Once we had finished the dive course we stayed one more nigh on Sarie beach then the next day headed to the south of the island to a place called paradise beach. We had managed to contact Beverly from the transfer who had discovered some bungalows overlooking the sea. So we got her to hold on for us and made our way. The beach was amazing as it was right at the end of the strip and quiet - almost like having your own beach! The bungalows had an amazing view of the ocean and its little beach. which was really nicely decorated with coral and shells hanging in the trees. It was also a great snorkeling spot, and the hotel attached had an amazing breakfast bar with views over the whole bay.

Before heading down to the south bungalows we were planning to head back across the islands to the other side to see something different. However, we soon knew we'd stay put for the next 10 days, and we weren't disappointed to not have to spend an extra 2 days traveling on buses!

While in Koh Tao we explored some of the surrounding beaches and snorkeling off of them. Some were a bit of a hike and the island was incredibly hilly so what looked like a short trip on a map would take 3 times as long to reach than expected, but was sure to be worth the trek as the beaches were pretty clean and the water was amazing.

As Beverley had already been on that side of the island for a couple of days she had already discovered 'Babbaloo bar' which we headed to a couple of nights. The bar was on the opposite side of the bay to our hotel, and to reach it you had to cross over the sea on a dimly lit platform and go through a couple of closed restaurant. The bar was out on the beach and was so peaceful and chilled. They had set out candles in the sand surrounding the bar and had a fire dancer who would perform on and off all night. They had incense sticks burning all over the place, and fish tanks made out of old fridges and microwaves. There were also hammocks just by the sea to relax in with a drink - amazing! She had also discovered the 'Ying Yang' restaurant, which was one of the only restaurants in town to serve Thai food, and was the best Thai food we had during our time in Thailand. It was so good we ended up eating there pretty much every night!

Koh Toa view point was right next to our accommodation (We realised this on our second to last day which was a shame!) so we ventured up the hill/rocks one day. The view was stunning and you could see the whole tail end of the island overlooking the two southern bays.

On our final day we caught a tail boat over to Nang Yuan to go snorkeling. Nang Yuan is a beautiful tiny island made up of three parts which are attached by strips of sand. When we arrived it was busy in comparison to when we had been there to learn to dive as it was coming in to peak season, which made us realise how lucky we had been just a week beforehand! The snorkeling off the island was beautiful as the waters are crystal clear and there's plenty of coral which made a nice end to our time in Koh Tao!