Skip to Content

Please don’t go to… Koh Poda, Thailand

Please don’t go to… Koh Poda, Thailand

Last Updated on February 4, 2024

Do you remember when I asked you not to go to Todos Santos, Guatemala? Or Samara in Costa Rica? Valladolid in Mexico? It has been a while since I found a place that I wanted to keep all to myself, but when I stumbled across Koh Poda, it took me only a few steps along the white soft sand to realize I had found another little gem that I didn’t want to share with anyone. But you guys belong to my inner circle, so how could I not share this with you:koh poda beachAnd you’ll keep this little secret to yourselves, right? You have to promise me that you will not visit Koh Poda 😉

So how did I find this tiny paradise? Krabi is the one coastal region in Thailand that everybody is raving about. I’d been to Krabi before, but it was shortly after getting scammed in Bangkok, and my mindset was just not right at the time, I was prepared to dislike everything about Thailand, and being ripped off right upon arriving in Krabi didn’t help. Beyond Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, I didn’t see much of the area back then – and admittedly, I didn’t love any of the islands I visited.

On the contrary: I found Koh Phi Phi smelly and crowded, Phuket seedy and dirty, and our trip to the famous Maya Bay extremely disappointing. I had always seen stunning photos of the imposing limestone cliffs around the beaches of Railay and Tonsai and heard good things about Ao Nang. I owed Krabi a second chance and this year, I made it part of my Thailand itinerary to return to the Andaman Sea. koh poda longtail boatsBut when me and my girlfriend arrived in Ao Nang, neither one of us was very impressed. The beach looked nice but smelled of sewage, and walking by a canal that I am sure holds all of Ao Nang’s wastewater caused me nausea every time we passed it. Right next to it, there was even some kind of landfill where garbage was left to rot in the sun. On the other side of the canal, there were several restaurants – we couldn’t even bare the thought of eating in any of them, so close to the horrendous smell.

ao nang garbage

The not-so-pretty side of Ao Nang

So the next day, we hopped straight onto a long tail boat to Railay, excited to finally hit a dream beach. And again, while it looked pretty nice, it didn’t wow us. We didn’t even feel like going into the water because the bay was filled with long tail boats that were blowing their fumes into the air and water, and it was so stony that walking into the water required zigzagging around rocks and pebbles.railay beach thailandWe decided to go for lunch and a drink instead, but the prices at the beachfront restaurants (which I believe all belong to resorts) were so outrageously steep, that this wasn’t much fun either. I was aware that Railay would be more expensive because it is only accessible by boat, but if a simple Pad Thai is more expensive than in New York City, something is off. In general, prices for accommodation, food and drinks were considerably higher than in Koh Tao for example – often twice as much. I don’t mind paying more if the quality is better but not a single dish I had in eight days around Ao Nang and Railay was memorable.   andaman sea islands near railayBefore giving up on Krabi, we decided to email a tour company that advertised private island tours, and whose contact form was titled ‘Tell us what your dream is‘. The dream was, we wrote, to spend a day on an island with no tourist crowds, no tour groups, simply a small secluded beach. The email that came back was disheartening: such a thing didn’t exist in this part of Thailand, they wrote. Were there really no secluded dream beaches anymore?

ao nang sunset thailand

The pretty side of Ao Nang

Our last try would be a boat trip out to the islands we could see scattered across the Andaman Sea on the horizon and for which day trips were offered in the small travel agencies and along the beaches of Ao Nang. After a quick Google search about the various islands, we opted for a combined snorkeling trip of Chicken Island and Poda Island, just for the two of us.

chicken island

Any guesses why this is called Chicken Island? 🙂

And finally, when I least expected it, there it was. The Thai island paradise I had dreamed of. Crystal clear water and wide, white deserted sand beaches.koh poda beach coconut

To be honest, I didn’t think this would happen when we first approached Koh Poda and around 20 long tail boats and speed boats lined the shores of the tiny island. Hordes of tourists were swimming in the shallow water around the boats, taking selfies, the beach filled with beach towels in bright colors.koh poda tourists

We walked down the beach, away from the boats and the crowds, and the unthinkable happened: suddenly, we weren’t surrounded by people anymore. No more boats. Just crystal clear turquoise water, an empty beach, and the occasional sun seeker hidden between trees or tree trunks. It felt glorious.koh poda beach thailandI couldn’t believe that the island didn’t have hotels or resorts on it (the closest hotels to Koh Poda are in Ao Nang), because the grassy space behind the beach would be perfect for it, and you could get here easily in twenty minutes from Ao Nang.

koh poda palm trees

The perfect place for some beach side bungalows. However, I hope the island will remain uninhabited.

Other than a tiny hut selling cold drinks and snacks near the boat landing, there was no restaurant. And the further you walked away from the boats, the more the island felt like a completely deserted Robinson Crusoe island. koh poda shell

I wished we could have spent the night but we were not prepared and didn’t bring any food or even a change of clothes. I am not sure if camping is officially allowed there, but when we followed the path through the woods, we saw several extinguished campfires and other signs of overnight camping.koh poda longtail boats

Koh Poda: A Small Paradise in Thailand

I was so thrilled to have finally found the paradise island I’d been looking for all over Thailand, that I didn’t want the day to end.D & J in Koh PodaI think the photos show why I don’t want to share the island with anyone, but there are some other reasons why I’d like to keep Koh Poda to myself: While I thought Koh Poda was stunningly beautiful, I found the amount of garbage on the tiny island disturbing, especially considering that it is such a popular day trip destination (most boats seem to anchor for 30 minutes to an hour and then move on to the next place, as part of an island hopping trip). And I don’t want this little paradise to turn into another Ao Nang.koh poda boat thailandWhen people spend the night in such a paradise, why can’t they take their garbage home with them? Why would they not want the island to stay in a gorgeous state so that other people can enjoy it too? I simply cannot understand how tourists can just pile up garbage in such a pristine place and leave, but the overnight campers seemed to think differently.

koh poda trash

Even paradise comes with a downside..

Also: Koh Poda is a designated National Park, so why does nobody clear the garbage on the island? Wouldn’t the people who are in charge here want it to stay as jaw-dropping as it is, for the hundreds of people that come and visit Koh Poda every day?

We were charged an admission fee of THB200 (about US$5.88) each when we came on a private boat and THB50 (US$1.47) when we came back on a shared long tail boat the next day, so one would think enough money is collected every day to be able to employ someone who cleans the entire beach, and not just the tiny part where the boats arrive and the majority of people stay during their visit (I assume that this part is cleaned every day, but I don’t know for sure).

UPDATE 2023: The entrance fee to visit Koh Poda is now 400 baht (US$13.25)!

visit koh poda thailandIn addition to the garbage, the damages of the 2004 Tsunami are still visible everywhere. There’s not a single palm tree left on the beach, dozens of massive tree trunks line the beach, making it even impossible to walk the entire length of the beach during high tide (there is a forest path though, and you can climb over most of the tree trunks).

It gave me shivers to see how much damage the tsunami caused, still so prevalent on this tiny rock, more than a decade after it happened. I found myself wondering about the lack of clean-up here too, not sure why the tour operators wouldn’t get rid of these nuisances along the otherwise picture-perfect beach.koh poda tree trunks and beachDespite the garbage and the tsunami damage, Koh Poda was such a dream destination for us that we decided to return the next day. One day was just not enough.
koh poda daniAnd so the next day, we hopped onto another long-tail boat and set off again to spend another day in paradise. koh poda water thailand

If you visit Koh Poda..

I don’t know what will happen to Koh Poda – seeing how developed the Krabi area is, I would be surprised if it stayed resort or hotel-free forever. And that’s why I ask you: Please don’t go to Koh Poda. (But if you do visit Koh Poda, don’t forget to take your garbage back with you.)

Price: There are long-tail boats that leave from Ao Nang whenever they’re full. They charged 300THB per person for a return trip to Koh Poda. As soon as 6 or 8 people are in the boat, they make the trip.

Update 2024: My reader Sara shared her experience of what it was like to visit Koh Poda in February 2024:

“I am aware that the island is mainly visited as part of a 4 island day tour but as you mentioned, we managed to get on a long tail boat once we were enough people willing to head there.

If you don’t feel like joining the 4 island tour that the majority of kiosks in Ao Nang will try to suggest, I would recommend heading to the co-operative boat hut that is a few steps away from the Night Market in Ao Nang, just on the beach side. They will arrange the boat for you as soon as they have enough people. We paid 300 Baht per person for the boat trip and the fee to visit was 200 Baht each.

A tip I could add is that the boats may land you on one side and depending on the tides pick you up from the opposite one, a short walk from the jungle in between. We had no clue and couldn’t find ours, until someone gave us a shout – it only took us 5 mins to head back to the other side.

There is currently a small kiosk there and some public toilets plus a few huts located near the palm trees where I am assuming some people who work on the island may stay overnight. Not sure how you could arrange a pick up on the following morning if you decided to camp but I guess it could be done!”

Thank you so much for all these details, Sara!

Question: If you’ve visited Koh Poda recently, I’d love to know how much they’re charging now for the long-tail boats to the island, so that I can update this article. Feel free to leave a comment below.

Koh Poda Island Fun

Interested in more Thai island bliss? Read my article on Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi!

PIN IT!

Koh Poda

Sara

Wednesday 31st of January 2024

Hey! Thanks for posting about Koh Poda, I got inspired by your pictures when researching for my trip and was there less than a week ago. The island is lovely but quite compact and there were indeed lots of people everywhere. Well, it's peak season after all!

We found a quieter corner which was great, but still not that far from others...anyway, it was really nice to visit it. I am aware that the island is mainly visited as part of a 4 island day tour but as you mentioned, we managed to get on a long tail boat once we were enough people willing to head there.

If you don't feel like joining the 4 island tour that the majority of kiosks in Ao Nang will try to suggest, I would recommend heading to the co-operative boat hut that is a few steps away from the Night Market in Ao Nang, just on the beach side. They will arrange the boat for you as soon as they have enough people. We paid 300 Baht per person for the boat trip and the fee to visit was 200 Baht each.

A tip I could add is that the boats may land you on one side and depending on the tides pick you up from the opposite one, a short walk from the jungle in between. We had no clue and couldn't find ours, until someone gave us a shout - it only took us 5 mins to head back to the other side.

There is currently a small kiosk there and some public toilets plus a few huts located near the palm trees where I am assuming some people who work on the island may stay overnight. Not sure how you could arrange a pick up on the following morning if you decided to camp but I guess it could be done!

A heads up that the island is really small. We stayed 5 hours and in our opinion it was more than enough. I love relaxing in the sun but can't take it all day long, however, I am sure others would think otherwise and fully enjoy the chilled vibe of a day on a paradise beach. Thanks again for your post! I just returned and already look forward to visiting this amazing country again.

Dani

Sunday 4th of February 2024

Sara, I cannot thank you enough for this detailed update! I will include some of your comment in the article so that other people interested in visiting Koh Poda who may not scroll down all the way to the comment section can benefit from it too! Btw, I agree .. about 5 hours is plenty on this tiny island :)

Margherita

Thursday 18th of January 2024

2024 update: currently here, just 4 people in the beach, went snorkeling and saw maybe 100 nemo, and lots of other colorful fishes This island is truly a gem! Was not impressed by all the other places as they are full of tourists and trash everywhere.. there is a little restaurant here now, close to where the long tail boats leave you, and lots of people too But if you follow the trail to the other part of the island there is this spectacular beach with basically no one there apart from 1 or 2 little boats and 4 or 5 peolple max So beautiful and most of all CLEAN!

Dani

Sunday 21st of January 2024

Margherita, thanks so much for this update! It makes me so happy to read that Koh Poda still is the little paradise that it was when I visited! :)

Mlp

Thursday 4th of January 2024

I am currently in Krabi and confirm that the national park entrance fee is 200 baths for adults ( foreigner) and 60 baths for citizens.

Dani

Tuesday 9th of January 2024

Thanks so much for letting me know :)

Theresa

Thursday 5th of October 2023

Hey, still 300 thb for a shared ride ( plus 200 thb for the national park, not 50 anymore), private boat is 2000. Info from this week. Will go again tomorrow. Trash is still aweful but the rest is stunning. ✌🏼

Dani

Friday 6th of October 2023

Thank you so much, Theresa! I really appreciate the update :)

Floflo

Saturday 1st of July 2023

But Thailand is full of treasures and paradise islands, just don't stop at the big ultra-touristy spots :) for me Ao Nang only serves as a base to explore the surroundings and their wonders: koh poda, Kudu island (impossible to do more cinematic than this island), bamboo island (even more beautiful than Poda?), Koh Hong, koh Yao noi (how comes this marvelous island with its breathtaking beaches, its adorable Muslim population which preserves the island, yet between Phuket and krabi, remains so preserved...?? And this amazing view on the bay...), Koh Yao yai, Koh Jum (no less than 9 sublime beaches on this quiet fishing island), not far you have Similan islands, insanely beautiful, Koh Phayam (with his chill hippie vibes), Koh kradan (...just elected most beautiful beach in the world). If you are looking for authenticity, Phuket and Phiphi were obviously not the right choices, especially since the country has so much to offer that is still preserved