Is Koh Tao safe?

Scooters are the first thing we'd warn a friend about. The road from Mae Haad up to Ao Leuk, and the drop into Ao Tanote, are cracked concrete steep enough that a 125cc Honda Click whines on the climb. October is when the Gulf monsoon starts making them slick: when we checked on 9 October it was 28°C and overcast but felt like 32.7°C, with the rubber grips going tacky in your palms. Clinics in Mae Haad and Sairee treat so much gravel rash that locals call it the Koh Tao tattoo, and the island has no full hospital. Serious cases go by boat to Koh Samui or Chumphon, which takes around 2 hours, so buy insurance that covers evacuation. Rental shops carry their own risk: some keep your passport and then charge 3,000 to 5,000 baht (about $89 to $148) for scratches that were there before you rented, so photograph every panel before you ride off. The other choice is a songthaew. Expect to pay 200 to 300 baht per person after dark between Sairee and Chalok Baan Kao.

Koh Tao still carries the memory of 2014, when two British backpackers were killed on Sairee Beach. More foreign deaths followed through 2017, and the tabloids started calling it 'Death Island'. Two Myanmar migrant workers were convicted in 2015 after a trial that human-rights groups criticised, and in 2019 their death sentences were commuted to life. That history is real and it shapes our advice. These days the after-dark risk sits on the Sairee bar strip, where 300-baht buckets of Sangsom and Red Bull sweat in the sand, the paraffin smell of the fire shows hangs in the air, and the crowds thin out after 2am. Order bottled drinks, or watch the bar pour yours. Solo women we've spoken with say the lit beachfront path between Sairee Village and Lotus Bar feels fine at midnight, but south of Mae Haad pier toward Freedom Beach the road goes dark, and that's where they would call a taxi. Freedom Beach parties tend to feel loud and friendly at 11pm and messy by 3am.

Most solo travellers come to Koh Tao to dive, and diving also resolves the loneliness problem. An Open Water course runs 3 to 4 days with the same 4 to 6 classmates, so by night two you'll have people to eat with and won't be stuck at a table set for two. Choose a shop that will show you its insurance certificate and keeps groups to about 4 students per instructor, because that matters more than the 1,000-baht difference between shops. The island's recompression chamber is near Mae Haad. Hiking is the other daytime risk: the trail to John-Suwan Mountain Viewpoint is short but covered in roots and slippery after rain, and the rock scramble up to Cindy's Tower is a poor choice for one person at dusk, because phone signal on those boulders can be patchy. Tell your hostel desk in Sairee where you're going and when you expect to be back. In an emergency, dial 1669 for an ambulance and 191 for the Royal Thai Police.