The forgotten Thai island just three hours from Bangkok
I watched from the top deck as our catamaran slipped gently across the Gulf of Thailand, approaching the jungle-shrouded Ao Salat Pier. A golden Buddha statue peered out through the greenery, towering above a dock of wooden pallet crates where a low-slung port office was shaded by a lopsided piece of plastic sheeting. Beneath it sat a beaming port attendant, all smiles for the intrepid travellers who were soon to disembark on the island of Koh Kood.
Located in the Trat province of the Gulf of Thailand, just a few miles from the border of Cambodia, this pretty little island is one of a handful in the area – though most, unlike Koh Chang, Koh Kood and Ko Mak, are uninhabited. Whilst more easily reached from Bangkok than some of the more popular islands in Thailand's south, a journey to Koh Kood nevertheless requires a flight and ferry from Bangkok, which take roughly three hours in total.
As is so often the case, however, this greater effort translates to greater reward: the extra distance, combined with a limited flight and ferry season, keep visitors – and development – on Koh Kood at bay, while Koh Chang, just an hour's ferry from Trat, is busier and more built up.
But there's plenty to recommend Koh Kood beyond a lack of tourists. In the north, you'll find Soneva Kiri – a luxurious eco resort which was a pioneer of the barefoot luxury movement – as well as a small string of upscale hotels which dot the western coast.
Other than this, a visit to Koh Kood is like returning to a time to when 'bucket bars', full moon parties and social media were but a speck on Thailand's horizon.
Places like this are becoming harder and harder to find thanks to Thailand's recent push for luxury tourism (helped by the release of The White Lotus' third season – which is set on the southern isle of Koh Samui), and the resulting surge in bookings, with an incredible 5.5 million foreign tourists visiting in the first month and a half of 2025.
And yet, if you know where to look, there are still uncrowded islands to be found – and with its white sand-beaches, translucent waters, wild rainforest and small traditional communities, Koh Kood may be the best of the bunch.
Travelling with my husband and six-month old daughter, I chose to stay in Bang Bao Beach, a crescent-shaped bay with shallow turquoise water, palm trees reclining towards the horizon, and only two resorts.
Siam Beach Resort slightly edges out the other with its beachfront accommodation, while its bar – with beanbags and happy hour cocktails – and simple restaurant serving Thai classics, made for a perfect place to while away the evenings.
We quickly melted into island life, not hearing another English-accented voice for the entire week we spent there. Germans and Spanish visitors dropped in, but otherwise the clientele was mainly wealthy Thai families on holiday from Bangkok. We swam in bath-warm waters every day and hung out in hammocks dangling over the sea, occasionally spotting a sea turtle.
The food, too, was a revelation – cheaper and spicier than anywhere we'd been in Thailand; a sure indication of authentic local cuisine, untempered for western palettes. One of the finest meals we had was at diminutive dining room Bang Bai Home, a friendly, inexpensive family-run restaurant a short walk from the resort.
We ordered steamed snapper with Thai herbs whipped up by a matriarch chef who was overjoyed to entertain our six-month-old while we ate. This was a running theme on our visit, where the warm Thai hospitality was a constant highlight and locals were thrilled to be welcoming tourists after a turbulent time during the pandemic.
Later in the week, we moved to Koh Kood Paradise Beach, a Thai family-owned collection of traditional-style villas with sloped roofs that boasts the longest private beachfront on the island.
As at most resorts on the busier, more developed southern islands, Paradise Beach offered watersports, evening performances and beach massages, but when we wanted to explore the island's mangrove swamps and other pristine beaches (Ao Noi and Klong Chao were two of our favourites), we would call a taxi from our hotel reception or rent scooters for the day.
The single paved road that encircles the island was well laid, and we rarely saw more than a handful of other vehicles the whole time we were there.
But the highlight was the trio of waterfalls – Huang Nam Khiao, Khlong Chao and Khlong Yai Kee – set deep in the tangle of jungle at the centre of the island. Though Huang Nam Khiao has parking, a small restaurant and rope swings dangling over its freshwater pool, it remains lush and peaceful – the preserve only of those who know it's there.
For now, the same can still be said of Koh Kood – a little piece of a Thailand long lost in the likes of Koh Samui – and, hopefully, a secret that will remain so for many years to come.
Essentials
Thai Airways flies from London to Trat via Bangkok from £1,042 return. From Bangkok, the flight to Trat takes one hour; from Trat, take a private taxi or minibus to Laem Sok Pier (40 mins), then a ferry onwards to Koh Kood (90 minutes).
Visit during October and May; Koh Kood closes and ferry services are suspended during the summer monsoon season.
Eco-luxury resort Soneva Kiri (0066 82 208 8888) has one-bedroom bay view pool villas from £1,104 per night, including breakfast.
A simple one-bed beach hut at Siam Beach Resort (0081 907 1940) costs from £40 per night, including breakfast.
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