White Jail @ Koh Tao hostel

All the rooms have air conditioning, a balcony or terrace and a seating area. The hostel offers a 28 m² Deluxe room for up to two guests and an 80 m² room for one guest.

The Deluxe room has a shower and toiletries, a sofa, a refrigerator and a hair dryer, and the 80 m² room has a shared bathroom, a separate dining area and wooden flooring. Linens are provided in both rooms, so each stay starts from the same basic set of comforts and furnishings.

The hostel has a bar, a garden and a shared lounge with a TV area, along with a restaurant, a coffee shop and BBQ facilities. Buffet breakfast is offered, and diving, snorkelling, fishing and tours are available, with a scuba dive centre 150 m away. Free WiFi is in all rooms and in public areas, and wired internet is also available.

Practical services include laundry, dry cleaning and ironing, luggage storage and lockers, and express check-in and check-out. Daily housekeeping is provided, and bicycle parking is available alongside free parking on site. Ticket services and a convenience store round out the facilities, and the garden and lounge are shared spaces for guests who want to meet other travellers.

Mae Haad is the main village on Ko Tao, the place where boats arrive, and dive schools and shops line the streets around the bay. White Jail @ Koh Tao hostel is in this village, close to the water and to the island's everyday services.

Haad Ao Mae, the beach nearest the hostel, is 200 m away, and Sairee Beach, a long bay popular with swimmers and divers, is 950 m on foot. Close by is the Rama V Shrine, dedicated to King Chulalongkorn, and Songserm Pier is 150 m away. Jansom Bay is 850 m off, and Koh Nang Yuan, a small group of islands reached by boat, lies offshore.

The island has no airport and no bridge, so the last part of any trip is by sea. A good day could start with a swim at Haad Ao Mae, continue with a visit to the Rama V Shrine, and end with a dive or snorkelling trip from one of the dive centres nearby. For a higher view, John-Suwan Mountain View Point is 2.5 km away, and the walk up rewards those who want to see more of the island than the bay. The pier and the dive centre are both a short walk from the hostel, so the sea is never far from the day's plans.