Koh Mak is the island in the middle. It sits in the Trat archipelago between big, busy Koh Chang and jungly Koh Kood, and it has quietly decided to be neither: no high-rises, no jet skis, no 7-Eleven, no nightlife to speak of. Around 80% of the 16 sq km island is owned by five local families who cap development on purpose, which is why there are only about 750 guest rooms on the entire island and why the Tourism Authority of Thailand calls it the country’s first low-carbon destination. If your ideal Thai island day is cycling a flat lane through rubber trees and coconut plantations to a beach with nobody on it, this guide is for you.
Prices are in Thai baht with US dollars at ฿33 = US$1 (July 2026), given as ranges because boat fares and rental rates shift with the seasons. If you’re still choosing your island, start with our best islands in Thailand comparison, and if you’re coming via Koh Chang, the Koh Chang to Koh Mak guide covers that route in detail.
Koh Mak costs at a glance
| Item | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Speedboat, Laem Ngop to Koh Mak | ~฿450 (US$14) | ~50 min; Panan, Leelawadee, Suansuk, Seatales; reduced sailings Jun-Oct |
| Slow wooden boat, Laem Ngop | ~฿200 (US$6) | ~3 hours; limited schedule (Saturday sailing listed for 2025-26) |
| Boat from Koh Chang | ฿400-600 (US$12-18) | High season only (roughly Nov-Apr); wooden boat or speedboat |
| Speedboat from Koh Kood | ~฿350 (US$11) | ~30 min |
| Bicycle rental | ~฿100-150 (US$3-5)/day | The island is flat; this is the classic way to explore |
| E-bike rental | ~฿200 (US$6)/24h | Available at several resorts and shops |
| Scooter rental | ฿250-300 (US$8-9)/day | Rentals deliberately limited on the island |
| Koh Kham longtail + entrance | ~฿300 + ฿200 (US$9 + US$6) | Entrance fee includes a drink; kayak option ~฿300 (US$9) |
Compiled from island boat timetables and rental listings as of July 2026; schedules and fees change seasonally, so confirm locally before you travel.
What is Koh Mak, and why is it so quiet?
Koh Mak is a small, flat, family-owned island that stays undeveloped by design, not neglect. Descendants of Luang Prompakdee, who bought land here in the early 20th century, still hold roughly 80% of the island across five families, and they decide what gets built. In 2018 the community wrote the eight-point Koh Mak Charter, which bans high-rise hotels and motorised water sports, limits single-use plastics and pushes solar power, local sourcing and electric transport. The Tourism Authority of Thailand recognises Koh Mak as Thailand’s first low-carbon destination, and reporting from 2024-2025 puts the island at around 750 guest rooms and an estimated 80,000-90,000 visitors a year, a fraction of what the big-name islands absorb.
The people behind that restraint are blunt about why. “60-70% of our population are native to Koh Mak. We live here long-term. Anything that negatively impacts our community, we have to protect ourselves,” business owner Thanin Suthithanakul told Pattaya Mail in its coverage of the island’s low-carbon model. In practice that means rubber and coconut plantations still cover the interior, resorts stay small and family-run, and the loudest thing on the island most nights is the sea.
How do you get to Koh Mak?
The main route is a speedboat from Krom Luang pier at Laem Ngop, a coastal district about 30-40 minutes by road from Trat town and Trat airport. As of the 2025-26 published timetables, four speedboat operators (Panan, Leelawadee, Suansuk and Seatales) each run two departures a day in high season, charging around ฿450 (US$14) for the roughly 50-minute crossing. Panan boats dock at Koh Mak Resort pier on Ao Suan Yai; Leelawadee boats use Makathanee pier on Ao Kao, so pick the operator whose pier is nearer your accommodation if you can. A slow wooden boat also runs from Laem Ngop for about ฿200 (US$6), taking around three hours, listed as a Saturday sailing in the current timetable.
Two things to plan around. First, low season: from roughly June to October operators cut back to about one sailing a day each, schedules are published late, and rough seas can cancel boats, so build slack into onward travel. Second, island hopping: in high season (roughly November to April) boats connect Koh Chang to Koh Mak for ฿400-600 (US$12-18) depending on wooden boat or speedboat, covered step-by-step in our Koh Chang to Koh Mak guide, and a speedboat links Koh Kood to Koh Mak for around ฿350 (US$11) in about 30 minutes. That makes a Chang-Mak-Kood chain one of the easiest three-island runs in Thailand.
Which beach should you stay on: Ao Kao or Ao Suan Yai?
Stay on Ao Kao if you want convenience, Ao Suan Yai if you want space. Ao Kao, on the south-west coast, is the island’s main strip: a long curve of sand with the biggest cluster of resorts, restaurants, rental shops and low-key beach bars, plus calm, shallow swimming. It’s where most first-timers end up, and it’s the easier base for eating out without cycling in the dark. The honest catch: parts of Ao Kao are known for sandflies, so pack repellent and ask your resort what they recommend.
Ao Suan Yai, on the north-west coast, is the postcard. It’s a wider, quieter sweep of sand facing west across the water to Koh Kham, which makes it the island’s sunset beach, and it has only a handful of places to stay and eat. The longtail boats to the Koh Kham sandbar leave from its northern end. On an island this small and this flat, the choice isn’t binding: it’s an easy cycle between the two, and plenty of people stay on Ao Kao and pedal to Ao Suan Yai every evening for sunset.
How do you get around Koh Mak?
By bicycle, ideally. Koh Mak is one of the few Thai islands that is genuinely flat, with quiet concrete lanes running through rubber and coconut plantations, so a regular bicycle at roughly ฿100-150 (US$3-5) a day covers the whole island comfortably. E-bikes rent for around ฿200 (US$6) per 24 hours at several resorts and shops, and scooters run ฿250-300 (US$8-9) a day, though the island deliberately limits motorbike rentals as part of its low-carbon push, per current island rental listings. There’s no songthaew network or public transport to speak of; resorts arrange pier transfers, and everything else is pedal-powered. Cycling the perimeter, stopping at viewpoints, small cafes and Somchai’s quirky Love Garden art project, is arguably the single best thing to do here.
Is the Koh Kham sandbar trip worth it?
Yes, it’s the one excursion you shouldn’t skip. Koh Kham is a tiny private island about a kilometre off Ao Suan Yai, famous for a white sandbar that emerges at low tide and clear water for swimming and snorkelling. Longtail boats make the ten-minute crossing from the northern end of Ao Suan Yai for around ฿300 (US$9) return, and the island charges a ฿200 (US$6) entrance fee that includes a drink at its small snack shop, with visits running roughly 9am to 4pm, per current island listings. The budget alternative: rent a kayak on Ao Suan Yai for about ฿300 (US$9) and paddle over yourself in around half an hour, paying the entrance fee when you land. Check the tide times before you go; the sandbar is the show, and at high tide it disappears.
Beyond Koh Kham, snorkelling trips run in high season to nearby Koh Rayang and Koh Kradat (known for its resident deer), and dive shops on the island run trips to sites in the Koh Chang archipelago. If you’re building a wider itinerary around the archipelago, our things to do on Koh Chang guide covers the bigger island’s waterfalls, viewpoints and beaches.
What is Koh Mak NOT good for?
Nightlife, shopping and convenience. There are no clubs, no walking street and no late-night scene; beach bars on Ao Kao serve sunset drinks and the odd high-season fire show, then wind down by 10-11pm. There’s no 7-Eleven or chain store of any kind, only small family shops, so bring anything specific you rely on. Restaurants are decent but limited in number, and in low season some close entirely. Add the sandflies on parts of Ao Kao, patchy street lighting for night cycling, and boats that thin out or cancel in the June to October monsoon, and you have an island that actively filters for a certain kind of traveller. That’s the point. If you want more action, base on Koh Chang; if you want even wilder jungle, look at Koh Kood; Koh Mak is for the days in between.
When should you visit Koh Mak?
November to April is the reliable window: dry weather, calm seas, full boat schedules and every business open. December to February is peak, though “peak” on Koh Mak still means quiet by Thai island standards. May to October is the wet season, with the heaviest rain typically late in that stretch; boat services drop to around one sailing a day per operator, seas can cancel crossings, and a chunk of the island scales back. The trade-off is real: low-season room discounts and beaches to yourself in the drier spells. If your dates are flexible, aim for November or early December, when the island is green from the rains but the seas have settled.
Where to next
If you’re weighing Koh Mak against the rest of the country’s islands, our best islands in Thailand guide puts it in context, and if you want an equally slow island on the other coast, Koh Phayam is the Andaman’s answer to it. Coming through the archipelago, the Koh Chang to Koh Mak route guide gets you here, things to do on Koh Chang covers the big island next door, and the Koh Kood guide covers the wilder island to the south. And for what’s happening across the country while you’re here, browse live Thailand events.
Sources
- Koh-Mak.com boat timetables, speedboat operators, fares and low-season notes for the 2025-26 season.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (Go Thai Be Free): Koh Mak, the island leading Thailand’s journey toward low-carbon tourism, low-carbon designation and the 2018 Koh Mak Charter.
- Pattaya Mail: Koh Mak, Thailand’s first low-carbon tourism model, community charter, visitor estimates and the Thanin Suthithanakul quote.
- Travel And Tour World: Thailand’s Koh Mak, a model for sustainable island tourism, five-family ownership and ~750-room figure.
- Explore Koh Chang: getting around Koh Mak, bicycle, e-bike and scooter rental rates.
- Thailand Magazine: Koh Kham beach guide, longtail fares, entrance fee and visiting hours for the sandbar.