Koh Kut recce

Koh Kut

The last island in Thailand – literally – as Koh Kut is the southernmost isle of the Koh Chang archipelago, in turn situated in the far eastern part of the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Kut, (sometimes written Kood), is a stone’s throw from the Cambodian border however, since this was a personal, family trip rather than an All Points East tour as such, we thought we could afford to forgo the current UK Foreign Office travel warnings. (As a UK licensed travel operator we are otherwise obliged to defer to FCO advice, however alarmist and excessive it may on occasions be.)

Remarkably, the first – and last – time we set foot on Koh Kut was a whole 35 years ago when we spent a night sleeping on the beach as part of a 4-day boat and snorkelling tour through what is now the Mu Koh Chang National Marine Park. The island had no roads, cars or motorbikes, no electricity or running water and zero resorts or hotels so, to say the island was overdue a return visit, is something of an understatement.

Mind you, in those days even now very busy Koh Chang was considered off-the-beaten-track and while it did have a collection of rustic resorts, that island also had no roads or electricity and access to the various beaches was by converted fishing boats or ‘long-tail’ craft. Obviously over the intervening years things have changed a lot; spurred on to a large degree by the development of tourism but partly, simply due to 3 decades of development of Thailand’s infrastructure and facilities. Koh Chang now has regular car ferries and supermarkets, Koh Kut is reached by a public hydrofoil service, nearby Trat Airport provides an easy link to Bangkok and both islands have well developed systems of sealed roads.

Tourism on Koh Kut began with a small collection of often isolated and generally upmarket resorts dotted among the island’s various bays and beaches although today accommodation covers the full range of options and road and beach-side cafes, restaurants, scooter hire shops and massage parlours begin to fill in the gaps in between. Nonetheless, despite being listed by TAT as Thailand’s fourth largest island, (we reckon it’s actually the sixth *), it certainly remains off-the-beaten-track compared to long-standing destinations such as Samui, Phuket, Koh Lanta, Koh Chang etc.

Resorts are concentrated on the west coast with some mangroves to the east while much of Koh Kut’s interior – less mountainous than neighbouring Koh Chang – is covered with rubber and coconut plantations.

Following a recommendation by our friends at Travelfish we booked some chalets at Dusita Resort situated on a small cove behind tiny Ban Ngam Koh village. The sandy beach directly in front of the resort was delightful and at no time of day did it feature more than a handful of fellow visitors. A big plus was a lively coral reef just off shore although a slight negative was its northwest aspect with a the headland at the southern end somewhat blocking the sunset views. The resort itself was charming with a small collection of widely spaced chalets overlooking a well manicured garden beyond which lay the beach.

Chalets did all come with balconies and sea views but overall were best described as rustic. We would say no frills although they nonetheless had a/c, hot water and good WiFi, without which they would frankly have reminded us of some of the smarter Koh Chang backpacker bungalows circa 1990. Unlike the latter though these do not go for 200 baht a night and without singling out Dusita, and after having looked around a bit, significant overpricing appeared to be a common feature on Koh Kut. In fact all things considered – including very friendly owners and staff and an excellent, reasonably priced in-house restaurant – our particular choice was a good one.

Although Koh Samet’s proximity to Bangkok make that particular island’s resorts pricey you’d be hard pushed to find many establishments on say Koh Lanta, Koh Chang or Koh Pha Ngan charging the equivalent of $100-$150 a night when they don’t even possess a pool. (We personally don’t use a pool but it is kind of a marker.) While there are cheaper spots off the beach as well as some very upmarket accommodation options on Koh Kut, the cost of a room at the majority of the island’s standard, mid-range resorts would get you something seriously plush elsewhere.

You are paying for the off-the-beaten-track tag although at the end of the day it is relatively well-known off-the-beaten-track. There are very reasonably priced options on genuinely little-known islands such as Koh Libong, Koh Phayam (Ranong), Koh Jum (Krabi) or even nearby Koh Mak.

What are for Thailand somewhat excessive accommodation rates aside, it is undoubtedly a beautiful island and undoubtedly far less developed than Koh Chang but if you’re considering a visit we’d probably recommend sooner rather than later as it is developing fast. Remaining undeveloped stretches of beach front aren’t going to last long, minibus schedules from Pattaya are going to increase and we’d give it 2 years before the island’s first 7-eleven opens.

Finally, if you do go, you’re plans don’t include any cat-swinging activities and you’re not travelling with small kids for whom a pool is an essential requirement then we would indeed recommend Dusita.

* These are; Phuket, Koh Chang, Samui, Tarutao and Pha Ngan in descending order.