A guide to Koh Yao Noi, Thailand

We returned to Thailand in March 2024 to go island hopping in the south. We had already travelled across the north of Thailand in November 2023.

Our first stop had been Phuket but sadly I didn’t get to see very much as I was poorly. Our next stop was the island of Koh Yao Noi.

Koh Yao Noi is a small island that is about halfway between Phuket and Krabi. It’s a quiet, peaceful island that couldn’t be further from the party vibes of Koh Phi Phi and Phuket.

Koh Yao Noi has a predominantly Muslim population. This means you won’t find alcohol or pork in the only 7 Eleven on the island. We did find plenty of shops that did sell alcohol, and the majority of restaurants did too.

Here I’ll tell you about what we got up to and my recommendations of what to do if you visit Koh Yao Noi.

How to get to Koh Yao Noi-

We travelled to Koh Yao Noi from Phuket by boat. It took around 30 minutes and was a very easy journey. We booked our boat tickets on the 12Go Asia app and it cost about £18 for two of us.

You can just turn up at the pier in Phuket and buy a boat ticket. However, we always like to book in advance.

Where to stay-

We stayed in an Airbnb called Bangmee’s homestay. The accommodation was nice, although slightly rustic as there was a big gap in the bathroom where big scary looking bugs would sometimes fly through!

The Airbnb was on an organic coconut farm and we were welcomed with a fresh coconut. The accommodation was in a good location to be able to walk to the only 7 Eleven on the island and a few restaurants. We were able to rent a motorbike directly from the accommodation which allowed us to easily get around the rest of the island.

I would definitely recommend Bangmee’s Homestay to anyone visiting Koh Yao Noi. We had a great stay here.

Places to eat/drink-

Golden Sky View Bar and Restaurant- this was a lovely little restaurant with a nice view looking out to the sea. You could see Laem Had beach on the nearby island of Koh Yao Yai which even when the tide is high, you can still walk out on a trail of sand into the sea. The food here was lovely and they easily adapted dishes to be vegetarian.

Garden Cafe & Restaurant- this restaurant was close to where we stayed so we went here most nights for tea. The veggie fried rice was packed with vegetables and was delicious. Definitely give this a try.

Bai Tong Simply Foods Resto- this restaurant was by Klong Jark Beach. You could either sit inside the restaurant or on the beachfront. We opted for inside because there were a lot of flies and ants by the beach. There were lots of veggie options here. Give the Massaman curry a try!

O2 beach bar- this is a beach bar on Pasai beach. It is a bit tired looking but it’s a nice place to have a beer and look out at the sea.

Cozy Island Bar- this is just down the road from O2 beach bar, again on Pasai beach. It’s another nice place to sit looking at the sea with a cold drink to cool you down.

Things to do-

Watch the sunset- we drove to the beach every evening to watch the sunset. This was by far the best thing to do on Koh Yao Noi. We saw some of the best sunsets we’ve seen since being in South East Asia on Koh Yao Noi. There was usually no one else around so we were the only ones on the beach watching the beautiful sunset.

Little Long Beach- we went to this beach a couple of times. The first time it was just us there and the second time there was only one other person.

Drive around the island- Koh Yao Noi is a small island and you can drive from one side to the other in about 20 minutes. It’s a great place to drive around and explore. It’s such a quiet island that there is basically no traffic on the roads making it very easy to drive around.

Cozy Island Bar Painting Workshop- when we visited the bar had sadly run out of paint so we didn’t get to do this. It would be a great activity to spend an afternoon doing though. The bar is right by the beach so if you were stuck for what to paint all you would need to do is look out at the sea.

Just chill out- Koh Yao Noi is a very quiet island where there isn’t a great deal going on. If you’re the kind of person who likes a jam packed schedule and/or partying then it isn’t the place for you. It’s the place to take some time to chill, read a book, and relax.

The sea…

We sadly didn’t go in the sea while we were in Koh Yao Noi. The reason for this was we saw loads of jellyfish on all of the beaches. They were washed up on the beach and in the water on the shore line.

Our Airbnb host said they were harmless (we think they were Moon jellyfish) and that if they stung us it would only cause mild itching. However, it really put me off going in the sea.

It was incredibly hot when we visited Koh Yao Noi in March so we were disappointed we couldn’t go in the sea to cool down. This is just something to bear in mind if you choose to visit at this time.

What to avoid-

Chill out corner- this was a bar with deck chairs and swings where you could watch the sunset. It was a great spot to watch the sunset, but it was a bit of a rip off. A soft drink was the same price as a beer, and we were cheekily charged a service charge for the guy getting two cans of Coke out of the fridge and passing them to us. I would instead recommend buying some drinks from a shop and finding your own spot on the beach.