands known for their beauty and skip the mainland. Depending on the time you have in Koh Samui, Koh Tan (Ko Tean)/Koh Mat Sum is a great alternative to the touristy mainland beaches. There are several boat tours that leave from the southern part of the Koh Samui in the morning and return in the late afternoon. We pre-booked our tour with "Tours Koh Samui" since they had an Island hopping tour to Koh Taen archipelago tailored for cruise ship passengers and an easy online pre-registration website. The tour included: * Pick up from Nathon cruise ship pier * Transfer to south pier aboard air-conditioned VIP minivan * Speedboat to and from Koh Tan (Ko Tean)/Koh Mat Sum * Return to Nathon cruise ship pier Koh Taen is a natural paradise located minutes off the south-western coast of Koh Samui's Taling Nam fishing village. It is a small, tranquil, and unspoiled island, not yet on the radar of Koh Samui tourist map. There is just one small village on Koh Taen, with very limited tourist facilities, such as five humble bungalows and an authentic Thai restaurant. Our first stop was just off Koh Taen by coral reefs along the white sandy beaches. We were provided all the snorkeling equipment to enjoy the picturesque beaches and sea life. Unfortunately, a recent storm had just passed and stirred up the ocean so the visibility was low. Nevertheless, we enjoyed having free refreshments on the boat and walking along the beach and seeing what we could. After enough time at the beach, the speed boat transferred us to Koh Taen's Taen mangrove bay. Along the way, we were able to enjoy riding on the an exciting floating couch which was pulled behind the speed boat (i.e. banana boat riding). Upon arrival at the mangrove forest we went for a relaxing stroll along a wooden platform that was built by locals to view the mangrove forests. Here you can see local wildlife and plants. Note: The wooden platform was not built by engineers and is an exciting "walk at your own risk" experience as some planks are missing and/or cannot take any excessive weight. So tread lightly. The platform lead us to a new paved road, where a golf cart transferred us over the island to Koh Taen's main Beach. The ride provided us a short tour of the island. At the main beach we had time to explore the area, relax, sunbathe, and take a leisurely stroll along the coastline to the local temple and take a first-hand look at wale shark bones that where found more than 50 years ago. At the beach we were provided a delicious Thai set lunch at Koh Taen's coral island beach restaurant. The lunch included fresh fish, fried rice, coconut shrimp and fresh fruit. After lunch the speedboat brought us to an adjacent island Koh Mat Sum. Here there were additional coral reefs along the white sandy beaches. Again, we were provided all the snorkeling equipment to enjoy the picturesque beaches and sea life. Unfortunately, the recent storm stirred up the ocean so the visibility was low. Nevertheless, we enjoyed having free refreshments on the boat and walking along the beach and seeing what we could. At the end of the day, we were transferred back to the cruise ship pier in plenty of time to shop around Nathon pier. All an all an excellent day trip to the outer islands and well worth doing.