Koh Tao, Thailand

Phase one of our time in Thailand is drawing to a close. But before we leave, we're abandoning the sleepy little town of Ranong for a week of fun and sun on the lovely little island of Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand! We plan on doing lots of exploring and sitting, as we need a break from our busy content creating to just be us for a little while. (And hopefully, it won't rain all the time we're there!)

Am Strand von Ko Tao" by Franz Winter from de.wikipedia.org

August 23 - August 30, 2015

Koh Tao, Thailand

Via Wikipeda: Ko Tao (also often Koh Tao, Thai: เกาะเต่า, lit. "Turtle Island") is an island in Thailand and forms part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km². Administratively it forms a district of Surat Thani Province. As of 2006 its official population was 1,382. The main settlement is Ban Mae Hat.

The economy of the island is almost exclusively centered on tourism, especially scuba diving.

Ko Tao was named by its first settlers after the island's turtle-like shape. Coincidentally, the island is an important breeding ground for hawksbill and green turtles. Development of tourism has negatively impacted the health of these grounds but a breeding program organized in 2004 by the Royal Thai Navy and KT-DOC, a coalition of local scuba diving centres, has reintroduced hundreds of juvenile turtles to the island's ecosystem.