Hat Mae Hat

Hat Mae Hat — almost universally called Mae Haad — is Koh Tao’s only ferry pier and the island’s main village, on the west coast facing the mainland. Every boat to and from the island, whether from Chumphon, Koh Phangan’s Thong Sala pier, or Koh Samui, docks here, which makes it the default first and last stop of any Koh Tao trip. There’s no entry fee; it’s simply the island’s transport and commercial hub.

Lomprayah, Seatran Discovery, and Songserm run daily connections to Chumphon (for the onward bus and overnight train link to Bangkok), Koh Phangan, and Koh Samui, with ticket booths clustered around the pier itself. Dive shops line the streets running back from the water — Koh Tao’s reputation as one of the world’s cheapest places to get PADI-certified is built largely around Mae Haad and neighbouring Sairee Beach — alongside 7-Elevens, ATMs, tailors, and the restaurants that cater to a steady churn of arriving and departing travellers. A large turtle statue on the beach nods to the island’s name (Koh Tao means “Turtle Island”) and its green and hawksbill turtle nesting grounds.

Watch out: Mae Haad’s own stretch of sand is narrow and busy with boat traffic — it’s a working pier, not a swimming beach. For a proper beach day, head to Sairee or the quieter bays elsewhere on the island.

Insider Tip: If you’re waiting on a ferry, Jansom Bay is about a 15-minute walk from the pier and gives you calmer water and fewer people than the main village front — a better way to spend a spare hour than a dive-shop café.

The village is busiest around ferry departure and arrival windows, when songthaews, luggage-laden backpackers, and touts for dive courses and accommodation converge on the same stretch of road. Outside those windows it settles into an ordinary small-island rhythm — fishing boats, market stalls, and locals going about the day.

Most visitors arrive here rather than plan a special trip to it — but if you’re staying elsewhere on the island and need a SIM card, cash, or a dive shop with a specific certification schedule, Mae Haad is usually where you end up anyway. For day trips to Koh Nang Yuan, boats also leave from piers along this stretch of coast.