Koh Yao Yai travel guide: the empty island in the middle of Phang Nga Bay

Tip · Koh Yao Yai is a conservative Muslim island, not a beach-party destination. Dress modestly away from your resort, don't expect much nightlife or alcohol outside the hotels, and you'll get a side of the Andaman almost no tourists see.

Koh Yao Yai sits in the middle of the most photographed bay in Thailand and almost nobody stops there. The boats from Phuket and Krabi cross Phang Nga Bay all day, past the same limestone islands that fill every postcard, and they sail straight past Koh Yao Yai on the way to the famous spots. The island is right there in the centre of it all, large, green, and almost empty of tourists. If you want the Phang Nga Bay scenery without the day-trip crowds, this is where you go.

It's worth understanding the two-island setup. There are two Koh Yaos: Koh Yao Noi (the smaller one) and Koh Yao Yai (the bigger one, "yai" means big). Counterintuitively, the smaller Noi is the more touristed of the two, with more guesthouses and a small traveller scene. Yai, despite being far larger, has barely any tourism at all. It's mostly rubber plantations, fishing villages, and quiet roads, with a scattering of resorts along a few beaches. That emptiness is the entire appeal.

What to expect, and what not to

Koh Yao Yai is a working island with a conservative Muslim majority, and that shapes the visit in ways worth knowing before you book. There's no nightlife, no bar street, and very little alcohol outside the resorts. Away from your hotel, modest dress is the respectful norm, especially in the villages. Friday is the main prayer day and things slow down further.

None of this is a problem, but it's a different proposition from a typical Thai beach island. You come to Koh Yao Yai to do very little: read, swim, ride a scooter through rubber plantations, watch the longtails come in, and look across the bay at the limestone towers. If you want bars and a buzzing beach scene, you'll be bored here, and Phuket or Phi Phi is where you want to be instead.

The beaches themselves are the honest part. They're quiet and the views across the bay are exceptional, but several are shallow and muddy at low tide rather than the white-sand-and-turquoise picture you might be imagining. Loh Paret on the east coast is the best-known swimming beach. Manage the expectation and the island delivers; arrive expecting Maya Bay and you won't get it.

Getting to Koh Yao Yai

The island sits between Phuket and Krabi, so you can reach it from either side. From Phuket, speedboats and longtails leave from Bang Rong pier on the island's northeast coast; the speedboat crossing takes around 30 to 45 minutes. From the Krabi side, boats run from Ao Nang and from Thalane in the high season. There are also direct connections to and from Koh Yao Noi, which is a short hop away.

Note that boats arrive at piers (Klong Hia and Chong Lard are the main ones) that may be a fair drive from your resort, since the island is large. Arrange a transfer with your accommodation in advance, because there's no rank of taxis waiting and you don't want to be stuck at a quiet pier working out how to get across the island. If you're approaching from the mainland, the Krabi travel guide covers that side of the bay.

Getting around

Rent a scooter, and treat it as essential rather than optional. Koh Yao Yai is big and spread out, the beaches and resorts are far apart, and there's no public transport and effectively no Grab. Riding through the interior, past rubber plantations and small mosques and fishing hamlets, is genuinely one of the nicest things to do on the island. The roads are quiet and the riding is easy.

If you can't ride, you'll be dependent on resort transfers and the occasional informal taxi, which gets expensive and limiting fast on an island this size. Factor that into where you stay: pick a resort with its own restaurant and a beach you're happy to spend most of your time on.

Things to do

The honest answer is not much, and that's the selling point. The main activity is renting a longtail or joining a small-boat trip out into Phang Nga Bay, which is where Koh Yao Yai's central position pays off. You're already in the middle of the bay, so trips to the surrounding limestone islands, hidden lagoons, and snorkelling spots are shorter and quieter than the same trips run from Phuket or Krabi. Arrange one through your resort or directly with a local boatman.

The island also has mangrove channels on its eastern coast that are worth a half-day. Several resorts and local operators rent kayaks or run guided paddles through the mangroves, which take you through dense root systems, past fishing traps, and into stretches of the coast that feel completely removed from any tourist trail. The early morning is the best time — the light is good, the water is calm, and you'll likely have the channels to yourself.

Beyond that: swim, ride the scooter around the island, watch the sunset, and eat at the handful of local places. Some resorts offer additional kayaking and there's low-key island-hopping over to Koh Yao Noi for a change of scene. It's a two-to-three-night island, slotted between busier stops, rather than a week-long destination for most people.

Food and practicalities

Dining is limited and spread out. Your resort restaurant will do a lot of the work, and there are small local Thai and Muslim restaurants and roti stalls in the villages and near the piers, which are cheap and good. Don't expect a strip of beach restaurants to choose from in the evening; on Koh Yao Yai you eat where you are.

Bring cash. ATMs exist but they're few and far between on the island, and not every place takes cards. Stock up on anything you specifically need before you arrive, because the shops are small village 7-Elevens and minimarts rather than anything large. As with the rest of the Andaman, the high season of November to April is when the weather and the boats are reliable; the wet season is quieter still and some operations wind down.

Koh Yao Yai is for a specific kind of traveller: someone who wants the Phang Nga Bay scenery, has had enough of crowds, and is happy to trade nightlife and choice for quiet and space. Pair it with a busier stop on either side, give it a couple of slow nights, and respect that you're a guest on a working Muslim island. For the louder, more developed neighbour across the water, see the Phuket travel guide, and the first trip to Thailand checklist covers what to sort before you fly.