Koh Kradat

Ko Kradat sits about a kilometre off Laem Son Beach on Koh Mak, not Koh Kood — a distinction worth knowing before you plan a route, since boats to Ko Kradat leave from Koh Mak’s resorts and beaches, not Koh Kood’s piers. It’s a privately run island rather than an open-access beach: a 100 THB entry fee buys a place on the tractor tour that loops the island, and that tour is really the point of the visit rather than an add-on.

The island’s nickname, Deer Island, comes from a small herd a resort released here decades ago that has since multiplied with no natural predators — well over 100 deer now wander freely among the banyan trees and wildflowers. The tractor stops so visitors can hand-feed the calmer animals with vegetables provided on the tour, then continues to an undeveloped beach partway round the island for a roughly 30-minute swim or snorkel stop before heading back. Coconut trees and sandy tracks fill in the rest of the loop, but the deer and the beach break are the two things people come for.

This isn’t a day-long destination — most visitors treat it as a half-day add-on to a Koh Mak stay, booked through whichever resort arranges the boat. There’s little in the way of facilities beyond what the tour provides, so it suits a short, structured visit rather than an afternoon of lounging.

Insider Tip: Ask your Koh Mak resort to book the Ko Kradat trip a day ahead rather than trying to flag a longtail on the spot — availability depends on which boats are running that morning.

Watch out: The deer are used to being fed but are still wild animals — hold vegetables flat on your palm rather than pinching them, and don’t approach animals with fawns.

Pair it with a stay on Koh Mak itself, or with the smaller satellite islands Ko Kham and Mu Ko Rayang nearby, rather than trying to reach it from Koh Kood — the two islands sit on opposite sides of the strait between them.