Ko Mak often gets confused with Ko Muk over in the Andaman. Mak is a long way from Muk - it's in the eastern Gulf near Cambodia and south of big Ko Chang.
It is a small to medium sized island, hilly at each end and fairly flat in the middle, largely covered with coconut plantations and natural forest. The two main beach areas are quite attractive without being mind-blowing. These days there are fairly good concrete roads joining main areas, but dirt tracks are still widespread, a bit of a contrast to my first visit in ‘98 when they were all dirt. There is now a good range of accommodation, but overall this is a pretty relaxed island - there seemed to be few longtails, not that many motorcycles, hardly any other vehicles and fewer dogs than normal. If I had to compare it I’d say it is similar to Ko Jum and Ko Phayam. It is certainly a nice contrast to a lot of big Ko Chang, giving visitors to this area a nice diversion.
Map from KO MAK. com A FULL SIZE VERSION can be seen here
When I hopped off the speedboat from Ko Kut and walked up to the road along the south coast I saw a sign saying KO MAK’S BEST SUNSETS - SUNSET RESORT AND RESTAURANT which jogged my memory about a place all by itself out on the south-eastern promontory (15 above), with SITTING PLATFORMS OVER THE OCEAN. Now I’m a sucker for sunsets from sitting platforms so I started hoofing it south of east. Pretty soon a beat-up songthaew taxi came along and seeing I had about 4km to go I flagged it down. He could give me a ride but first had to pick up passengers heading for the speedboat’s next leg to Whai and Chang. So I got a free tour of a lot of the island including some tracks that didn’t exist in ‘98.
Sunset Resort didn’t disappoint me. It has maybe a dozen bungalows spit between 450baht with bathroom and 250 without, the majority with direct or tree-interrupted ocean views.
The restaurant is built on a small headland with similar views and eschews the normal tables and chairs for multi-level sitting platforms and picnic like benches.
Sunset Resort's airy headland restaurant - poor contrast conceals pier and main southern bay immediately in background. .
Just outside the restaurant is a short pier with a sitting platform at the end. There is another raised pergola type platform 30m to the south, but the access wooden walkway was badly weathered so most of us spent time at the end of the pier. Nice place around sunset - joints like this usually tend to attract the older long term type travellers and so I had an entertaining time listening to the wonderful travel stories these people had. There was one guy, an incredibly rude Englishman, who thought sunset on the pier was for silent contemplation, and stormed off when the bull started flowing. I wondered what the hell he was doing here - surely one of those deserted resorts I’d seen on Kut would be his scene? - but later I noticed him hound-dawging a rather striking late-30s South American lady. Rude, but not crazy.
Sunset’s food quality was good, prices at the low end of normal budget levels, service friendly and fast.
Sunset’s food quality was good, prices at the low end of normal budget levels, service friendly and fast.
One of the 250 baht bungalows at Sunset - this one looks west over the bay and Ao Kao beach.
I bargained a 450 bungalow down to 400 - a wood and thatch roof job with intricate bamboo lining and tiled floor inside which must have looked special when new but was getting a bit tatty. Big king sized bed with enough room for 3 adults, thin Thai type mattress and thin pillows which I didn’t find particularly uncomfortable. Plenty of bungalow room for 2+gear - sqeeezy for 3. No mosquito net but screens in very good condition. Big concrete and tile bathroom, wash basin, towels, good water pressure but no mirror. No interior waste bin, no soap, no toilet paper. No hammock or chairs on balcony. Grounds pretty clean, bungalows not too closely spaced.
The 250 bungalows must have been built first because they seemed to have the best views.
The 250 bungalows must have been built first because they seemed to have the best views.
Chez tezza at Sunset Resort. Most of the bungalows look north to the sea.THE SOUTH COAST
Sunset has no beach. It is pretty nice swimming off the pier even at lowest tide but we are talking rock and coral bottom here. I’m always getting hell from my stalker somebodyelse for not checking the snorkelling - so I thought I’d make her happy and not check it here too. But my previous trip and others' opinions suggest coral and fishies aint great on Mak - however apparently the snorkelling daytrips to not too distant islands throw up some very good stuff by Thai standards.
To get to a nice beach from Sunset, go back to the paved section of the road towards the main part of the island, and take the side track thru the cononut plantation where it does a kink. Go straight ahead on this track until you have no choice, then turn left and you will hit the beach at Lazy Day Resort. The beach is pretty nice here but if you walk further west past the small headland where Ao Kao Resort's restaurant is located, you will reach the main south coast beach of Ao Kao. This is a nice beach, maybe 1500m long, with a half a dozen or so resorts scattered widely along it. One caveat is that at highest tide there is not a real lot of sand in most places, but that is common to most of the beaches I saw in the eastern Gulf. I have seen people complain of a lot of rubbish washed ashore along here - and during wet season its exposed position would see the south-westerlies blowing junk from right across the Gulf. However this dry season things were not too bad, with much less junk at the tide-line in back of the beach than on my previous trip, suggesting someone must have done a bit of a clean-up along here sometime earlier.
Sunset has no beach. It is pretty nice swimming off the pier even at lowest tide but we are talking rock and coral bottom here. I’m always getting hell from my stalker somebodyelse for not checking the snorkelling - so I thought I’d make her happy and not check it here too. But my previous trip and others' opinions suggest coral and fishies aint great on Mak - however apparently the snorkelling daytrips to not too distant islands throw up some very good stuff by Thai standards.
To get to a nice beach from Sunset, go back to the paved section of the road towards the main part of the island, and take the side track thru the cononut plantation where it does a kink. Go straight ahead on this track until you have no choice, then turn left and you will hit the beach at Lazy Day Resort. The beach is pretty nice here but if you walk further west past the small headland where Ao Kao Resort's restaurant is located, you will reach the main south coast beach of Ao Kao. This is a nice beach, maybe 1500m long, with a half a dozen or so resorts scattered widely along it. One caveat is that at highest tide there is not a real lot of sand in most places, but that is common to most of the beaches I saw in the eastern Gulf. I have seen people complain of a lot of rubbish washed ashore along here - and during wet season its exposed position would see the south-westerlies blowing junk from right across the Gulf. However this dry season things were not too bad, with much less junk at the tide-line in back of the beach than on my previous trip, suggesting someone must have done a bit of a clean-up along here sometime earlier.
Ao Kao beach on the south coast of Mak. Sunset Resort is on that headland in background.Now the resort which caught my eye budget along here was Island Hut with funkily painted trad style bungalows with bathrooms, many built immediately behind the sand, in one of the nicest sections of Ao Kao. Front rowers were 500, second row 350 - before bargaining.
Bungalow and beach at Island Hut (images KO MAK com)Old timers will cry about Lazy Day - this was a Mak budget institution until recently when they rebuilt - now it is decidedly midrange - check the new accomm and restaurant.
(lower image KO MAK com)
BUT I noticed there were still about half a dozen trad style huts on the hill which the guy told me were going for 500. Not great value compared to Island Hut.In ‘98 I spent a few nights at Lazy Days as it was called then. I also stayed at Ao Khao resort - this was mainly flash packer but had a few very nice and amazingly cheap outside-bathroom bungalows. These are gone, it has moved to more midrange but still with some flash packers - the restaurant on a small promontory is in an excellent position and has pretty nice views.
There are also some pretty nice midrangers and flash packers up the other end of the beach - Baan Ko Muk and Maka Thanee for the former, Ko Mak Cottage, TK Hut and Holiday Beach Resort more the latter. Actually the only place along here I thought looked a bit daggy was Monkey Island where the Bang Bao Speedboat from Kut terminates. But occupancy seemed pretty good - I think it is associated with the nearby Ploy Divers.
THE SOUTH WEST.
Next day I grabbed a bicycle from Ao Kao resort (150baht per day) and after the usual minor rebuild with my trusty travelling tool-kit (wheel rubbing on frame, frozen seat post - I say it every island report, but I’ll say it again: what do you guys do to them?) I took off to check the dirt tracks which headed up into the hills in the west of the island. One branched left, went along a nice, deserted section of beach on the far north-west coast and cut back to a small beach in the south-west. One pretty nice budget bungalow outfit here, called Baan Ing Kao, which was kind of like another Sunset with a beach, the kind of place for people who want to get away from it all. Big beachside bungalows here were 450, smaller ones 350 before bargaining.
There are also some pretty nice midrangers and flash packers up the other end of the beach - Baan Ko Muk and Maka Thanee for the former, Ko Mak Cottage, TK Hut and Holiday Beach Resort more the latter. Actually the only place along here I thought looked a bit daggy was Monkey Island where the Bang Bao Speedboat from Kut terminates. But occupancy seemed pretty good - I think it is associated with the nearby Ploy Divers.
THE SOUTH WEST.
Next day I grabbed a bicycle from Ao Kao resort (150baht per day) and after the usual minor rebuild with my trusty travelling tool-kit (wheel rubbing on frame, frozen seat post - I say it every island report, but I’ll say it again: what do you guys do to them?) I took off to check the dirt tracks which headed up into the hills in the west of the island. One branched left, went along a nice, deserted section of beach on the far north-west coast and cut back to a small beach in the south-west. One pretty nice budget bungalow outfit here, called Baan Ing Kao, which was kind of like another Sunset with a beach, the kind of place for people who want to get away from it all. Big beachside bungalows here were 450, smaller ones 350 before bargaining.
Beach at Baan Ing Kao (image KO MAC com)THE NORTH-WEST COAST.
Taking a northern branch of this western dirt track takes you pretty high to where you can get some real nice views of the main northern beach. You can follow the road down and cruise along the back of the beach. Accommodation along here seemed to be midrange and higher, with several new flash places under construction. Old favourite Ko Mak Resort (flashpacker - midrange and higher) is still going strong - the pier at this place seems to be the terminus for a lot of the slow boats and some speedboats from both the mainland (Laem Ngop) and Ko Chang.
Taking a northern branch of this western dirt track takes you pretty high to where you can get some real nice views of the main northern beach. You can follow the road down and cruise along the back of the beach. Accommodation along here seemed to be midrange and higher, with several new flash places under construction. Old favourite Ko Mak Resort (flashpacker - midrange and higher) is still going strong - the pier at this place seems to be the terminus for a lot of the slow boats and some speedboats from both the mainland (Laem Ngop) and Ko Chang.
The north-west beach - that's the pool of Ko Mak Cococape in the foreground..
By the way, the rather attractive looking Ko Mak Cococape Resort immediately above, big pool, flash looking bungalows - is flash alright with bungalows up to 10000 (!), but get this, the above link says they also have fan bungalows at 500!
THE SOUTH-EAST PENINSULA
A bit further along from Sunset is Pano Bungalow with a hell of a lot of nice looking bungalows built along the hilly side of the peninsula. These would have fabulous views up the island towards Ao Kao beach and even better sunsets than Sunset. The place looked midrange to me, but KOH MAK com says they are 700 to 900! The place seemed largely deserted of tourists when I went past.
A side track heads back towards Ao Nid pier - there were a couple of places high up here with views back towards the sunrise, but only Ao Bong resort seemed to be operating.
THE FAR EAST
I got lazy and didn’t check the eastern third of the island. Hell, it’s HOT pedalling like a madman in the mid-day sun! After a few hours, the golden sands and sheltered waters of Ao Kao beckoned.
There are only 3 resorts in this big eastern section and they sure look laid back on KO MAK com. Hey, maybe just the place for rude Englishmen!
KOH KHAM
This tiny attractive island with picture postcard beach is less than a km off the main north-west beach. The resort here is budget and attracts lots of positive reports. A girl I met on Chang said it was wonderful, as long as you didn’t mind hanging in the one place. Apparently the snorkelling is a bit better here.
UPDATE SEPT09 - I just saw a message from a Ko Chang resident saying Koh Kham has been shut down. Luxury pool villas are being built on the island - open soon.
SERVICES.
There are a couple of small supermarkets in the tourist parts of the island. 7/11s they aint. Surprisingly, just about all the villages are separated from the bungalow areas so I’m not sure what is available there.
There is an excellent internet café just by the pier at Ao Nid in the south-east, run by the super friendly Mr Ball, who also is pretty efficient with boat bookings and bungalow reservations. He has some tables set up outside with nice bay views and a special each day - yummy cheese cake when I visited. Mr Ball is the guy behind KO MAK com. which is a neat website. The multiple pics of the various bungalows are great and give a real good idea of what’s available.
Mr Ball had quite a lot of bicycles for rent and they looked to be in good condition.
Motorcycles and bicycles can be rented at one of the small supermarkets towards the eastern end of the south coast road, and quite a few bungalows offer motorcycles.
There are 3 dive operations on the island.
There is medical clinic bu no ATMs or banks.
GETTING TO MAK
KO MAK com has an excellent Getting There section. This covers ferries and speedboats from the mainland and Kut. Plus buses from Bangkok's Ecamai and from Mochit via the new Airport to Trat for songthaews to the piers.
Plus flights into Trat.
It doesn’t mention transfers from Chang and Wai - this season the Island Hopping outfit did not seem to be running but Bang Bao Boat had both speedboats and a slowboat to Mak, via Ko Wai. Back in ‘98 I had to go back to the mainland from Chang to get to Muk and then back to the mainland to get to relatively close Wai!
There is also no mention of the direct bus from Bangkok’s KSR to Laem Ngop for the island boats but Mr Ball told me the reverse trip has a big aircon coach for the morning trip and a less comfortable minibus for the later journey. I saw the coach waiting at the pier at Ngop on my way back to Trat - saves a lot of mucking around getting to Trat bus station and then across Bangkok from Ecamai - but 5+ hours in a minibus is stretching it a bit.
THE SOUTH-EAST PENINSULA
A bit further along from Sunset is Pano Bungalow with a hell of a lot of nice looking bungalows built along the hilly side of the peninsula. These would have fabulous views up the island towards Ao Kao beach and even better sunsets than Sunset. The place looked midrange to me, but KOH MAK com says they are 700 to 900! The place seemed largely deserted of tourists when I went past.
A side track heads back towards Ao Nid pier - there were a couple of places high up here with views back towards the sunrise, but only Ao Bong resort seemed to be operating.
THE FAR EAST
I got lazy and didn’t check the eastern third of the island. Hell, it’s HOT pedalling like a madman in the mid-day sun! After a few hours, the golden sands and sheltered waters of Ao Kao beckoned.
There are only 3 resorts in this big eastern section and they sure look laid back on KO MAK com. Hey, maybe just the place for rude Englishmen!
KOH KHAM
This tiny attractive island with picture postcard beach is less than a km off the main north-west beach. The resort here is budget and attracts lots of positive reports. A girl I met on Chang said it was wonderful, as long as you didn’t mind hanging in the one place. Apparently the snorkelling is a bit better here.
UPDATE SEPT09 - I just saw a message from a Ko Chang resident saying Koh Kham has been shut down. Luxury pool villas are being built on the island - open soon.
SERVICES.
There are a couple of small supermarkets in the tourist parts of the island. 7/11s they aint. Surprisingly, just about all the villages are separated from the bungalow areas so I’m not sure what is available there.
There is an excellent internet café just by the pier at Ao Nid in the south-east, run by the super friendly Mr Ball, who also is pretty efficient with boat bookings and bungalow reservations. He has some tables set up outside with nice bay views and a special each day - yummy cheese cake when I visited. Mr Ball is the guy behind KO MAK com. which is a neat website. The multiple pics of the various bungalows are great and give a real good idea of what’s available.
Mr Ball had quite a lot of bicycles for rent and they looked to be in good condition.
Motorcycles and bicycles can be rented at one of the small supermarkets towards the eastern end of the south coast road, and quite a few bungalows offer motorcycles.
There are 3 dive operations on the island.
There is medical clinic bu no ATMs or banks.
GETTING TO MAK
KO MAK com has an excellent Getting There section. This covers ferries and speedboats from the mainland and Kut. Plus buses from Bangkok's Ecamai and from Mochit via the new Airport to Trat for songthaews to the piers.
Plus flights into Trat.
It doesn’t mention transfers from Chang and Wai - this season the Island Hopping outfit did not seem to be running but Bang Bao Boat had both speedboats and a slowboat to Mak, via Ko Wai. Back in ‘98 I had to go back to the mainland from Chang to get to Muk and then back to the mainland to get to relatively close Wai!
There is also no mention of the direct bus from Bangkok’s KSR to Laem Ngop for the island boats but Mr Ball told me the reverse trip has a big aircon coach for the morning trip and a less comfortable minibus for the later journey. I saw the coach waiting at the pier at Ngop on my way back to Trat - saves a lot of mucking around getting to Trat bus station and then across Bangkok from Ecamai - but 5+ hours in a minibus is stretching it a bit.
A caveat here - I'm not sure if the Chang connections to Mak run low season and I reckon not all the manland services would so don't take the above for granted between say mid April and November.
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If you see mistakes or have extra info, please post below. If you have questions, please put them on the Forum, accessed via the Index - I don't get to check each island page each day but I try to check the Forum when not travelling.
......................................................
If you see mistakes or have extra info, please post below. If you have questions, please put them on the Forum, accessed via the Index - I don't get to check each island page each day but I try to check the Forum when not travelling.
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