“I’d rather own little and see the world, than own the world and see little”



I’m telling you this now. Visiting Koh Tao, Thailand will not drain your funds. 

How much money do you really spend living on a tropical island?

Well to be completely honest with you, a lot less than you are probably thinking. Everyday we spend a lot less than we planned for, and are living a lot more comfortably financially  than we originally anticipated. 

If you are like us, one of the most expensive things is getting here.
We flew from New York City to Taiwan to Bangkok. Than took a taxi to another airport in Bangkok. Than flew from Bangkok to Chumphon. Than took a ferry from Chumphon to Koh Tao. Collectively costing us about 700 USD each for our one way trip.

Once you reach the island, you’re going to need accommodation. There are handfuls of hostels on Koh Tao with prices ranging from only 6-12 USD a night. Than you can find hotel rooms anywhere from 15 USD to hundreds of dollars, depending on if you choose a fancy ocean front pool villa or just a standard room. The island is the best of both worlds for any kind of traveler, whether you’re here for a backpacking trip with your college roomies or honeymoon with your love. Our first week here we splurged and stayed in a beautiful ocean view bungalow at  Sensi Paradise beach resort for about 60 USD a night. We also recommend checking out Moov Inn Hostel, for $12 a night you get a bed in a dormitory style room. Sunday’s at Moov is open jam night and an all you can eat bbq for 200 baht (6 USD) and it’s DELICIOUS 

If you’re staying for at least a month, you might want to consider renting an apartment room or bungalow for your time here. We’ve seen prices on these very depending on your expectations. For example, we live in a big bungalow in a great location on the quieter side of the island. We pay 9,000 baht a month for a room with a queen size bed, 2 big fans, cable TV (Which we don’t use), a kitchen with a refrigerator and sink and our shower has hot water. We also pay anywhere from 1,000-1,500 on water and electric a month.  The most we pay a month for rent is 11,500 baht, or 345 USD. My half of rent and utilities is only $173 a month, that’s probably less than your car payment.

Keep in mind, we don’t live in the most expensive bungalow, we also don’t live in the cheapest. We rode around the island and checked places out until we found one that was ideal for us. Also, accommodation prices may change depending on if you visit during high or low season.

Food on the island is delicious, cheap, and you’ve got a wide variety to choose from. You can get pizza and pasta at one of the Italian places with prices ranging between 80-300 baht (3-9 USD) There’s an indian place, burger places, seafood, and of course so many thai resturants. You can get food from street carts for a nice 60 baht (2 USD) It really just depends where you go and what you’re in the mood for. Walk around and look at the menus, they are always on display. Most nights we try to eat cheap but we also do splurge once in a while. And when I say splurge I mean we’ll go out and spend 1000 baht on two entrees, an appetizer or two and a few drinks. 30 USD for a nice date night is not too shabby.

The fruit on the island is also amazing. Our favorites include the tropical mangosteen, mango, dragon fruit and young coconut which are unfortunately  uncommon to come by in the states. You can stop at a street stand for a fresh fruit shake for only 30 baht (1 USD). The other day we bought a watermelon, which the woman sliced up for us and split into two big bags, for 90 baht (3 USD) We’ve gotten 2 mangos and 15 mangosteens for 130 baht (4 USD). It’s easy to have a cheap, delicious and extremely  healthy fruit diet here. 

Activities on the island are endless. You can go diving, snorkeling, take a yoga class, get a massage, learn trapeze, take a cooking class, learn martial arts, work out, hit the beach bar, take a hike, shop around or just relax on the beach or near a pool.

Prices for everything are dramatically cheaper than you could imagine.

To get open water certified depends on where you go, but the average price I’ve seen is about 9800 baht, or 300 USD. Head over to the Florida keys and you’ll see that price double. We highly recommend you check out New Way Diving for great prices, awesome instructors and the best dive spots

A one hour massage cost on average 300 baht. (9 USD)

Hiking is generally free unless you go onto private land, in which you’ll find yourself paying only a few dollars to continue to the amazing views 

The beaches are free, if you have your own snorkel gear than you’re in luck and can check out the amazingly colorful coral reefs for free as well. No worries if you didn’t bring your own, you can rent a mask and snorkel at most places for about 50 baht each. (Under 2 USD)

To travel around you’re going to want to rent a bike or if you’re staying buy a bike. You can rent a bike for 150 baht a day (4.50 USD) but remember you will have to leave your passport as a collateral. Make sure you take a lot of pictures of the bike so they can’t try and make you pay for someone elses scratches. Bikes are being sold everyday by people who are leaving the island and no longer need them. You can buy one anywhere from 6,000 to 18,000 baht depending on how nice it is and if it has registered license plates and a green book. We’ve heard it’s really important that your bike has a green book.

You can always find a taxi cab or taxi boat to take you around the island. Obviously price depends on distance, but it’s usually just as expensive to rent a bike for a whole day as it is for one taxi ride. 

Happy hours all over the island offer 2 for 1 drink specials or 60 baht for large beers. That’s 2 USD for a big ass beer. For this reason, I think it’s official to declare that the happiest hour exists in Koh Tao. 

So what I’m trying to tell you, is you don’t need to sell your car, pack your bags and necessarily move across the world. But it is completely affordable to visit Thailand for anyone who plans accordingly. (And we are so excited to host our first round of visitors coming at the end of next week!)

“Life is a book and those who don’t travel only read one page.”