Koh Khai Huaro (Laughing Island)

Koh Khai Huaro is a bare sandbar islet behind Koh Kradad, in the Koh Mak group off Trat — not a beach or a coral-fringed hideaway, just a single tree standing on exposed sand and volcanic rock. At low tide a sandbar roughly 100 metres long links it to Koh Kradad, so you can walk across; at high tide the sea reclaims the connection and you need a boat.

There’s genuinely one thing to do here: stand on the sand, look at the tree, take the photo. The islet holds two or three people comfortably before it feels crowded — that’s the appeal. Twin islets called Koh Nok Nork and Koh Nok Nai (named for the birds that gather there) sit nearby, scattered with the same laterite and volcanic rock. None of the three have facilities, shade beyond the one tree, or reef structure worth snorkeling — skip any guide that promises coral gardens here; that’s a different stop on a wider Koh Kradad itinerary, not this islet.

Insider Tip: Time your visit around low tide, not sunrise or sunset alone — arrive at high tide and you’ll be looking at open water with no island in sight. Boatmen on Koh Mak and Koh Kradad know the day’s tide window; ask before you commit to a walking crossing.

Koh Kradad itself is the real destination most people are actually heading to — a 2.8 sq km island with free-roaming deer and savanna-like grassland, held under a Rama V-era land title that kept it out of foreign hands. Koh Khai Huaro is the detour you make once you’re already there, not a reason to charter a boat on its own.

Watch out: The crossing sand is uneven volcanic rock and coral rubble in places — reef shoes help more than bare feet or flip-flops. There’s no shade, so this isn’t a spot to linger for hours.

Access starts from Koh Mak, the nearest hub with regular boat traffic — longtails to Koh Kradad run about 15 minutes and cost a few hundred baht for a round trip, cheaper split across a group. Koh Kood is a much longer separate ferry journey and isn’t the practical way in, despite what some old listings imply.