Koh Rok is made up of two small islands: Koh Rok Nok and Koh Rok Nai, separated by about 250 meters of sea.
The islands of Koh Rok are part of the Mu Koh Lanta National Marine Park. They are among the most beautiful islands in all of Thailand: pristine, with white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and a coral reef full of tropical fish. The interior of both islands is entirely covered in dense jungle.
The islands of Koh Rok are located approx 30 km from Koh Lanta and 12/20 kilometers from Koh Ngai, Koh Muk and Koh Kradan.
There are no public ferries to reach them, so you have to rely on organized tours or rent a private boat. The islands are uninhabited and there are no accommodations, only a few tents, accessible upon request for a permit.
In this article we see all the tips and information to visit the island of Koh Rok: how to reach it, when to go, how to stay overnight etc.
Tips For Visiting the Koh Rok Islands
How to get to Koh Rok
As we said there is no public boat service to Koh Rok. Most tourists choose to reach Koh Rok via organized speedboat tours, starting mainly from Koh Lanta, but also from Krabi o Phuket.
Otherwise it is possible to get to Koh Rok with private tours by Long Tail Boat, departing from Koh Ngai, Koh Kradan and Koh Muk.
Keep in mind that from Koh Lanta the speedboat takes about 45 minutes to reach Koh Rok, while from Phuket the crossing takes about 1 hours
The speedboat tour from Koh Lanta costs from 1300 to 2500 baht per person. We leave in groups of about 25 people and the excursion generally includes: transfer to and from the hotel, snorkeling equipment, life jacket, water, towels, entrance to the park and lunch at the buffet.
Council: bring plenty of sunscreen because the sun is very strong.
We opted for the day tour which included two stops of about 30 minutes for snorkeling, 3 hours on the island of Koh Rok and finally a last snorkeling session in Koh Haa, absolutely not to be missed. From Koh Ahh we returned to Koh Lanta in about 1 hour by speedboat.
Koh Rok
The island of Koh Rok is a real tropical paradise, its strong point are the beaches of a blinding white and transparent waters. The main beach where the boats land and where you can have lunch is the most crowded, most of the motorboats arrive for lunch time. The advice is to move, even just for 10 minutes, to other completely empty beaches.
The main activity of the island is relaxing on the white sand, perhaps under a palm tree, to shelter from the scorching sun. But you can also snorkel just a few meters from the beach. In addition, if you enter the interior of the island a few steps from the beach, you can come across large lizards.
When to Go to Koh Rok
The period in which you can visit Koh Rok is between October and May. Please note that tours to Koh Rok are suspended from May to November during the rainy season.
Stay on Koh Rok
There are no lodging facilities on Koh Rok, no resorts, hotels, convenience stores or bars.
The only possibility to spend a night on the island is by renting tents in a small equipped area, but you will have to ask for the permit first. However, this is a somewhat spartan solution and a certain spirit of adaptation is needed. It is best to organize yourself directly from Koh Lanta or contact Mu Koh Lanta National Marine Park for more information.
There are also bungalows but it is not possible to rent them, they are only available to the national park rangers who monitor and keep the island clean and in case of need they can assist tourists who decide to sleep on Koh Rok.
Skorkeling Koh Rok e Koh Haa
The Koh Rok islands are the ideal destination for all lovers of snorkeling and diving. The Marine National Park is populated by an incredible variety of marine life and if you are lucky you can see turtles, black tip sharks and sea snakes.
The corals fortunately are mostly intact and have kept their wonderful colors.
There are both points dedicated purely to diving, and areas perfect for snorkeling with a depth of no more than 5 meters, where you can explore the seabed simply with a mask, fins and snorkel, usually provided by the agencies that organize the tours.
We also made a stop at Koh Haa, which is about 40 minutes by speedboat from Koh Rok, but absolutely deserves, in my opinion snorkeling here is even better, rich in fauna, we saw all kinds of fish, many starfish and even a wonderful water snake. The only bad thing is that the swimming space is a bit limited and there are too many people.
Conclusions
In general I think the tour to the islands of Ko Rok + Koh Haa is an experience not to be missed, especially if you are in Koh Lanta.
A pleasant day of snorkeling and some relaxation on some of the most beautiful beaches in all of Thailand. Koh Rok is an unspoiled island.
Obviously, being a paradise it is also quite popular, fortunately still not devastated like the nearby Maya Bay, which as you know was closed because it was destroyed by the thousands of tourists who reached the beach every day.
We hope that the authorities of the National Park will be able to keep the beauty of the island intact and I hope with all my heart that anyone who visits it can respect the wonderful and unique nature.
Below you will find the video about our day between Koh Rok and Koh Haa:
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