Adventure on Coral Island in Thailand

It’s hard to admit, but it took us an entire month in Thailand before we worked up the courage to get in a longtail boat and go island hopping.  Why did it take so long?  Well, we were worried about getting stranded on the island, about negotiating for the best price, about having an uncomfortable journey that would ruin the rest of the day, about not having access to bathroom facilities… and to be fair, we hadn’t run out of things to do around Phuket. Finally, we decided to embrace the adventure and  chose the beautiful Koh Hey or Coral Island for our first island destination.

Jump to our video about our day at Coral Island.

How to Get to Koh Hey / Coral Island

Coral Island, or Koh Hey as it is called by Thais, is in the Strait of Malacca, off the southeast coast of Phuket.  Boat captains at most Phuket beaches will offer this as a destination, but it is closest, and cheapest, from either Rawei Beach or Chalong Pier.  There are two beaches on the island: Long Beach, home to the Coral Island Resort, and Banana Beach.

We took a private longtail boat from Chalong Pier to Banana Beach for 2,500 baht ($72) total for both of us.  At Patong Beach, the boat taxi to Coral Island was being offered at 7,000 baht ($203).  Another option is to book a speedboat ride through the company that operates the amenities at Banana Beach.   Fares start at 1,700 baht ($50) per person for the most basic (no meal) ticket. They also have options that include lunch and some extras..  

The Amenities at Banana Beach on Coral Island

Upon arriving at Banana Beach, your boat pulls up to a floating dock and you can easily get ashore without getting your feet wet.  At the end of the dock, you are greeted at a welcome desk where someone will explain the island amenities and collect your park fee.  We were surprised by the fee (seems like it is a relatively new policy), but it does make sense to help maintain the facilities.  For 100 baht ($3) per person, you have use of the beach chairs, umbrellas, and bathrooms.  For 300 baht ($9), in addition to use of facilities, you are also given coupons worth 300 baht to use on food, drink, or activities at Banana Beach.  Basically, this “park fee” ensures that you make a minimum purchase on the island.

As far as the amenities offered, we were quite satisfied.  There were an abundance of beach chairs in several locations, mostly under shade.  Even at the most crowded, when several speedboats’ worth of tourists were there, we had enough space and chairs.  There was also a large restroom complex that was centrally located offering sinks, flush toilets, and an outdoor shower area.  It was clean and well supplied with soap and toilet paper.  What more can you ask for?

Finally, Banana Beach had a variety of activities available for an extra cost.  The most popular were the glass bottomed kayaks.  While we didn’t try this ourselves, the water was so clear that we’re sure we would’ve seen plenty of tropical fish this way!  There were also options to parasail, ride a banana boat, or rent a beach daybed to lounge on.  And of course, there were snorkels, fins, and life jackets available to rent if you didn’t bring your own.

Our Experience at Koh Hey / Coral Island

As this was our very first island experience in Phuket, we had no idea what to expect.  Spoiler alert: it was amazing!!!  We spent six hours here and loved every minute.

After a twenty minute longtail boat from Chalong Pier, we arrived at the floating dock.  The dock moves with the water, so it was a bit more challenging than a traditional wooden dock, but we made it ashore without any incident.  Before we were able to look around, we were persistently shepherded to the welcome desk to pay the park fee.  That done, we looked around for a spot.

The dock divides the beach into two halves, and the beach chairs were clustered around each area.  The beach in front of the restaurant (to the right when facing the ocean) was more popular, with many people snorkeling and kids playing in the sand.  There wasn’t as much expanse of sand between the chairs and the water, and this shrunk to less than a foot of beach when the tide was at its highest.  On the other side (to the left facing the ocean), there was more space, accommodating three different areas of beach chairs, a few beach swings, beach daybeds, and a few Instagrammable photo spots.  There was a wide section of sand on this side as well.  

Our number one goal on this island trip was to snorkel, and that is exactly what we did!  The water here is so clear that we could see tropical fish just looking into the water by the dock.  Once we got our gear on and went out into the bay, it was amazing!  We headed to the less crowded left side to begin with.  As you enter into the ocean, there is fine sand mixed with shell fragments and pebbles.  There is about ten feet of gradual decline with an increasing amount of larger rocks.  Eventually you reach a point where the bottom is mostly covered with rocks and coral.  Here the underwater life is at it’s best!  We could (and did) spend all day floating around, watching the fish swim by.

About halfway through the day, we decided to switch sides and check out the right half of the beach.  But before we could – a colorful movement in the trees at the very end of our side of the beach attracted our attention.  It was an oriental pied hornbill!  What an incredible sighting!  It flew away too quickly to get a good picture.  Later we saw three more hornbills in the tree directly above the bathroom facilities.  

The right side of the beach was definitely more crowded, although that ebbed and flowed with the tide and the number of tour groups on the island.  On our first snorkel on this side of the bay, I admit I was disappointed.  There is not as much structure on the bottom and we saw way fewer fish at first (possibly they were avoiding the many splashing children).  However, as the tide went out we ventured further into the bay and discovered that there are some coral structures that abound with sea life.  Plus, the fish on this side seem friendlier and we found ourselves swimming with inquisitive sergeant majors several times.

What Can You See at Banana Beach on Koh Hey / Coral Island?

We had an incredible time snorkeling at Banana Beach and saw a huge variety of fish.  Some species I recognized from our time at Ao Sane, and others were new to me.  My inexpert eyes identified:

When we were snorkeling, there were several times when we had the memorable experience of actually swimming with a school of fish.  There were some small, 2” long fish swimming in the top 12” of water.  Looking ahead, rather than down, while snorkeling, we could see literally hundreds of these.  They moved in unison, darting to one side and the other.  It was incredible!  Later, we had a similar experience with larger fish – mostly sergeant majors.  We were snorkeling and suddenly realized we were surrounded by 20 to 30 bright yellow striped fish.  When we held our hands out, the sergeant majors swam up to investigate, never actually touching us but coming quite close.  It was incredible!

The most unforgettable part of this trip was my first moray eel sighting.  I was examining a cluster of sea urchins perched on a rock at the bottom of the ocean floor.  My eyes suddenly focused on a dark fish head poking out from underneath… No, not a fish head, an eel, about three feet long!  It snaked its body stealthily out from under the rock and towards a hole in the sand a few feet away.  Then – BLAM!! – the eel shot its head into the hole on the attack!  As far as I could tell, it didn’t catch anything.  The eel then swam back to its rock and tucked its body underneath, hidden once again.  The mottled dark coloring and dark eyes makes me think I saw a juvenile giant moray eel!

Of course, after this encounter I was in full-out eel hunting mode!  My efforts didn’t disappoint.  On my last swim out for the day, as I was about to head back, I looked down to see a black and white creature twine its way through the holes in the coral.  I observed a definite flattened shape throughout and a dorsal fin running from the head down the full length of the tail.  It had a striped pattern with black fading to white.  I am 90% sure this was a snowflake moray eel.  Of course, there is a slim possibility that I was floating three feet above the elusive and highly venomous sea krait!

The Restaurant at Banana Beach on Coral Island

After a long day of fun in the sun, you will likely be hungry.  Banana Beach has a wonderful restaurant with a great menu full of traditional Thai dishes and a selection of Western style options.  We tried the fried squid and shrimp appetizer, the fish burger with fries, and the hot and sour soup with fish and coconut shoots.  Everything was delicious!  But I will admit the soup was extremely spicy – the hottest of any food we’d had in Thailand – and I was unable to finish it.

The one caveat about the restaurant is the price.  While we expected to pay a bit more at an island restaurant, this was the second most expensive meal we had in Thailand.  At first glance, the menu prices appeared just on the high side of average – 280 baht ($8) per plate.  However, the restaurant automatically adds a 10% service fee and a 7% tax.  (In Thailand, most restaurants do not charge a service fee or expect tipping, and the tax is included in the menu price of the food.)  If you choose to pay with a credit card, you’re also assessed a 3% transaction fee.  So in total, your final bill will be 20% higher than the menu price!   To illustrate this huge mark up: we paid 120 baht for a single 12 ounce can of beer on Banana Beach.  At our local Phuket convenience store we pay 216 baht for a four-pack of 18-oz cans.  A more than 300% mark up!

Our Advice on Visiting Banana Beach on Coral Island

Book your own private longtail boat for the most personalized experience. 

Since we had booked our own longtail boat, we were able to stay at Coral Island for as long as we wanted. We saw several waves of tourists getting dropped off by the speedboat, and then departing as a group a few hours later.  We much preferred getting to set our own time schedule!  Plus, in the lulls between tour groups, there were only a dozen other groups on the island with us and we had plenty of space to enjoy the beach. 

Bring enough money to cover the 300 baht per person admission fee, plus more for lunch. 

When you pay the 300 baht park fee, you will receive  vouchers for 300 bahts to spend on the island.  This will cover two drinks at the restaurant, or one appetizer. If you want more food, be sure to bring extra money.

Bring your own beer. 

Cans of local beer are triple the cost of what you pay at a convenience store in Phuket!

Ask your boat captain to provide a snorkel, mask, and life jacket. 

You can rent snorkeling equipment on Banana Beach, but your longtail boat probably already has them and will provide them at no extra charge.  Remember to take them off the boat when you disembark to save yourself some money.

Explore the island – if you can get yourself away from the beach! 

We had such a great time snorkeling we didn’t make any time to explore the interior of the island.  We missed a chance to hike a few paths and check out the look-out point.  We heard there was even a trail leading to Long Beach, the other beach on Coral Island.

Our Day at Coral Island in Phuket, Thailand