4 Days on Koh Yao Yai
Koh Yao Yai is a secret serene paradise, located between Krabi and Phuket. Known for its tranquillity and laid-back vibe, we sort of stumbled across the beautiful island when planning our travel between Krabi and Phuket. The island’s untouched beaches and unspoiled landscape seemed like the perfect getaway for us during the halfway point of our Thailand honeymoon. We had three weeks in Thailand and we couldn’t wait to spend 4 blissful days here! This post outlines our 4 days in Koh Yao Yai, plus some extra details if you’re planning a trip, such as things to do on Koh Yao Yai and when is the best time to visit?
Why Visit Koh Yao Yai?
Koh Yao Yai is still one of Thailand’s best-kept secrets, so before we dive into our trip report, lets tell you a little more about this piece of paradise. Tucked between Phuket and Krabi in Phang Nga Bay, the island has held onto its slow, traditional pace of life. Just imagine beautiful, quiet beaches, local fishing villages and jungle-covered hills. Although there are a number of large resorts on the island now, they have done a great job of respecting the local landscape and blending into the hills and jungle fauna well.
If you’re travelling around Thailand, as many often do, then Koh Yao Yai is the perfect antidote to some of the busier Thai islands. It remains authentic and charming, offering the chance to dip into local culture. It’s rare to find an island in Thailand that feels this unspoiled. Which is exactly what made Koh Yao Yai so special to us.
Things to Do on Koh Yao Yai
To be honest, the magic of Koh Yao Yai lies in its simplicity. A visit here is all about slow living, and immersing yourself in the beautiful scenery. Some highlights we’d suggest are:
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🏖️ Beach hopping – Loh Paret Beach is the most popular, but you’ll find plenty of empty stretches where you’ll have the sand almost to yourself.
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🌴 Island-hopping tours – Day trips to nearby Hong Islands, Koh Yao Noi, or Phang Nga Bay are easy to arrange and totally worth it.
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🛵 Scooter adventures – The best way to explore is by scooter. You’ll drive through rubber plantations and palm forests, along quiet dirt tracks.
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🍜 Local culture – Visit the local markets, and restaurants for a glimpse of everyday life. The food here is also amazing! The food we ate here was some of the best we had during our 3 weeks in Thailand!
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🛶 Kayaking and paddleboarding – Many resorts offer hire options so you can explore the calm bays right from the beach.
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☀️ Sunset viewpoints – Head to the western side of the island for incredible sunsets over Phang Nga Bay.
When is the Best Time to Visit Koh Yao Yai?
The best time to visit Koh Yao Yai is during the dry season, from November to April, for sunny, dry weather ideal for beaches and activities. We visited early December and found the weather to be hot, sunny and clear skies every day. Perfect for appreciating the beaches and natural beauty of the island.
Here’s a quick overview to help you plan:
Dry Season (November – April)
Weather: Sunny skies, warm temperatures, and calm seas.
Activities: Perfect for beach days, island hopping, and water activities.
Considerations: Although Koh Yao Yai is a bit of a hidden oasis, this time of year is peak tourist season. Accommodation prices may therefore be more expensive.
Shoulder Seasons (May & October)
Weather: Still warm, but a higher chance of rain showers.
Activities: Most activities are still enjoyable, though heavy rain can make some areas trickier to access.
Considerations: Fewer crowds and lower prices make this a good balance between good weather and affordability.
Green Season (May – October)
Weather: Rainy periods are more common, but you’ll also find lush scenery.
Activities: Great if you’re looking for a peaceful, slower-paced trip.
Considerations: The most affordable time to visit, but less predictable weather.
In short: November to April is the best time for guaranteed sunshine and calm seas. For a quieter, budget-friendly experience, try the shoulder months of May or October.
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What We Loved Most About Koh Yao Yai
Koh Yao Yai felt like the perfect balance between adventure and relaxation. Although we probably switched off a little more than we usually would do when we’re travelling, we were on our honeymoon! Koh Yao Yai was the perfect slide of paradise we were hoping it would be.
We loved that it still feels untouched compared to Phuket or Krabi. For us, the highlights were:
Peaceful beaches – Walking along stretches of sand with barely another person in sight was bliss! The beaches are also gorgeous, with stunning views out to sea, especially at sunset.
Enjoying local life – Passing through forests, rubber plantations and sleepy fishing villages.
Island-hopping – The island is ideally placed to explore neighbouring Koh Yao Noi or Phang Nga Bay (which is an amazing day trip by the way!).
Unplugging – No traffic, no nightlife noise, no pressure to do anything. This was the perfect spot to slow down, read a book, and soak up the sunsets. We honestly have such fond memories of Koh Yao Yai.
Koh Yao Yai Trip Report: Day One
We’d just finished spending 5 gorgeous days in Krabi, so we made our way down to Nopparat Thara Pier, where we had a boat transfer booked to Koh Yao Yai, arriving at Chong Lard Pier at the north of the island. The journey took 30 minutes by speedboat and cost 650BHT (about £15 per person). Once at the pier, we had pre-booked a car transfer from the pier to our hotel, Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa, which was about 800BHT (£18 total).
You can read more about our stay at Santhiya in a separate post here.
Journey to the Hotel
The car journey took 40 minutes, driving past small villages, tiny dirt roads, luscious jungles and rubber plantations. Visually it was already a completely different vibe to Krabi and we were immediately in love.
We arrived at our hotel and had a swift check-in. Ordinarily we’d pick a hotel smaller and more off the beaten track, but as it was our honeymoon, we just wanted to indulge, be secluded and enjoy some down time. We booked an Ocean View Pool Suite, which was huge(!) and included a private terrace and infinity pool overlooking the ocean. The view from our room was incredible.
You can check-out a detailed review of our stay at Santhiya if you’d like to know more.
Nestled amidst the lush tropical landscape of the island, the hotel’s villas seamlessly merge with the island’s jungle-covered hills, offering stunning views of the Andaman Sea. We were in awe of our room. The view was stunning, and the villa featured beautiful traditional Thai architectural elements, teakwood furnishings and intricate carvings.
Exploring the Hotel
It was coming up to late afternoon, and we’d read that there was a communal pool and bar, with beautiful views over the ocean. It was at this stage that we realised just how massive the complex of villas and rooms is at Santhiya. As much as we wanted to indulge and be pampered, I think this was also the realisation why we usually avoid all-inclusive large resorts like this – it’s just not us and it’s not what we enjoy.
You have to ride one of the car transfers to get you anywhere in the resort. The cars loop every 10 minutes, which is frequent enough, but they also run 2 different routes, so sometimes you have to catch a transfer to a “hub” so you can catch a different route to where you want to go. It can be a bit of a pain having to manage your time or plan when to do things based around when a car is turning up.
We navigated the complex of routes and car shuttles and made it to the infinity pool for some pre-dinner drinks. The view was stunning and we watched the downpour of storms far out to sea, while we sat and enjoyed the evening sun. We were a little disappointed with the vibe at the infinity pool bar, and headed down to the beachfront restaurant. Here there’s a pier where you can sit and enjoy drinks and an endless view of the ocean. The service was good and the cocktails were great!
Thinking we’d make the most of the hotel facilities, we decided to grab dinner at the hotel for our first night. Another strike against going all-inclusive for us. The Thai buffet was disappointing and cost £68! I shouldn’t be surprised being that it’s a large spa resort, but with that in mind, and for the price, we expected the food to be better quality. The dinner entertainment put on by the hotel was also (in our opinion) very cringey. To a lot of people everything was probably perfectly reasonable and enjoyable, I think we just learnt that we don’t like “hotel experiences” nor do we like mingling with other hotel guests! We’re quite anti-social really haha and just prefer to keep ourselves to ourselves. We left the cringey entertainment and headed back to the pier for evening ocean views, and more good cocktails.
Day two
Regardless of the type of experience you do or don’t want from the hotel itself, we couldn’t fault our villa. We slept better than we ever have before, and we woke up bright and early ready to enjoy a chilled day in the sun.
The hotel owns a private section of beach by Loh PARed Beach, which is stunning. The beach is incredibly clean and quiet, with pure white sand and crystal-clear water as far as you can see. We grabbed some loungers for the day and enjoyed some much needed downtime, soaking up the beach vibes and now fully understanding why Thailand is famous for its stunning beaches.
Local Vibes
We researched some places to visit that night for drinks and dinner and came across a secluded little bar 20 minutes walk up the beach called Niki Bar. This instantly became our local haunt during our time at Koh Yao Yai.
With laid-back tropical beach vibes, the bar had an open-air design, thatched roof and deckchair seating right on the beach. We were the only 2 people there and we were hooked immediately. The guy who ran the bar was amazing – huge character and was very excited we’d picked his bar for a visit. We stayed there for a couple of rounds and enjoyed some fantastic cocktails before moving on for dinner. I’m really sad however to hear that Niki Bar has permanently closed down. I only hope the owner has moved on to a bigger and better bar somewhere along the beach front, as this place truly was special and a hidden gem, on an already remote, hidden gem of an island.
After our drinks, we headed into the main village, a short 10/15 minute walk away. Being relatively undeveloped, compared to the likes of Krabi or Phuket, Koh Yao Yai has retained its authentic Thai culture and way of life. We watched kids playing football along the dirt tracks, farmers finishing their jobs for the day, and families completing their errands.
We stumbled across a small restaurant, (surrounded by stray cats which instantly attracted us) called Ody’s Café. The place was surrounded by locals who had come to dine out with friends and family. We both had some incredible curries here (ordered as “Thai spicey” as we learnt to say during our time in Krabi) and enjoyed people watching. Feeling well and truly stuffed, we headed back to Niki Bar for a nightcap (or two), enjoying the tranquillity of the ocean while the owner lit a bonfire for us and popped some music on. Bliss!
Day three
Another easy day today, we were feeling well and truly relaxed from our time on this tiny paradise island, and we decided to spend another day soaking up the sun, enjoying the vistas from our villa and pool.
We chilled all day, admiring the expansive views, snoozing in the sun, reading our books and playing games. We loved exploring Bangkok and Krabi, trying to experience as much as we possibly could during the precious time we had, but this really felt like we were on honeymoon.
In the evening we headed back down to the hotel pier for cocktails (standard) and witnessed one of the most stunning sunsets I think we’ve ever seen, painted in an array of beautiful pastels. We headed back to the main village and tucked into a delicious curry at Haris Kitchen – which I’m pleased to say is still open and going strong on the island if you want to check it out!
Day four
We couldn’t be on our honeymoon, staying in a lovely spa resort, without benefitting from their spa facilities! It was our final full day in paradise and we wanted to stretch out our chilled vibes as much as possible!
We booked our treatments earlier in the week, had some breakfast at the hotel and then headed to their spa and treatment rooms. Once there we were treated to a sauna and steam, and both had full body relaxing massages, enjoying about 2 hours of pampering all in. The prices were on the higher end of premium than I expected them to be, but not unreasonable, all things considered.
We spent the afternoon chilling at the beach, drinking in the ocean views one last time. The hotel also offer free equipment rentals like kayaks and paddleboards, which we decided to have a go on. We hired a kayak and paddled out to sea. I realised about halfway through that I am not coordinated enough and couldn’t get my paddling to sync up with Oli, so I gave up, sat back and enjoyed the views while he did all the paddling (oops!)
I did hire the paddleboard myself though, which was a lot of fun and so peaceful. The sea was calm and serene, and it was quite blissful exploring the water with nothing but the sound of the waves lapping away beneath me.
For dinner we ventured back out to the village for one more amazing meal. Seriously, the eateries on Koh Yao Yai never failed and tasted incredible. This is definitely a foodie island – heaven! We’d heard about another beach front bar called Gypsy’s, slightly further up from Niki Bar, so we decided to try here on our final night. From the village we had to walk through a banana tree plantation to get there, but then once at the bar were greeted with (as always) incredible sunset views, which we enjoyed from our loungers, with a beer (Oli) and cocktail (me) in hand.
We thought we loved Krabi (and we really did love our time there). But it was nothing compared to Koh Yao Yai. A truly untouched gem that embraced the spirit of relaxation. It was everything we wanted it to be and we would come back in a heartbeat!
I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip report and maybe you’ll consider adding Koh Yai Yao to your travel list (although I equally want it to stay a quiet little island secret).
If you’ve been before, or if you have any questions, please feel free to share them in the comments below. We’d love to hear them! Thanks
