Ko Tarutao

Ko Tarutao is the largest of the 51 islands in the Tarutao National Marine Park archipelago in the Southern Andaman Coast of Southern Thailand, in Satun Province.

The island is entirely a national park. It is usually open to the public from November to May.

Understand

Tarutao is approximately 30 km west of the coastal city of Satun. It is 26.5 km long and 11 km wide. The highest point is over 700 m high.

The island is almost entirely covered by tropical forest and so is host to many plants and animals. Well over 100 species of birds have been spotted, including doves, hornbills, kingfishers, egrets, sandpipers, plovers, swifts, owls, woodpeckers, and hawks. Larger animal residents include macaques, langurs, flying squirrels, mouse deer, bats, monitor lizards, and snakes. The most dangerous resident animal is the rarely-encountered king cobra.

The name Tarutao comes from the Malay words "Pulau Tertua" (the island of old).

From 1937 to 1948, because of its remote location, Ko Tarutao was used as a prison, housing as many as 3,000 prisoners simultaneously. During World War II, after food supplies were cut, the prisoners turned to savage piracy, cold-bloodedly murdering crew of any ships passing by. In 1947, the British army forced the surrender of the pirates within a week.

In 1975, the island was named as the first marine national park in Thailand.

In 2002, the 5th season of the television show Survivor was filmed on the remote south part of the island. It can be reached via chartered long-tail boat in a multi-hour trip.

A report in 2013 claimed that the largely unpatrolled southern end of the island had become the site of a human-trafficking operation.

Get in

There is a one-time national park admission charge upon arrival of ฿200 for foreigners and ฿40 for Thai citizens; save the ticket as it allows for entry to other nearby islands. Foreign students pay only ฿100 on presentation of a student card.

Private operators including Satun Pakbara Speed Boat Club operate daily speedboats from Pak Bara to Ko Lipe with a stop at Ko Tarutao near the park headquarters at Ao Phante Malacca in the northwest of the island. In high season several daily services make this stop, mostly to allow a 20-minute stopover for day-tripping tourists destined for Ko Lipe. The speedboats returning to Pak Bara will only stop at Ko Tarutao if informed by park headquarters that at least 4 tourists are waiting to embark (2024). In practice this means that to get back to the mainland from Ko Tarutao you may need to make a stop in Ko Lipe.

The journey from either Pak Bara or Ko Lipe to Ko Tarutao takes 1 hour and costs ฿600. From Pak Bara, there are bus and minibus connections to most of the major cities in Thailand. Ko Lipe can be reached from Langkawi, Malaysia. If taking the bus to Pak Bara from elsewhere in Thailand, make sure that you will arrive in time to catch the boat, otherwise you will have to spend a night in Pak Bara. Boats are only guaranteed to run in the morning. In practice this will probably mean spending a night in Pak Bara, Hat Yai, or Trang.

Get around

The island can be traversed on foot and by bike. There are few trails but the 18 km of road have almost no traffic. Hiking off-road is not allowed. The island's beaches can also be explored by boat and kayak.

See

Crocodile Cave (Tam Jorakae), a partially submerged cave among the mangroves, can be reached by rented kayak. Despite the name, there are no crocodiles.
Former prison at Ao Talo Udang - although most of the buildings have been demolished, signage and a museum depicts prisoner life on the island.

Beaches and bays

Malacca and Molae beaches are on the northwest side of the island near the park HQ.
Ta Lo Wow beach is on the northeast side of the island. It is accessible by road from the park HQ (12 km).
Son beach is the largest (about 3 km) on the west side of the island and is known as a place where turtles come to lay their eggs. The beach is little visited and even more rarely cleaned, so seaborne rubbish is a problem.
Makham bay is on the southwest side of Ko Tarutao. Accessible by boat only.
Ta Lo U-Dung bay is on the southeast side of Ko Tarutao and offers a view of the tiny Singha island. Accessible by boat only.

Do

Hiking - there are several hiking trails in the jungle, including to the Lu Du Waterfall and to the 80m Tob-Bob cliff.

Birdwatching and wildlife viewing - there are few trails and no organised tours but the single-lane road that traverses the island is in a good state and mostly deserted.

Kayaks and paddle-boats - available for rent for ฿500/day.

Bicycling - bikes are available for rent for ฿250/day.

Snorkeling - calm, clear water makes Tarutao Marine Park ideal for snorkelling, with 25% of the world's tropical fish species found in the area. But park staff say that better viewing opportunities are available at Ko Lipe and Ko Adang. A partial exception is the northeast side of Ko Tarutao, which can be reached by chartered longtail boat.

Buy

There are no ATMs on the island. The closest are in Pak Bara or Ko Lipe. Bring plenty of cash!

Eat and drink

The national park service operates two restaurants and a mini-mart that provide a range of good quality meals: fried rice/noodles (฿70), main courses (฿100-150), all day with cold soft drinks, snacks, water (฿30), and beer (฿50).

Sleep

All lodging on the island is owned and managed by the national park service. Guests have the choice of non-aircon bungalow with ensuite (600 baht per night), aircon bungalow (1500 baht), or a space on the beach to pitch a tent (approximately 150 baht). You can rent a tent for approximately 200 baht a night, which comes with mats and mosquito nets. Electricity is available only 6 hours per day, in the evening, and supplied by a lorry-sized diesel generator. This makes the aircon bungalows something of a poor deal, not to mention inappropriate in the circumstances.

Lodging cannot be booked online. To reserve accommodation in advance you will need to call the park on +6674783597 or +6674783485. Alternatively, just show up. Due to the difficulties of reservations and transport, park accommodation is mostly empty even in high season. As of 2024, the park seems to be neglected by Thailand's national park service, although its employees are all doing their jobs loyally and are invariably friendly.

Luggage can be stored in the office to free up space if you are camping.

Mosquitoes and particularly sandflies can be a problem in the wetter part of high season (from November to January).

Connect

No wifi service is available but mobile data works adequately with all the major Thai operators.

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