Koh Tao named Asia's No 1 island

[Benmart]

Remember when Tripadvisor shut down the KT page after the recent murders? Someone is definitely getting bought off.

Tripadvisor reviews are not verified and anyone can write anything about anywhere, good, bad or indifferent...

Much like TVF?

[IslandLover]

I have been on 9. Bora Bora, French Polynesia.

I can say this island is way more beautiful than any Koh Rupt in Thailand.

It is also at least 20x as expensive than any Koh Rupt. They just don't want those Quality Tourists (cheap Charlies loaded with tatoes) that visit Thailand.

Bora Bora, French Polynesia is 1000x cleaner than any Koh Rupt here in Thailand where you swim in plastic, human waste, fisherman's nets or plain sewer water.

Beaches without any dirt and well maintained.

Couldn't agree more (been there, done that ). The same could be said for many of the South Pacific islands. And what about the Maldives? No mention of them in Trip Advisor's list.

[gezginrocker]

Although TVF members have tried hard to scare people away from Ko Tao, it clearly didn't work. Rant "Death Island", "Murder Island", "Rape Island" as much as you want, nobody cares about you people. You are just a bunch of grumpy old men.

I'm writing this from my bungalow in Ko Phangan, which is also on your target list. I know that you people are waiting for a suspicious death to happen in Phangan, so you can attack this paradise as well. I know you hate backpackers and places they hang.

All the gulf isands are full of people who are having fun, so get used to it. You don't have any power to keep away people from here with ridicilous namings like "Death Island".

[Howitzer]

I think the murders of 2 Brits on Koh Tao have been blown way out if proportion.

2 murders, 1 young girl's death from natural causes {possibly drugs}, and a French guy possibly suicide, in my mind does not make Koh Tao the "Death Island" the "Murder capitol of Thailand" or "the place one goes to if they have a death wish."

It is still a beautiful place to visit.

Name any place in the world and there will be crime stats that will show it to be dangerous.

People visiting Thailand need to be more concerned with wearing their helmets on motorcycles than with being murdered.

Just change the 2 murders to 2 asians say chinese and probably 80% of the people here wouldn't be disagreeing with the rating.

[Happy Grumpy]

Koh Tao named Asia's No 1 island

[frank83628]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

[Happy Grumpy]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

Wow.

[SoilSpoil]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

You can't deny that terrible things have happened on this island, that drugs and are openly sold and used at parties and that it is basically a shit hole when you take Thai law enforcement into the equation. It makes you wonder who are reviewing places on TripAdvisor, young mushroom shake drinking travelers or others.

Also and now be honest, aren't there at least a dozen more beautiful islands in Thailand, without all the debauchery?

[EyesWideOpen]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

Wow.

I too am stunned and shamed into awed silence. So this means I can no longer

make Death Island jokes ? How is your bar/guesthouse on KT doing ?

Am guessing not so good..... Younger tourists ? Is that some kind of double

speak for backpackers ? Haha, yes doing drugs on the beach on the islands

at moronic full moon parties is clearly superior to hanging out at girly bars...

Rave on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frank83628]

so what...drugs in some form are used at most parties all over the world weekly/daily….not so much openly sold, especially on koh tao..in fact the only place i have ever known advertise drugs when i was going to parities while travelling is magic mountain on koh phagnan..i think you maybe have confused the 2 islands….FULL MOON PARTY IN ON KOH PHAGNAN

i can't deny that 1 terrible thing happened there back in september no..but the other incidents reported here are just hearsay with no actual real evidence or facts…. even if facts are given they are dismissed by the same 5-10 posters..the same people who seem to be anti everything 'thailand'

yes there are many places that are better than koh tao..or even 1 side is better than the other..all depends on what you're into, the majority of people that goto koh tao are younger and looking for the party scene while doing a dive course….these people dont visit this site so won't be put off by what is said here by a few……i read here once that someone claimed tourism was down on tao buy 50% because of their postings…dont flatter yourselves…..again the tourists visiting koh tao DO NOT visit here so all you petty accusations fall flat as soon as you press send.

[bboy]

Spin-doctors pulling out all the stops. I think I'll leave it

[catweazle]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

There are plenty of other islands and beaches in Thailand that are by far more beautiful than Koh Tao, PLUS: they won't kill you, unlike Koh Tao. You don't get the point here, Frank82384742, the reason why all those Koh Tao bashers, detectives, etc. are upset about this piece of s(deleted) was voted number 1 is that absolutely everything on that island is wrong, starting with any structure or building there is since there never were land titles, building permits, etc. and because the first people settling on that island were murderers, rapists and drug dealers hiding from police, eventually having that island and each inhabitant who had the bad luck to arrive later in a tight stranglehold, taking hostage not only the infrastructure such as water and electricity, but murdering any person that would get in their way (in the most lucky cases only your business would go up in flames), raping and/or murdering beautiful girls who would not succumb to the divine charisma of their male offspring, just like Hannah... The fact that such an island gets a number one vote shows clearly that tourists obviously have no eye for real beauty, can't distinguish between a messed up party island and a natural gem (like Koh Kradan, Koh Lipe, etc. on the west coast), plus the fact that they seem to give a toss as long as everything, including drugs, is easily accessible so they can get comfortably numb... and this, Frank2756244, this makes me and the Koh Tao bashers angry!

[balo]

Koh Tao is still a beautiful , tropical island aimed at young backpackers and families from all over the world.

Maybe the people writing reviews on tripadvisor are not so focused on tragic crimes and murders like some of you are.

[frank83628]

I'm pretty sure that none of the people that voted the island 5th in the world stopped to ask themselves if the room they were staying in was built with a permit and i am also pretty sure the the whole encroachment issue is about illegal building nation wide .

[frank83628]

' murdering any person that would get in their way (in the most lucky cases only your business would go up in flames), raping and/or murdering beautiful girls who would not succumb to the divine charisma of their male offspring'…hahaha…i dont know what you've been reading lately..maybe you should change it for a mills n boon paperback

[cookee68]

Number 1 island for what, deaths rapes corruption, the list goes on

[whaleboneman]

Can you bribe Tripadvisor to get a better ranking?

Probably not...but you can bribe people to give reviews.

I had a very nice time on Koh Tao several years ago.

Now that I know a bit about the dark side of the island, I will never return.

[Magic040]

Ko Tao, Lanta, Langkawi and Lombok should be replaced by Honshu, Java, Luzon and Cebu.

[chrisboyo]

When was this ranking done, before or after the murders of the British back packers? I find it strange that Thailand does so well in these rankings but has so many problems all at the same time, something smells fishy to me.

[BuckBee]

Everything fishy with koh Tao. The mess with the Burmese is just the icing on the cake ! Don't forget it was the koh Tao police who first stated Thai involvement & one escaped to Bangokok ! The case will be delayed as much as possible to avoid as much attention as possible :-/

Quite obvious the Island ranking is effort to boost KT image. Thailand in general is a 5hit hole from top to bottom, mainly due to corruption & constant strategy to deny everything or just talk a lot but not do a lot & is deeply driven by obscene geed that thai culture craves .

[berybert]

Koh Tao is the number one island in the world. Twatty Cha Cha Cha is the best PM of any country in the world at any time in history.

This country just keeps getting better and better.

[berybert]

Koh Tao is still a beautiful , tropical island aimed at young backpackers and families from all over the world.

Maybe the people writing reviews on tripadvisor are not so focused on tragic crimes and murders like some of you are.

You liked a post by someone claiming the people who go to the island don't read TV. Do you think the young drugged up drunk hippy types that do visit the island would bother going to a web site to mention how great their time there was ?

And damn us older people who are more concerned with people being raped or murdered as opposed to people getting their fix of drink and drugs.

So are you a 20 something who loves to party ? or someone who should know better than to advise people to go to a place 8 people have died in just over a year, but have t0o much of an interest not to do so ?

[JLCrab]

Almost any person who travels to Thailand these days has heard of TripAdvisor; the same cannot be said about ThaiVisa.

[Cake Monster]

Are the shareholders of " Trip Advisor " Thai ?

[sirineou]

Do not believe everything you read on the web!

I read your reply on the web, and I am taking your advise

I wont believe anything I read on the web, including your advise

[boomerangutang]

TripAdvisor needs to be read with many grains of salt. Anybody can dump his/her opinion on something without the proof of qualification nor ever having been there. Many restaurant owners are being threatened with leaving a nasty comment on TripAdvisor. Some people are impossible to please (one cannot be everybody's darling) and have strange interpretation of product and/or service.

Unlike Agoda or any other product purchasing site TripAdvisor allows anybody to vent their spleen; Agoda requires that the reviewer must have at least purchased the product in order to leave a review.

It is being grossly misused; I've seen restaurants on rank 1 in Pattaya (remember "Froggies" ; upon physical visit I found a hole in the wall which got closed meanwhile and reopened as an Indian delight.

It takes LOTS of writing to get a unjustified review out again and you have to proof the reviewer wrong while the reviewer does not even need to prove their identity.

Koh Tao might have been "jacked up" by order of some TAT boys telling the staff to leave positive reviews. Wonders never seize and mysterious are the ways of the East.

On a different note; what actually happened to the Burmese prisoners who were accused of the double murder?

I have a tourist venue which consistently get 5-star reviews on TA. The only two reviews which were 2 or 3 stars were from people who showed up when no staff were on-hand, so they were disappointed, and didn't see/experience what my adventure park offers. I also got a bad review from a disgruntled former employee. However, TA is generally pretty good about deleting unfairly bad reviews, tho it takes some time and effort from the owner/manager of the venue, to get it done. Even so, TA will tend to side with the customer (even if the customer never experienced the venue), if it's a conntested review.

[AleG]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

There are plenty of other islands and beaches in Thailand that are by far more beautiful than Koh Tao, PLUS: they won't kill you, unlike Koh Tao. You don't get the point here, Frank82384742, the reason why all those Koh Tao bashers, detectives, etc. are upset about this piece of s(deleted) was voted number 1 is that absolutely everything on that island is wrong, starting with any structure or building there is since there never were land titles, building permits, etc. and because the first people settling on that island were murderers, rapists and drug dealers hiding from police, eventually having that island and each inhabitant who had the bad luck to arrive later in a tight stranglehold, taking hostage not only the infrastructure such as water and electricity, but murdering any person that would get in their way (in the most lucky cases only your business would go up in flames), raping and/or murdering beautiful girls who would not succumb to the divine charisma of their male offspring, just like Hannah... The fact that such an island gets a number one vote shows clearly that tourists obviously have no eye for real beauty, can't distinguish between a messed up party island and a natural gem (like Koh Kradan, Koh Lipe, etc. on the west coast), plus the fact that they seem to give a toss as long as everything, including drugs, is easily accessible so they can get comfortably numb... and this, Frank2756244, this makes me and the Koh Tao bashers angry!

So, what makes you angry is a fantasy you choose to believe in, brilliant.

[wabothai]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

ranked by whom?

[wabothai]

I am sure that most foreigners living in Thailand are quite aware of all the unfortunate happenings on KT.

I am also sure that most tourists are NOT aware of the happenings.

I am also sure that travel agencies and operators will not mention the happenings, that would be silly, wouldn't it?

[catweazle]

oh look out….here come the koh tao bashers/tv detectives/fantasists……the same few names that have been none existent the last few months when 'Pattaya' & 'Phuket' have been in the headlines DAILY……fortunately for KT its geared up for younger tourists so it will never have to deal with the likes of most of you that comment here..the lack of girly bars will be a deciding factor in that seeing as i bet thats the only option for the majority of you guys.

why can't you just be grateful that after all the bad press thailand has received lately that its still ranked highly of places to go…kind of proves that its not all that bad….after all you came her and continue to live here…so must be better than home.

There are plenty of other islands and beaches in Thailand that are by far more beautiful than Koh Tao, PLUS: they won't kill you, unlike Koh Tao. You don't get the point here, Frank82384742, the reason why all those Koh Tao bashers, detectives, etc. are upset about this piece of s(deleted) was voted number 1 is that absolutely everything on that island is wrong, starting with any structure or building there is since there never were land titles, building permits, etc. and because the first people settling on that island were murderers, rapists and drug dealers hiding from police, eventually having that island and each inhabitant who had the bad luck to arrive later in a tight stranglehold, taking hostage not only the infrastructure such as water and electricity, but murdering any person that would get in their way (in the most lucky cases only your business would go up in flames), raping and/or murdering beautiful girls who would not succumb to the divine charisma of their male offspring, just like Hannah... The fact that such an island gets a number one vote shows clearly that tourists obviously have no eye for real beauty, can't distinguish between a messed up party island and a natural gem (like Koh Kradan, Koh Lipe, etc. on the west coast), plus the fact that they seem to give a toss as long as everything, including drugs, is easily accessible so they can get comfortably numb... and this, Frank2756244, this makes me and the Koh Tao bashers angry!

So, what makes you angry is a fantasy you choose to believe in, brilliant.

I feel really sorry for you, Aleg... don't worry, you'll get better eventually.