Koh Tao, with its idyllic beaches and lush landscapes, is a haven for adventure seekers. While many visitors are drawn to the island’s underwater wonders, there are many options to explore the island. In my Koh Tao Travel Guide, I already referred to the hike from Sairee Beach to Freedom Beach. Therefore, this hiking guide tells you all you need to know about the hike from Sairee Beach to Freedom Beach. Originally, the hike starts at Mae Haad Beach and ends at Chalok Ban Kao Bay. However, as I – and many other travellers – was staying at Sairee Beach, that was my starting point.
Furthermore, Freedom Beach and John Suwan Viewpoint are some of the popular sights in Koh Tao. Therefore, I decided to continue my journey while in the south to also explore these beautiful spots. Let’s explore many hidden beaches on Koh Tao during this hike! Also, I did my best to take as many photos as possible to give you a good impression of the hike and pointers where possible.
Where to best stay on Koh Tao: Savage Hostel, Koh Tao Heritage, Aiya Resort Koh Tao, The Dearly Koh Tao Hostel, The AVA Resort, The Fisherman’s Villas
The hike from Sairee Beach to Freedom Beach takes between 3 and 4 hours, of course, depending on the time you spend at the several beaches on the way. Overall, I would highlight this trail as moderate/difficult. Before starting the hike, I was under de impression there would be a lot of hiking on the beach and the forest next to the beach. However, there were quite some more difficult paths, parts where the path suddenly stopped and the trail wasn’t marked. Therefore, I would recommend doing this hike on sneakers and not wearing flip-flops. Also, it is best to do this hike with a hiking buddy.
If you want to follow most of the hike on a map, I recommend the All Trails website where you can see your location compared to the trail. However, I found that at some places you had to deviate a bit from the exact hike that was displayed here. With this travel blog post about the hike from Sairee Beach to Freedom Beach, I’ll do my best to guide you from beginning to end and share my experiences.
The ‘official’ start of the trail can be found at Mae Haad Beach at Sensi Paradise. Therefore, I started my day walking through the main walking street next to Sairee Beach, enjoyed breakfast at The Factory Cafe and continued walking to the entrance of Sensi Paradise. Another place to first navigate to and/or enjoy your breakfast in the morning is Coconut Monkey. From there, you continue the road and walk through Sensi Paradise. I have to admit, I was already lost when walking through Sensi Paradise. The best thing to do is get on the ‘main’ road behind the resort as quickly as possible and from there walk to Charm Churee, a now abandoned resort. Otherwise, you might get lost between all the bungalows, and that’s not what you want to go for right at the start of the hike. At Charm Churee, there was a lovely Thai lady to whom I had to pay 100 baht to continue my journey. This fee is paid for entrance to Jansom Bay and the Sai Nuan Beaches.
After you continue the path through the abandoned Charm Churee resort, you quickly end up at Jansom Bay. Try to follow the signs that are still there and make sure you slowly make your way down to the beach. If a path seems blocked by old doors, that’s probably not the path you should take. Been there, done that. The nice thing about Jansom Bay is that it is still located at the abandoned Charm Churee resort. Therefore, you find the ‘Elvis Bar’ on the beach. Jansom Bay is a small bay with blue waters. You might find a couple of other visitors, but generally, it is quiet in the mornings.
After Jansom Bay, it is time to continue the trail. On the right side of the Elvis Bar, there is a little path that you can follow towards Sai Nuan Beach as shown in the picture.
After a relatively short walk, you’ll arrive at Sai Nuan Beach 1. If you want to relax at a beach during your hike, choose this one as it’s one of the most beautiful beaches during the walk. Also, this road is quite well signposted and the easiest part of the hike. There is a little beach bar, a swing and some beach beds. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t too good during my hike so I chose to continue directly to Sai Nuan Beach 2. At this beach, you find the infamous Banana Rock bar. As I was there in the morning, it was very quiet, however, it is also a great place for sunset. Also, you can reach Sui Nuan Beach 1 and 2 by moped if you are not keen on hiking or you want to go back any other time to relax a little longer.
From Sui Nuan Beach 1 and 2, you have to take the stairs up to the main road to continue your hike to the next beaches.
Once you reach the main road, you have to climb up as it is quite steep. I read about a nice bar/viewpoint that would be a little further down the road called Horizon Bar. However, the bar only opens at 4:30 pm. Therefore, a visit to the bar probably won’t fit your hiking times. However, if you have the time, you can take the moped to get there any other time.
To continue the hike from Sairee Beach to Freedom Beach, you have to take your first right on the main road. Signs are directing you to Tha Thong Bay 1 and 2. While I read online that you could walk along the beach from Tha Thong Bay 1 to 2, I couldn’t find this path. Therefore, I had to turn back after I visited Tha Thong Bay and take the other path to Tha Thong Bay 2. Therefore, I also wouldn’t recommend visiting Tha Thong Bay 1. When I was there, it felt slightly awkward as there were only bungalows of people staying there and the water was too high to even see a beach.
Also, if you want to go a bit more off the beaten track, you can stay in one of these two villas for a night or 2. You can book Tha Thong Villa 1 here and Tha Thong Villa 2 here.
The hike continues from Tha Thong Bay to June Jae Bay. This road is a little bit more difficult to find, so below I created an overview of some of the signs and where to go.
This is the final little hidden bay you will pass on the hike to Chalok Baan Kao Bay. At June Juea Bay, you find the Sunset Bungalows and Sunset Bar. From June Juea Bay, you have to walk up to the main road, as there is no beach path. The path leads you along the Pinnacle Resort and Viewpoint Resort, from where you can hike the final stretch to Chalok Baan Bay.
I have to say, this part seemed very easy as I saw route directions to Chalok Baan Bay from the resorts pretty soon. Nevertheless, I suddenly ended up with an underwater path that was closed for construction. After some climbing and sneaking through a restaurant, I was happy I made it to Chalok Baan Bay. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, you might check at one of the resorts what their advised way to Chalok Baan Bay during the time of year and the latest path status is.
Now you have arrived at Chalok Baan Kao Bay, enjoy some lunch and relaxation time before continuing to Freedom Beach. I enjoyed my time at Koppee where I had lunch and a beer. You can also chill for a while during the afternoon as they even have a swimming pool. After your time in Chalok Baan Kao Bay, it is only a 20-minute walk, following the main road to Freedom Beach. It is also possible to find a smaller beach path, but I took the safest way after all the adventures on the road. When at Freedom Beach, you can also hike up to John Suwan Viewpoint.
When it is time to go back, there are two options. Unfortunately, there is no Grab on the island and taxis are pretty expensive. However, it is possible to get a taxi in Chalok Baan Kao Bay near the Sandwich Lady stall, where you will find a taxi stand. However, taxis can set you off around 500 baht per person. Therefore, alternatively, you can hike back to Sairee Beach. This is the option I took. Fortunately, there is also an option to follow the main roads. Following the main road, it takes about 1 hour to walk back to Sairee Beach.
All in all, the hike from Sairee Beach to Freedom Beach is a great way to explore the island in an alternative way. You’ll pass many of the hidden and not-so-hidden beaches in Koh Tao. However, the hike was also tougher than expected with paths ending, wrong turns and slippery forest paths. Still, this hike is amazing to do, however, do it with caution. I hope this travel guide helps to guide you in the right direction!
