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Chilled out and authentically Thai, Koh Mook (also written as Koh Muk) is a small island in the Andaman sea that still holds a rustic charm that is rapidly disappearing from the Thai islands as they become increasingly popular.
Home to the amazing Emerald Cave, this Koh Mook travel guide will tell you all you need to know about beating the crowds for this great attraction, as well as sharing the best places to eat and drink, where to stay and more!
Koh Mook (Koh Muk) Travel Guide Contents
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WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK ON KOH MOOK
Coming from Koh Lipe, the most noticeable difference on Koh Mook was that it was much cheaper than the former to eat and drink.
Mong Bar
Truly a horrible name for a fantastic reggae bar. Tucked away in the corner of Charlie Beach with the perfect view to watch the sun go down, the cocktails are only 100 baht a piece. The food is great too, I had some huge fresh tempura prawns for around the same price as a cocktail. Top spot for sunset drinks.
Perfect Bar and Restaurant
Nothing better than a chilled restaurant on a beach, a stone’s throw from the sea! Perfect Bar and Restaurant serves traditional Thai favourites and fresh barbecued seafood alongside cold beers and cocktails.
Good Luck Restaurant
Not far from The Tropical and Inhale @ Hill sits Good Luck Restaurant on a quiet road. If you’re in this area it is well worth stopping here for lunch; the food is excellent and very well priced.
Mayhow Thai Restaurant
A short walk from Charlie Beach, Mayhow works as a good option for a dinner straight from sunset drinks. Fresh seafood, Thai salads, noodles and curries at great prices.
Hilltop Restaurant
Halfway along the 30 minute route between the village and Charlie Beach sits Hilltop Restaurant, serving excellent home cooked Thai dishes with a friendly smile.
Inhale @ Hill
Cute spot for a drink overlooking the sea amongst tranquil gardens. Near the start of the jungle path to the climb to Koh Mook viewpoint, it’s a good place to stop on your return for a well deserved cold one!
Sivalai Beach Resort
Sivalai serve fantastic cocktails (the marg was exemplary) and is a wonderful place to stop for a drink or some food after a walk down the beach. Prices are a bit higher here, but the cocktails are worth it, there’s wine on the menu and if you’re after a break from Thai food, there are some good Western options on offer.
THINGS TO DO ON KOH MOOK
Emerald Cave
So named due to the colour of the water as the sun shines through the entrance of the cave, exploring the Emerald Cave is one of the most popular things to do in this region of Thailand. Day trippers come from as far away as Koh Lanta in order to swim through this pitch black cave to reach a completely enclosed beach – very The Beach vibes!
A guide will take you through the cave with a torch, and you’ll be wearing life jackets for the 7-10 min swim through the cave in the dark. The reward at the end of the swim is well worth it.
If you want to avoid the crowds that peak in the early afternoon, instead of booking a tour hire your own long tail boat for a trip out in the morning. I clubbed together with some other women to hire a boat to take us first to the Emerald Cave, then snorkelling around Koh Kradan over the course of 6 hours.
The private long tail boat was 2000 baht, working out at only 500 baht each, which is what the tours were marketed at per person anyway.
Day Trip to Koh Kradan
Beautiful Koh Kradan is a tiny island about 30 minutes on a long boat from Koh Mook, and has some of the most amazing snorkelling I’ve ever done – in Thailand or elsewhere! The reefs off of Kradan make a trip over a must do, before having lunch at one of the few restaurants on the island and a nap on the empty white sands.
Visit as part of a trip with the Emerald Cave, or if you have more time, spend a whole day here – you won’t regret it.
Charlie Beach
Charlie Beach is the spot to get to for sunset views on Koh Mook, and is a great beach to spend the day on. There are sunbeds for hire on the beach should you want more comfort than the sand for the day, and they only cost 50 baht each.
Behind the stretch of sand into the shade of the trees, there are plenty of makeshift stalls where you can grab snacks, a meal or drink, and I even saw one place with a draught beer set up!
Koh Mook View Point
There’s a hike via a jungle path which will take you up to the viewpoint overlooking the Andaman Sea beyond. Take the path near to Inhale and The Tropical to reach it. If you go onwards you can walk through to the other side of island to the often deserted Sabai beach.
Kayaking
You can hire kayaks by the hour at Charlie Beach, which by comparison to the rest of the island is not too far from the entrance of the Emerald Cave, so you could kayak round at a quieter time of day to avoid the crowds if you felt confident enough.
WHERE TO STAY ON KOH MOOK
This fancy hotel on the island was too much of a pull, so I splashed out on a stay at Sivalai for one night. It was totally worth it: a lovely hotel with two swimming pools, great restaurant, huge rooms with fantastic amenities and it’s all set in an idyllic location on the end of the island, surrounded by turquoise waters and white sands on both sides.
Golf buggies would take you around the resort, even though it was relatively small compared to others I’ve been on with this service. The cocktails served at the beach bar were excellent, and the buffet breakfast had everything from Asian favourites, pastries, western usuals and a fresh egg station with a chef cooking up omelettes and fried eggs to order.
One night cost me £145 including breakfast, so by no means is it crazy spenny – especially if you are not travelling solo – but I try to aim for an average of £70 per night for accommodation whilst away, so it was a treat for me, and considered expensive for Thailand. Book here.
A lovely, quiet spot set in stunning tropical gardens working their way down to the beach, I stayed at The Tropical for my first couple of nights on Koh Mook. In hindsight I should’ve gone for a better room with air con as it turns out I can’t cope with just a fan the same way I did in my twenties! They serve a great breakfast and the staff were super helpful with luggage as well as booking trips and onward travel. Book here.
Quiet spot next to The Tropical and nearby to the jungle path to the Koh Mook view point. With serene gardens and with a cute bar overlooking the sea, this is a lovely peaceful spot to stay on the island. Book here.
GETTING TO KOH MOOK
Koh Mook is a couple of hours on speedboat from Koh Lipe, and around 1.5 hours from Koh Lanta. The islands Koh Ngai and Koh Kradan are both around 30 minutes away, and Trang on the mainland is between 30 minutes and 1 hour away depending on the boat you take.
Speedboat tickets are widely available at hotels and guest houses for the journeys between the Thai islands, but you can also book at the mini mart. If you’re keen to book online in peak periods to avoid the stress of finding a boat is full on the day you wish to travel, you can do so at 12Go – it’s very straight forward and whilst a bit more expensive than buying in person, not too much so.
GETTING AROUND KOH MOOK
It’s possible to rent scooters on Koh Mook, but I relied on the taxis on the island. The taxis on Koh Mook are actually scooters with a side car attached to them! I loved them, and each trip is 50 baht per person anywhere on the island, so you’re in no danger of getting ripped off since the rate is standard.
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Written July 2025.
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