Koh Raet

Ko Raet is a small island just off the Don Sak coast in Surat Thani — about 370m long and 200m wide — home to a Thai-Chinese fishing community whose ancestors settled here generations ago after crossing from Ko Hai, an island further down the Andaman coast. Around 85% of today’s residents trace their roots to that migration. Unlike the snorkelling islands further offshore, Ko Raet is reached not by boat but by road: the Chaloem Sirirat Bridge, a roughly 500-metre single-track span built by the Department of Rural Roads as a royal-initiated project under King Bhumibol Adulyadej, opened on 13 July 2010 with Princess Chulabhorn presiding, and carries you over open water before landing you in the village.

The island itself is a working fishing community of wooden houses, boats moored along the shore, and racks of fish drying in the sun. At under 400 metres end to end, you can walk the whole island in 20 to 30 minutes, passing small restaurants and homestays along the way. The draw here is fresh, cheap seafood and dried fish — both sold for noticeably less than on the mainland — eaten with the sea in view rather than any beach-resort polish.

This is a quiet, lived-in place rather than a built tourist attraction, which is exactly its appeal for travellers who want to see a side of southern Thailand that day-trip itineraries skip. Mornings and late afternoons, when the fishing boats come and go and the light softens over the bridge, are the best times to wander.

Insider Tip: Time your visit around when the fishing boats come in — locals sell the catch straight off the boat at prices well under what you’d pay at a mainland seafood restaurant, but only for the hour or two after they dock.

Watch out: Village shops and homestays aren’t set up for cards. Bring cash, and don’t expect much English spoken outside the handful of restaurants used to visitors.

Getting here is simple: park near the bridge on the mainland and either walk across or take one of the motorbike taxis that wait there for a few baht. There’s no entrance fee. Come hungry — the seafood is the reason to make the trip.