3 Best Hotels in Koh Tao, The Gulf Coast Beaches

Ban's is set up for diving, so this is an ideal place to do your scuba certification, but it's a fine place to lay your head even if you don't plan to dive. Discounts are available if you sign up for a dive course, however. The resort is divided into two sections. An elegant upper zone has updated villas and a pool, while the rooms in the older wing are a lot cheaper and nearer to the lively, legendary restaurant/beach bar.

This Tanote Bay resort makes a perfect base for snorkeling because of the colorful coral, interesting fish, and small reef sharks that cruise around at sunset. Discounts are available if you sign up for a dive course, so this is an ideal place to do your scuba certification. Set in a landscaped garden on the hill above the bay, the accommodations are a stylish blend of natural wood and painted, curvaceous concrete walls. A pickup-truck taxi makes the run to Mae Haad five times daily, and a taxi-boat for trips around the island is available from the Mt. Reef Resort at the south end of the bay.

On the quieter northern end of Sairee Beach, this resort is a good place to get your scuba certification. The colorfully painted, traditional beach huts made of bamboo and coconut timber were built to 21st-century standards, including spacious sunken bathrooms with stone floors. Deluxe rooms have amenities like phones and minibars. Much cheaper and more basic fan rooms are also available. (Note: Rooms 304 and 403 are adjacent to the sometimes noisy restaurant and beach bar.) Guests at neighboring resorts, including Koh Tao Cabana, are welcome to take scuba courses here as well.