Lighthouse Bay, also known as Gluay Teun Bay, is one of Koh Tao’s best-kept secrets, offering some of the clearest waters on the island for snorkeling and diving, as well as the opportunity climb to the top of the old lighthouse for unbeatable views.
Located on the northeast coast, it is one of the most remote bays on Koh Tao and is accessible via roads and trails that you won’t find on Google Maps. You can either walk through the jungle or take a long tail boat from Sairee to get to Pharos Bay. hike, it’s one of my favorite hiking trails in Koh Tao.
In the guide below, I’ll share everything you need to know about walking to Koh Tao’s lighthouse, how to climb in, and my top tips for snorkeling in this incredible cove.
Koh Tao Lighthouse: Overview
If you’re a little more adventurous, I recommend walking up to the lighthouse for some epic views and snorkeling. However, if you’re only interested in snorkeling and want to skip the hike, Lighthouse Bay is usually included on an island snorkeling boat trip.
Here’s what you need to know for the hike.
- Location:Koh Tao’s northeast coast, accessible from the road to Mango Bay, with several route options.
- Access:You can either walk from the Mango Bay turnoff to Old Wong Bay Road in Sairee or, as I did, take your motorbike to an abandoned restaurant called Por Jai View and start your hike from there. Note that this point is not marked on the maps, so follow the instructions below for guidance.
- Walking distance3.2 km return.
- Height increaseA total of 275 meters, mostly on a return hike.
- The time1.5 to 2 hours for full return.
- DifficultyModerate: Expect some steep sections and remote terrain, making it a solid adventure for those looking to explore Koh Tao off the beaten path.
- Entrance fee. 100 THB per person (but seems abandoned).
- Map:Check out my Strava route here for the exact trail
Hint: If you are confident on a motorcycle, I recommend going up to the trail for the Koh Tao Lighthouse hike. However, the roads are steep, remote, and include many unsealed sections, so don’t try it unless you are very comfortable on a motorcycle , you can walk all the way from Sairee, but it’s much longer and involves a higher climb along the way.
How to get to Koh Tao Lighthouse Trailhead
From Sairee, take the main road (same road as 995 Duck) to Hin Wong Bay. Continue past the Summer Hostel and continue past the Koh Tao Abandoned Resort turnoff.
After a few sharp turns you will reach the Mango Bay turnoff marked by Grape View, Jim Bar and several others.Many people prefer to park here and start their hike from this point, but if you are confident, you can continue on a motorcycle.
The road quickly transitions to an unsealed road, but it’s still quite manageable. It soon returns to steep, narrow sections of concrete. Eventually, after a while of climbing, you’ll reach a place known as a “Tar Bar” that sells drinks and gas. store
Turn right here and follow the road to Mango Bay for a little longer.
A left turn here leads to some other great overlooks, including Summit View and Grape View.These are worth exploring if you want, but for now, stay to the right and keep going.
Continue and start going down towards Mango Bay, but don’t go too far, there will soon be a partially collapsed path to the right. Take this turn and drive all the way to Por Jai View, an abandoned restaurant and viewpoint that marks the entrance to the Koh Tao Lighthouse trail.
Park your motorbike here and start your hike by passing the restaurant and following the sign pointing right from the bar to the lighthouse, on a narrow path through the banana trees.
Note: The AllTrails trail tells you to continue down the concrete path from the restaurant. However, after following this path, we found it leads to a blocked fence with a 5000 baht fee if you jump it. So we walked through the restaurant instead.
My Experience Trekking to Koh Tao’s Lighthouse Bay + Destinations
When we got to the trailhead, there was no one around to collect 100 THB entry feeeven though the signs said it included a free drink, it would be fine.Since there was no one there, we went ahead and started the hike (seems to be deserted).
The trail starts just to the right of the bar, winding through a green garden of banana trees and flowers.
It was easy to follow from the start thanks to the red and white dots painted on the rocks.
However, we soon reached the road again, which joins the official AllTrails route (no fence hopping required from the restaurant).From there, the trail dives into the forest.
The forest is very thick, many trees fall, but again the red and white markers make it easy to stay on the path. this part of the hike is extremely mosquito and bug infested and incredibly humid, especially in the afternoon.
The trail eventually drops off, luckily the ground wasn’t too slippery and it’s pretty easy to manage.
Before long, we arrived at Lighthouse Bay (Gluay Teun Bay). Unfortunately, quite a bit of trash washed up on the beach, probably because of its remote location, where no one comes out to clean. However, the water was crystal clear and trash-free.
Walk to Koh Tao Lighthouse from Lighthouse Bay
Lighthouse Bay is one of the best snorkeling spots on Koh Tao, so if you’re up for it, take a dip and cool off after a long hike.
But the real adventure continues.you can actually climb to the top of the lighthouse. It’s not immediately obvious, but you’ll see the lighthouse on a hill surrounded by thick jungle on the other side of the bay.
To get there, head around the rocks to the far side of the bay. You’ll pass an old, abandoned concrete building. Keep walking along the shore to the right, and you’ll soon spot those familiar red and white dots painted on the rocks that mark the start of the trail to the lighthouse.
This last section is only about 300 meters, but it is quite steep and cuts straight through the jungle. Although the trail was a little overgrown when we went, it was easy to find our way. After about 5 minutes of climbing, we reached the lighthouse, tucked away a small clearing.
Climbing to the top of Koh Tao Lighthouse
We were quite excited to see the lighthouse door open so naturally we had to check it out. There is a steel ladder leading up to the top. There are three levels of ladders and after a short climb we found ourselves at the top hatch coming through.
There is a wide platform at the top with a solid concrete railing. It actually looked like the lighthouse was still in working order, with solar panels and lamps, although we couldn’t confirm as we did the Koh Tao lighthouse hike in the morning. The views from the top were fantastic, over Lighthouse Bay and panoramic shots of the rugged northeast coast.
We hung out at the top for about 15 minutes capturing some cool drone shots before heading back to the beach for a refreshing swim.
Hiking Return to the starting point
The Koh Tao Lighthouse Walk is a walking trail, so after exploring the lighthouse we had to double back and walk up a steep jungle trail to get back to where we parked the bike.
The return hike is definitely more difficult as you will be going straight up the mountain. Make sure you have some water as you will need it for the climb. It is a tough climb but worth every step after the adventure to the lighthouse.
I hope you enjoyed this quick hiking guide to Koh Tao’s Lighthouse Bay.
Check out my guide to the best things to do on Koh Tao for unique adventures and hidden gems you won’t want to miss.