If you go to Samui, you must visit Koh Tao🏝️

If you're spending a few days relaxing on Koh Samui, you'll want to experience snorkeling in the clearest water possible since you've come all the way to a tropical island. The beaches of Koh Samui are often slightly murky on the water, so it's not exactly clear... It's not that clear. When that happens, you can join a tour to Koh Tao. We joined a tour to snorkel on Koh Tao via Koh Phangan. We booked the tour while we were in Japan, and the plan was to be picked up at the hotel on the morning of the day, but the car still hadn't arrived even though the time had passed. I thought that was strange, but I called the phone number written on the reservation form just to be sure, wondering if they were running late because of tropical time, but no one answered. I thought this was a problem, so I used a map app to find the store where I'd booked the tour, and found the phone number of the store itself. Of course, I couldn't speak Thai, so I explained the situation to the hotel concierge and had him call us, and it turned out that they had forgotten to stop by our hotel when picking us up from some of the hotels. We were picked up in a hurry, and when we arrived at the port where we were scheduled to depart, there were already a lot of people gathered, and the tour explanation began before we had time to take a seat. (It was really close 💦) Since several tours depart from the same port, we wear a different colored band for each tour we booked to avoid accidentally joining the wrong tour. The tour I booked was to go to several snorkeling spots by high-speed boat and then go to Koh Tao. It takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to travel between islands by high-speed boat. It was a very sunny day, so at first it was nice to ride the high-speed boat cutting through the wind, but it gradually got colder, so I'm glad I wore a long-sleeved rash guard. The two snorkeling points we were shown on the way to Koh Phangan did not have the aqua blue sea color I was looking for, and unfortunately most of the coral had died, and there were no beautiful tropical fish like those described in the tour explanation. After snorkeling, we moved to Koh Phangan and had lunch. It was a buffet style at a local restaurant like a beach hut. It looked so-so, but it was quite delicious, and they had fruit and other dishes, and they replenished popular dishes when they ran out. After lunch, we had free time until the meeting time, so we took photos of the turtle monument on the beach and relaxed in the shade of a tree. We returned to the speedboat and headed to our next destination, Koh Tao. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations because of the sea conditions at the snorkeling point, and thought that Koh Tao would be in the same condition, but when we arrived at Koh Tao, my thoughts changed 180 degrees. Yes, the sea on Koh Tao was crystal clear and the aqua blue I had imagined. When we crossed the pier and landed on the island, I was very excited looking at the sea around us. After an explanation of the meeting time and place, and precautions, we were free to do as we pleased. As soon as we were free to do as we pleased, we headed to John Suan Viewpoint, where we could see the whole of Koh Tao. The trekking time was about 20 minutes each way, but in some places we had to clamber up the steep rock face using ropes, so it was a little dangerous in flip-flops, so next time I'll bring proper shoes. It was also a nice day, so it was good that I brought drinks to stay hydrated along the way. When we reached the top, we handed our cell phones to the man taking the photos and clambered up to what seemed to be the highest rock, so we could take turns taking photos at the top. (The hardest part was clambering up the rock here in flip-flops.) After taking photos, we headed down the path we came up on, but in some places the path was too narrow to pass each other, so we passed each other while keeping an eye on the people coming towards us to see who was stopping, and then we made our way down to the bottom. The trek was steeper than expected, so my legs were very tired, so I spent the rest of the time taking photos of the beautiful sea and resting in the shade of the trees. When our time on Koh Tao was over, we returned to the port by high-speed boat and were taken to the hotel in a car provided for each area. As this was my first time participating, I chose the high-speed boat plan which meant less time on the boat, but next time I would like to take a tour that only goes to Koh Tao by ferry. #Trip to Thailand #Koh Samui #Koh Tao Tour