Koh Rung island is home to more than thirty, pristine white sandy beaches. The beach where everyone stays offers many bungalows, locals, bars and restaurants making for easy access to all your daily needs. With beaches up to seven kilometres long, undisturbed white sandy coast line awaits your visit. Smaller, more isolated beaches which you’ll be the only one enjoying are easy to find as well. It’s the beach life that keeps people here for many months more then they originally planned on staying.
Seven Kilometre Beach offers the nicest waters I’ve ever swam in. The water is soft to the skin, and is clear as glass. The water is warmer than most showers you’ll be able to find in Asia and the white sandy bottom stretches out for nearly a hundred meters. When you’re out as far as you can go, standing on your tippy toes, you can look down and see your toes digging into the sand.
The island offers much more than relaxing on the beach to those who are more adventurous. Trekking tours happen every afternoon, and were highly recommended to me a number of times. Unfortunately, I never did make it on any of these trips.
I was too busy enjoying the beach life, with everything from volleyball games with fellow backpackers to relaxing on a slackline at ocean front. Some make sand castles, and some just lay on their towel soaking up the suns rays. After all, it’s a great way to get your daily dose of vitamin D!
More into the water life than the beach life? The snorkelling on the island is supposed to be amazing. But I never even thought about checking this out. When I snorkel, it looks more like a beached fish hyper ventilating and choking.
Once the stars come out, swimming with plankton is an absolute must! Imagine a 3D disco, under water. It’s unbelievable the way in which plankton light up in moving water. Something I’ll never forget!
More adventurous yet would be to go diving! Even though the backpacker Snorkel Mart trend is to learn to dive in Koh Tao, more and more people are learning to dive on Koh Rung as well. It’ll definitely be less touristy than the diving around Koh Tao. I’m not sure about the price difference, but I would guess that Koh Rung is cheaper. Definitely something to look into before you book your dive course.
Once the sun goes down, card games break out and many people begin to enjoy a night out on the beach. Sometimes it stays mellow, but it can also get quite rowdy as well with some party goers going until the early hours of the morning. It can turn into what you wish, but only be as much of a party as you make it!
There are plenty of accommodation options on the beach. However, I would advise anyone going to take the 8:00 AM boat to have the least stressful time trying to find a bed. It can, after all, take a fair bit of walking back and forth across the beach to find what you’re looking for. Keep your ears open when carrying your bags and you’ll hear someone shout out offering you a bed. Quite likely this will be another backpacker who hasn’t left the island in over a month and is now working there!
Be warned, Mangos Bar and Bunna’s Place are where the party happens. You won’t be getting much sleep in these places. Even when it’s a slow night they’ll still have the music pumping. Chances are the subwoofers will be right under your bed!
Further down the beach from the dock will offer much quieter options. If you are like me, and you can sleep anywhere, noise isn’t a problem. Ear plugs are also a great alternative.