I Chose the Worst Time to Visit KOH TAO ๐น๐ญ Thailand
106K views ยท Aug 15, 2026 ยท Travel & Events
Comments ยท 338
@willie011073 ยท 1 month ago (edited)
Went to Koh Tao in 95. Slept on the deck of a fishing boat overnight to get there. The wall of our bathroom was built using green and yellow glass bottles which gave an amazing light. We had a tokay gecko living in the wooden hut. We bolted out the first time we saw it, had no idea what it was. The owner laughed at us and told us we would soon make friends with it as it would eat all the mosquitoes. Fun memories.
26
@acanadianinlondon8586 ยท 1 month ago
I'd be so pissed if I spent $200 USD per night (in low season!) for a hotel room, and ended up with that room and that beach.<br>I often think its better not to go back to places you once loved - the second time rarely matches up to the golden memories, the exact circumstances that made that first trip so special aren't likely to repeat. Man never steps into the same river twice, etc.
74
@KohThai2009 ยท 1 month ago
There was a time in Thailand when a real effort was made to offer good service and wonderful places. Today, what is offered to paying guests is, in part, an insultโthanks to mass tourism.
3
@skinmeister1 ยท 1 month ago (edited)
Hi Paddy! For me Koh Tao is also the first Thai island I ever came to, back in 1995. Sweet memories of staying at Sairee Cottage for two weeks when it was still a bunch of basic bamboo huts! Also the friendships I made there later led to me moving from Germany to California. I met my future husbands roommate there and was invited to L.A. a couple of years afterwards which led to meeting the guy who became my husband. I ended up moving to the US and we are still happily married until this dayโฆ.traveling the SE Asian region together each year. Thailand remains our favorite!
14
@mattinterweb ยท 1 month ago (edited)
Kao Tao has been completely ruined by over tourism. First went there in 2003 and it was literally paradise. Two secret beaches next to each other that you had to walk to get to with a handful of huts, we all came together and made food in the evening and the owner went out and fished for our dinner in the day. Some of the best days of my life. Now its packed with people and littered with bad hotels. Its tragic, not to speak to the damage its done to the local coral and marine life with the over tourism. It's such a shame that a once beautiful place with such a special vibe has been destroyed.
20
@bentee8573 ยท 1 month ago
This place looks terrible, I been coming to Thailand since 2002. Iโve lived here 3 years. <br>I appreciate your efforts Paddy for showing me places I donโt want to go!
5
@TravelswithSoosh ยท 3 weeks ago
Hi Paddy!! I kind of glad you did koh tao but your experience was a very different one to my best friend's. She went there to do her dive masters and things went terribly wrong. She trusted people that she shouldn't have and they gave her something that made her very sick. She was followed around the island by a man that would sit and watch her eat and then follow her back to her room. Her dive crew were an odd bunch and she ended up being extremely scared. So much so that she hid under her bed one night and pushed a cupboard up against her door. It got to the point that we all decided that someone needed to actually go and get her. We're in Australia so you can imagine how desperate we were to get over there. Anyway when she got back home to us she was a completely different person. That happened almost two years ago now and she's better but still not the same. It took her ages to trust anyone other than her parents and a couple of her friends. Before she came home we looked up koh tao and it's actually nicknamed DEATH ISLAND.........๐ So I just suggest people look it up and do your research before you go to that insane little trap. I'm glad Paddy had a decent time even though it rained.
2
@Patigoooool ยท 1 month ago
Yes to more honest hotel reviews! I know itโs hard when Thailand (I think) have crazy deformation laws but we really appreciate them! <br>RIP King Kev ๐ข
3
@lecrevisse8160 ยท 1 month ago
Note first: I'm in Koh Tao right now.<br>200 a night are rip off summer price bro. <br>Never pay 200 in Thailand lol. <br>Rent a cheap hotel 20 to 50 with good reviews, rent a bike and go check views around, try every beach. <br><br>You are spot on on the first bad impression, when I arrived it was full packed with young western tourist and I wanted to f.. off directly, after visiting on my own and checking the water I extended my stay. <br><br>Beaches are crazy good, it s a snorkeling paradise, not too many people on the beach. It doesn't feel packed and it's august. I ll come back during the low season for SURE.
2
@Arctic_Dude ยท 3 weeks ago (edited)
I chose Vietnam this summer. The rainy season hadn't arrived in Da Nang, and you can still find beautiful places with few tourists.
1
@NickyDunn ยท 1 month ago
<b>Always love your honesty.</b>
3
@senianns9522 ยท 1 month ago
I went a few times in the late '80's . I used to like Samui and Tao. It was a really nice quiet 'paradise' type of place. Looking at this vlog I'm certainly not returning!
2
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