เกาะเต่า, Koh Tao, once the Mecca of diving and more recently nicknamed “Death Island” following tourists suicides and murders in 2014 was our main Thailand destination few years back. We were, at the time, very pleased with the island vibe even if the tourist surpopulation was already a real issue. We came back in February 2025 to share it with our friends but found the place strongly degraded!
Of course, our own presence is contributing but social media travelers don’t share our idea of tourism. Tik Tok and Instagram are packed up with videos of this gulf of Thailand jewel, so many that people are queuing to get their own on each of the now famous landmarks of this tiny rock! Locals don’t event try to listen to you speaking broken Thai but rather use English as the primary language to increase efficiency. Viewpoints that used to be barely accessible by foot through the thick hilly jungle are now linked by concrete road paths and feature parking, bars, restaurants and even occasional nightclubs.
Koh Tao used to be a remote island welcoming backpackers and diving apprentices keen to enjoy simple life on a paradise sample. Today, riding petrol scooters has replaced walking, and young tourists prefer patroning wellbeing “gurus” settled in “new age” shops rather than meditating on the marvels of the creation! The result is an over packed, over polluted and overpriced destination where the once famous subaquatic world is now dead or dying. Ocean warming has pushed away the sharks and killed the corals while new buildings and road access reduces the wildlife ecosystem to misery!
Of course, beaches are still nice and clean, the water from above is perfect for the postcard (digital of course!)
but the real beauty of the island has long gone.
We probably won’t be going back to this side of the Gulf anytime soon but we will try finding more “lay down” hidden places where nature and its conservation matter more that profit and surexploitation.