Koh Yao Yai is a relatively untouched island located in South Thailand, between Phuket and Krabi. It is an ideal destination for travelers seeking relaxation and a connection with nature. You can have an authentic Thai experience away from the bustling crowds.
In this article, I will cover the best things to do and see in Koh Yao Yai. I will show you all the beaches on the islands, as well as the best sunset spots, island hopping tours, and a day trip to Koh Yao Noi.
Most beaches on Koh Yao Yai are quiet with few tourists, making them ideal for relaxation and peaceful walks. On the west coast, you can find populars beaches like Loh Pared, Loh Jark, Ao Muong, and Son Beach on the west coast. The east coast is home to Laem Had, Hin Kong, and Ao Sai Beach.
Located in the middle of Phang Nga Bay, Koh Yao Yai is a good base for day trips to nearby islands such as Koh Hong, Jame Bond island, Koh Nok, and its neighboring Koh Yao Noi.
Koh Yao Noi has smaller size than Yao Yai but it is more developed with more tourist amenities and restaurants. This island is also home to many beautiful tranquil beaches such as Klong Jark, Pasai, Tha Khao, and Long Beach. You can easily get to Yao Noi from Yao Yai by long tail boats.
If you want to know the detail of my itinerary and how I get around the island, you can read these articles:
- Where to stay in Koh Yao Yai
- Stay in Koh Yao Noi or Koh Yao Yai?
- My 3-4 Days In Koh Yao Yai & Noi Itinerary
- How to Get to Koh Yao Yai & Get Around
- 20 Beautiful Things to Do in Koh Yao Noi
I traveled around Koh Yao Yai on a scooter. I personally think that it is the best way to get around the island. The main roads are mostly flat and paved which is easy to drive. Due to its limited development, the island does not have many taxi and songthaew options like other parts of Thailand.
If you want to take songthaews, you need to ask your hotel to order it for you. You can consider taking package tours or hire a private driver to explore Yao Yai if you don’t plan to rent a motorbike.
Here are the top activities and attractions in Koh Yao Yai:
15 Best Things to Do in Koh Yao Yai
Beaches
Koh Yao Yai is home to a range of tranquil and picturesque beaches. The beaches are scattered around the island, both on the west and east coast. They are ideal places for swimming, sunbathing, relaxing, and watching the beautiful sunset.
#1. Loh Pared Beach
Loh Pared is a beautiful beach located on the central west coast of Yao Yai. The beach has white sand and clean water, great for swimming, relaxing, and taking a walk along the shore. Lots of people gather on the beach at sunset, but it never feels crowded like in other islands such as Phuket.
The beachfront is home to several resorts, bars, and restaurants. Some places set tables, chairs, and bean bags on the sand around sunset time. There are sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach.
The road to the beach is lined with enough tourist amenities such as restaurants, souvenir shops, travel agencies, massage places, minimarts, and motorbike rental shops.
If you stay in Loh Pared, you can walk to the beach. If you stay on other parts of the island, it is best to come here by motorbike. It is a 30 minute drive from Chong Lard, the town on the north of the island.
#2. Klong Son Beach
Klong Son is a secluded beach located on the west coast of Yao Yai, just north of Loh Pared. There are no resorts on the beach and in the surrounding area, creating a tranquil and unspoil atmosphere.
The beach has white sand, clean water, and lots of shade from the pine trees on the shore. You can find one beach bar on the beach serving food and drink, as well as providing tables and chairs for their customers.
Klong Son is easily accessible by scooter. It is around 10 km drive north of Loh Pared via the dirt road and 10 km drive from Chong Lard Pier on the north coast, which is one of the most popular piers on the island.
You can find several hidden secluded beaches on Son Bay, by driving on the dirt red road running parallel with the beach toward Loh Pared and the south of the island.
#3. Loh Jark Beach
Loh Jark, also spelled Loh Chark, and Lok Jak, is a quiet beach on the west coast of the island. It is home to Loh Jark Pier, as well as several resorts, eateries, shops, and bars. It has white fine sand, clean water, and several shaded areas from different kinds of trees on the shore.
There are sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach belonging to the beachfront’s resorts, bars, and restaurants. You can order meals or drinks from the bars to use it.
Loh Jark is a very quiet place, and you’ll be likely to see the whole beach by yourself. You can walk down to the rocky area at the southern end of the beach, a great place to watch the sunset.
You can easily get to Loh Jark Beach by scooter, or if you stay at one of the accommodations in the surroundings, you can walk to the beach. It is 20km away from the Chong Lard Pier, a popular arrival point of Yao Yai.
#4. Ao Muong Beach
Ao Muong is a small secluded beach located on the southwest coast of the island. There are no accommodations on the beach, just a small little restaurant with tables, chairs, beach swings, and some sunbeds.
The beach has white sand, many stones in the water, and plenty of shaded areas. It is a perfect place to chill, sunbathe, and do some swimming and snorkeling. You can order food and drinks from the restaurant at a reasonable price.
Ao Muong is easily accessible by scooter and songthaews. From the main road, you will need to drive for a few minutes on the tiny dirt road with lots of sand on it. The beach is a 30 minute drive from Chong Lard Pier.
#5. Laem Had Beach
Laem Had is a long beautiful beach with white fine sand and crystal clear water. The beach is conveniently located on the north coast of the island, close to Chong Lard village and pier. If your hotel is located in Chong Lard, you can walk to the beach.
The beach is an ideal place for swimming at high tide, the water is clear and you can see fish through the water. At the tide, the water goes very far to the sea, so you can take a long walk on the sandbank.
There are lots of shades on the beach from coconut and palm trees. The beach is a great place to watch both sunset and sunrise. I recommend visiting the beach at both low tide and high tide to see its different atmosphere.
#6. Ao Sai Beach
Ao Sai is a tranquil beach on the east coast of Yao Yai, close to a local fishing village. This area is where locals lived and there is only one small bar restaurant on the beach with sunbeds. They served simple food, beers, and smoothies.
The beach has coarse white sand with crystal clear water and lots of rocks on the water. Great place to chill, sunbathing, and some swimming. If you don’t want to be ripped off from the beach bar, be sure to ask the price before ordering anything.
Also be careful with the monkeys. I recommend you avoid keeping any food in your scooter, to avoid monkey attacks and scratching your rental motorbikes.
#7. Hinkong Beach
Hinkong is a tranquil beach located on the east coast of Yao Yai. The beach has fine white sand and clean water, an ideal place to chill and swim. The beach is home to a fishing pier and there are just a few resorts on the beach.
There are several restaurants, souvenir shops, massage places on the main road and the small road to the beach. Located on the east coast, the beach is a great spot to watch sunrise. It is also very chilly in the afternoon when locals come here to play.
#8. Watch the sunset
Koh Yao Yai offers a peaceful sunset scene. The best place to watch the sunset is at the beaches on the west coast of the island. My favorite spots for sunset are at Loh Pared Beach and Laem Had Beach.
Loh Pared Beach is liveler at sunset with several restaurants and bars with tables and chairs on the sand. Laem Had Beach offers a more tranquil atmosphere with beautiful golden sky, white sand, coconut trees, mangrove forest, and the calm blue water.
#9. Thai Massage
Koh Yao Yai is a great destination for relaxing and enjoying the peaceful beaches. Having a massage is a must when visiting Thailand. Having a foot massage and body massage is a wonderful way to unwind the body after a day exploring the beaches and attractions.
I recommend trying traditional Thai massage or oil massage. You can have the massage at your resorts or at the shops around the main tourist areas such as Loh Pared or Hinkong Beach.
#10. ATV tour
You can explore Koh Yao Yai on an ATV tour. You can enjoy the fun ride at secluded beaches, in the rubber plantations, mangrove forests, and countryside area. There is an ATV place at Chong Lard village on the road to Laem Had beach.
#11. Kayaking / Boat Ride On Mangrove Forest
Koh Yao Yai is surrounded with mangrove forests, rivers, and canals. Taking a kayak or boat ride on the mangrove forest is a great way to explore the tranquil waterways and ecosystems of the island.
You can easily book tours at local travel agencies, or ask your accommodation to help with the booking. You can even book the tour online.
#12. Day trips to Koh Yao Noi
Koh Yao Noi is located just 10 minutes by boat from Koh Yao Yai. I stayed in Chong Lard village, so it was easy to walk/drive to Chong Lard Pier to get a long tail boat to Manoh Pier of Yao Noi. I brought my rental scooter from Yao Yai to Ao Noi on the boat with me.
If you take the shared boat like locals people do, you need to wait until there are enough people for the boat to leave. The ticket is 50 baht. I took a private boat, and it cost 200 baht for me and my scooter.
Koh Yao Noi is smaller than Yao Yai but it has more restaurants, massage shops, and bars. This island also has many beautiful beaches to explore. Within your scooter, you can drive from the pier, along the east coast first and then the west coast.
I recommend visiting Pasai Beach, Klong Jark, Tha Khao, and Long Beach. All of them are on the east coast. The beaches are similar to Yao Yai, offering a relaxing atmosphere and great places for swimming. I also recommend checking out the small hike to Hornbill view point, and Tha Khao Waterfall.
Island Hopping tour
There are several beautiful islands near Koh Yao Yai where you can take boat trips. I recommend Nok island, Hong islands, and Jame Bond islands.
#13. Koh Hong
Hong Islands is a beautiful group of islands located 7 km east of Koh Yao Yai’s Chong Lard Pier. Koh Hong is the main island of the group and is renowned for its emerald lagoon, dramatic limestone cliffs, stunning viewpoints, and pristine beaches.
When taking the boat trips to Hong islands, the boatman will stop at several smaller islands in the group for swimming and snorkeling before heading to Koh Hong. On my tour, we stopped at Koh Pak Ka for snorkeling and Koh Pakbia for swimming.
At the pier to Hong island, you need to pay the ticket 300 baht for the entrance. Here you can check out the 10 minute walk natural trail, swim/snorkel at the white sandy beach, or climb to the top of the viewpoint for views of Koh Hong’s beach and the breathing limestone cliffs.
On the tour, the boatman also took us to Hong Lagoon, and Nok island before getting back to Chong Lard Pier for Songthaews to get back to the hotel.
You can get to Hong island by renting a private boat for a few hours or join a guided tour. Most accommodations on the island has brochures for this tour.
#14. Koh Nok
Koh Nok is a small island located right east of Koh yao Yai and Noi. It is a great place to watch the monkeys, swim, sunbathing, and do a little hiking to the viewpoint.
I visited Nok island as a part of the tour to Hong island. You can get to the island by a short long tail boat ride from Chong Lard pier of Yao Yai or at many places on Yao Noi. As it is very close, I assume that you just walk to the pier and ask the boatman to take you there. You need to negotiate the price with them.
#15. Jame Bond Island
James Bond is a famous island on Phanga Bay. The island is famous for its dramatic limestone cliffs and the iconic Ko Tapu. You can organise tours from Koh yao Yai to Jame Bond island.
I didn’t take the boat tour to Jame Bond Island, but I visited Samet Nangshe viewpoint while in Khao Lak, and had stunning views of Jame Bond Island at sunrise.
These are the 14 best activities and attractions in Koh Yao Yai.The island stands out as a serene destination that offers a glimpse into traditional Thai island life. Its unspoiled landscapes, cultural richness, and tranquil ambiance make it a perfect getaway for those seeking peace and authenticity.