Trip to Koh Hong

Time for a trip! Today we are chartering a longtail boat to take us to Koh Hong. Funny enough, a former colleague of mine is also in Krabi. So we agreed to meet at the ticket counter at 9 am. The longtail boat costs 2,500 Bhat for the whole day. Since my colleague is with a friend, we can split the cost between four people. Buying the ticket is as easy as it was the day before for Railay Beach and we leave just as quickly. We get on the boat and after about 45 minutes, we arrive.

First, we stop in a lagoon where we can swim a bit. Despite the other boats, it's nice here and not too crowded yet. After the short stop, we continue to Koh Hong Beach. It's already busy here, but it's supposed to get even busier later. Of course, the obligatory Chinese tourists, whom we lovingly call "red vests," are also present. They are wearing life jackets even on land. The first impression suggests a true paradise. The sand is white, the water is crystal clear. A real pearl - if it weren't for the many tourists. We find a shady spot at the end of the beach. Then we cool off in the water. Unfortunately, it's not as clear as we initially thought. We could have left our snorkeling equipment at the hotel. Due to the many people, the water is too murky to see anything. So snorkeling here is a disappointment!

Meanwhile, we are surrounded by people. Relaxing and enjoying the day here is not possible. At some point, we get tired of the noise and decide to walk the nature trail behind us. However, it's not very long or interesting, and we quickly finish it. We walk back to our spot on the beach and are truly shocked by the mass tourism happening here. Of course, we didn't expect a deserted beach, as Koh Hong is popular. But this was really intense. Barely any free space left.

Nevertheless, we stayed until late in the afternoon. And our persistence paid off: around 3 pm, most of the excursion boats left the island, and many individual tourists seemed to be leaving the beach as well. So towards the end of the day, we actually had the beach almost to ourselves. Finally, we got to see the island as it truly is: a beautiful paradise in a fascinating landscape. Due to the low tide, the beach was wider now. The fish also started appearing more, and I found myself swimming among a colorful school of fish. We enjoyed the tranquility, took some photos of the now almost empty bay before slowly heading back to our boat. We needed to be back at Ao Nang Beach by 4 pm. We were one of the last to leave Koh Hong that day.

Our conclusion: Koh Hong is truly a paradise, but it is completely spoiled by the mass tourism. I can only recommend preparing for the crowds and adjusting your expectations accordingly. To avoid the masses as much as possible, it is definitely recommended to rent a private longtail boat and avoid any guided tours. Either come here very early or in the late afternoon. It will surely be much quieter during the low season as well. If you want to spend a relaxing day at the beach away from the crowds, you should probably skip this trip.