Ko Nang Yuan เกาะนางยวน

See the location on Ko Nang Yuan เกาะนางยวน Google Map by #treasuresofthailand

Picture by ccdoh1

Ko Nang Yuan เกาะนางยวน is a small private island near Ko Tao with three photogenic bays and two 50 meters long white sand beaches, that can get very crowded during the day, when visits are allowed (from 10 am to 5 pm) and many boats from Ko Tao arrive. Before and afterwards it's very quiet. But many reviews on tripadvisor comment the same way: Paradiese lost. Koh Nang Yuan is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination. There are 5 scuba diving spots around the island: White Rock, Nang Yuan Rock or Red Rock, Green Rock, Japanese Gardens, Twin Peaks. The Japanese Gardens are also a snorkeling spot.

Picture by adliblues


Where to stay:

Nang Yuan Island Dive Resort: From 1200 Bath. Dont expect perfect evening dinners: the crew will be tired from serving the masses of visitors arriving during the day.

Picture by ccdoh1

Picture by Flightspeed

Picture by Dirk Enthoven


How to arrive:

By Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran.

Samui Plus (สมุยพลัส): The Rules for International and Domestic Travellers visiting Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao - Changed on 1st October

See the locations on Koh Samui เกาะสมุย SHA plus hotels Google Map.

Requirements for fully vaccinated foreign tourists from Friday Oktober 1 for visiting Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao:
Surat Thani province has issued Covid-19 rules for foreign travellers visiting the three islands under the Samui+ Model.

Countries, from where travellers may enter Samui Plus: read.

You can fly to Samui on a direct international flight. Or you take an international flight via Bangkok and an approved sealed flight to Ko Samui. For the flight via Bangkok you have to book both flights together from Bangkok to Ko Samui. See airlines with code-sharing with Bangkok Airways. Any flight reservations booked separately will not be allowed. The sealed flights are operated by Bangkok Airways. Daily from Bangkok at 10.05, 14.35 and 17.10.


When you have arrived in Thailand you have to download Samui Health Pass or Mor Chana app on your smartphone and turn on.

After arriving at Ko Samui Airport you take the first RT-PCR test.

Afterwards you transfer to your SHA plus accommodation, only with transport company with Samui+ symbol.

You have to wait in the hotel room for the result of the first RT-PCR-Test.

If the result of the first test is negative, you can travel on Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao.
You can travel from the following piers only:
Ko Samui: Lom Phraya Na Phra Lan, Buri Rasa (hotel guests only) and Phu Yai Non.
Ko Phangan: Thong Sala
Ko Tao: Ban Mae Hat (Sala Vibvahadi)
Boats to Mu Ko Ang Thong: Na Thon Municipal pier

For 7 nights you can stay only in SHA plus accommodations. You can change the hotel no more than three times during these 7 days. List of SHA plus hotels on Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao. See also Koh Samui เกาะสมุย SHA plus Hotels Google Map


On day 6-7 you take the second RT-PCR-Test at Central Festival Ko Samui, Ko Phangan Hospital or Ko Tao Hospital.

On day 7, if the test is negative, you will be given a release form. From day 8 you then can travel freely around in Thailand.

This is an excerpt from the publication by Samui info by Nicha on Facebook.


Where international tourists can registrate for Samui Plus visits: COE Thailand. You need hotel bookings and payment confirmations for 7 nights to get the COE.

Read detailed Samui Plus FAQ.
#treasuresofthailand


Entry regulations for domestic travellers for Ko Samui,
Ko Phangan and Ko Tao

For Ko Samui:
From Dark red zone (Bangkok): RT-PCR-Test no longer than 72 hours old and be vaccinated
From red zone (Chiang Mai): RT-PCR-Test no longer than 72 hours old
From orange zone (Krabi, Phang Nga, Phuket): No test, no vaccination
From yellow zone (other districts of Surat Thani): No test, no vaccination

For Ko Phangan and Ko Tao:
Starting 15 October the governor of Surat Thani Province has issued the following rules: Anyone fully vaccinated with 2 doses can now enter Koh Tao and Koh Phangan without a Covid-19 test. Those without full vaccination must show a negative Covid-19 test taken within one week of arrival. Only approved antigen test kits or RT-PCR tests will be accepted.

Read which province belongs to which zone at tatnews.org. See also here.


Read more:
Beaches, Hotels and Guesthouses on Koh Samui - see SHA Plus Hotels on Google Map
Ko Tao เกาะเต่า - a Hotspot for Diving - with SHA plus hotels Google Map
Ko Phangan เกาะพะงัน - beaches, resorts and your reviews - with SHA plus hotels Google Map

How to use Phuket Sandbox: Now 7 Days on Phuket or in Phang Nga, Krabi or on Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao

Update on October 1:

Thailand opens destinations in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Surat Thani provinces for international tourists, who are fully vaccinated. They have to stay for 7 nights in selected areas and can afterwards travel around freely in Thailand. They can enter with direct flights to Phuket or Koh Samui. The model is called Phuket Sandbox and Koh Samui plus. The areas to stay are: Phuket, Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao, Khao Lak and Ko Yao, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Ngai and Railay Beach.

Regulations for Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao: Read here.

Regulations for Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi:
After arriving on Phuket Airport tourists can travel to SHA plus accommodations in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi with transport companies, who have the SHA plus symbol. But everything has to be arranged before you fly to Phuket. You cannot change the selected hotels, when you are in Phuket, Phang Nga or Krabi.

After arriving on Phuket Airport you have to to a RT-PCR-Test. Afterwards you have to stay in your hotel room until you get the negative test result. From then on you can move freely on Phuket islands and in the selected areas of Phang Nga and Krabi.

Look at the official SHA plus list or these lists of SHA plus hotels:

Reviews and pictures of SHA plus hotels on Phuket island.

Beaches and SHA plus hotels on Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao.

Koh Phi Phi หมู่เกาะพีพี Beaches and Resorts and SHA plus hotels


Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai in Phang Nga province with SHA plus boat from Ao Por pier, Ao Por pier Grand Marina, Bang Rong pier and Chang Lad pier to Ko Yao Yai’s Chonglad Pier and Ban Laem Yai Pier and to Ko Yao Noi’s Manoh Pier. Read: Phuket Sandbox 7+7: Koh Yao Noi เกาะยาวใหญ่ and Koh Yao Yai เกาะยาวใหญ่ - the recommended SHA plus hotels.

Before flying to Phuket visitors have to apply for a Certificate of Entry (COE). In Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi they have to do a PCR test on the 6th/7th day. Afterwards they get the release form. This form then allows them to travel to other destinations in Thailand. For that see Thailands province entry regulations.

The information about the changes was published in the Royal Gazette. On the last page you read that people who entered Thailand before 1st October. It says they still have to do the previously agreed length of stay - meaning 14 days under Phuket Sandbox. See Royal Gazette in Thai.


Where you can do the PCR-Tests

Phang Nga province opens the following Swab Centres for PCR-tests, where you can make a booking for the test. If you have the test before 12 am (noon) you get the result at the same day:
. Thakhuatung Hospital in Ban Natai, Phone 076 581 394
. Andaman Hub Medical Centre in Khao Lak, Phone 076 486 799
. Koh Yao Hospital, Koh Yao, Noi, Phone 076 597 109
. Phu-nai Hospital Health Centre, Koh Yao, Yai, Phone 076 582 500

Krabi province opens the following Swab Centres for PCR-tests:
. Phi Phi Hospital, Phone 075 622 151
. Worldmed Clinic on Ko Phi Phi, 095 424 0444
. Thapwarin Resort on Ko Ngai, 075 815 555
. Railay Swab Centre at Sunrise Tropical, 075 815 555
. SOS Railay Clinic, 098 010 9993

Phuket has the following Swab Centres for PCR-tests:
. Maikhao: 096 643 4572
. Laguna (Cherngtalay): 076 325 442
. Patong (Jungceylon): 093 574 0683
. Kata (Kata Centre): 081 693 6586
Phuket Town (Central Floresta): 088 765 0363

Find these test centres on Treasures of Thailand Google Map


Regulations for Domestic Travel to Phuket

Effective from 1 October 2021, Phuket Provincial Order No. 5745/2564:

You must have received 2 doses of the Sinovac, Sinopharm or Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before arrival
or
You have received the first dose of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine and the second dose of AstraZeneca at least 14 days before arrival
or
You have received 1 dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days before arrival
or
You havee recovered from COVID-19 for less than 90 days
and
You have received a negative test by an RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test no more than 7 days from the test date.

More details here.


Rules for International Visitors before you enter Thailand

There will be no quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers who are tested negative no more than seventy-two (72) hours before their travel date to Phuket. But only for countries with low or medium Covid-19-risk. You must also have stayed in such a country no less than 21 days before the travel date. You must spend at least fourteen nights in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi or Surat Thani before being able to travel to other locations in Thailand. If you stay for less than fourteen (14) nights, you have to return to your home country directly from Phuket. The forst 7 days you have to stay on Phuket island. Read more on this Q+A. Read also updated news by Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Check if your country is on the list for immigration without quarantine. Here you can see the newest list of countries.

Look for the travel and Covid-19 insurance: You need and insurance that covers at least 100000 USD. For example Nomad Insurance.

Check, if you need a visa or can enter Thailand without visa. Look for this list.

Get Thailand's Certificate of Entry (COE): Register at entrythailand.go.th/journey/1. Look here. To get the COE you need a flight booked and paid, a SHA plus hotel booked and paid, Covid-tests booked and paid.

First you book the hotel. The hotel will send you the payment confirmation and the SHABA ID. You put the ID on the COE form and you also need it to book the necessary three Covid tests. Look for a so called SHA Plus Hotel on Phuket island: Look for them here. All vaccinated tourists must stay 15 days in one of the SHA Plus certified hotels, where at least 70% of the staff have been vaccinated. You can move from one to another SHA Plus Hotel during your stay. Be aware that not many shops and restaurants in the Patong area are open. The Bang Tao area is more lively according to a blog bei Swiss Travel Agency Tourasia, whose people have tested the Phuket Sandbox.


Along with your accommodation booking you book and pay the necessary tests on thailandpsas.com. You need the SHABA ID, which you got from your hotel. The price of one test is 2800 Bath. You get vouchers for your tests. You need two of them (upon arrival on Phuket and on Day 6-7.

TAT has published this detailed Q & A.

Secure your flight:
Airlines that have announced direct flights to Phuket: – British Airways, Cathay Pacific, El Al, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, THAI, Qatar Airways.

Get your Covid-PCR-Test: No more than 72 hours before departure, you need a Covid-19 PCR Test.



After you have arrived on Phuket International Airport

Undergo Immigration and Customs procedures and a COVID-19 screening, including RT-PCR test; download and install the alert application Thailand Plus; go directly to your reserved SHA Plus hotel. Wait in your room for the test result. If tested negative for COVID-19, travellers to Phuket can go anywhere in Phuket, but they have to stay for 7 nights at their SHA plus hotel. See 7-step-flow at Phuket International Airport

Can your Thai friend join you in the SHA Plus hotel? Yes, if the guest follows all rules stipulated for Thais and expats in Thailand. And he/she can only join you after you got the first test result after you have arrived in Phuket.


Travel from Phuket tho other provinces in Thailand: After 7 days in Phuket and after beeing tested negative for Covid-19 you are free to travel to other provinces in Thailand. But you have to follow travel restrictions between provinces in Thailand.

Read more:

Updates about Covid-19 cases on Phuket and in the other provinces of Thailand: Treasures of Thailand on Facebook
Travel restrictions in Thailand during Covid-19 pandemic: The Phuket Sandbox: Where in Thailand can you travel to after 14 days?

Ko Tao เกาะเต่า: Covid-19 Updates

From 12th to 19th September the following restrictions are valid for Ko Tao island (order 5/2564 by Ko Phangan District):

Restaurants: Dine-in is not allowed, takeaway from 4.00 am until 09.00 pm. Hotels and resorts can serve food to their guests, but no alcohol.
Closed: Fitness and yoga places; game and internet shops; boxing places and martial art schools; massage parlors and spa; tattoo and piercing shops.


On September 8 3 new cases were confirmed: A man (68 years) of Thai nationality, a women (24 years), Burmese nationality; a female child (10 month) of Burmese nationality.
On September 9 7 new cases were confirmed: two Burmese women, one Burmese man, four Thai men.
On September 10 acitive case finding has been done and 14 Antigen tests got positive results.
Source: Ko Tao Hospital


Read more about Ko Tao:
Ko Tao เกาะเต่า - a Hotspot for Diving and Snorkeling

British Women, reported missing on Ko Tao, has been found

The website missingabroad.org is looking for the British women Lauren Hebden (27) from Bradford. She is missing since 22nd December 2014. According to the site she went travelling in September 2013 and kept in touch regularly via email and Skype. She stopped in September 2014, apart from one email in December 2014. Missingabroad.org says that "she is last believed to have been in Ko Tao".
A Facebook page with the name Lauren Hebden seems to show, that this person started for a holiday in Thailand in September 2013. According to the Facebook page she worked as Scuba instructor on Ko Tao, first at Roctopus Dive from October 2013 until January 2014, later at Mojo Divers. The two dive shops did not confirm that she worked there. But on the Facebook page of Lauren Hebden you see her with T-Shirts of Roctopus. And Roctopus posted this picture with her. The last post on her page here is from March 2014. A friend uploaded a picture of her on april 29.

Update on 28.1.2015
People living on Ko Tao say on Facebook that Lauren Hebden was seen on Ko Tao in the last days (here). Especially Thelma Mc Nelly is saying this. It could be that Lauren Hebden is just refusing to call her parents. As everywhere else in Thailand some foreigners are working without work permit also on Ko Tao. This makes it difficult to find out the truth.

Update on 29.1.2015

"We are happy to report that Lauren Hebden has been found safe and well, thanks for your great support". This is a Tweet of @MissingAbroad published today. This organisation had published before, that she was missing.


Read more:
Ko Tao เกาะเต่า - a Hotspot for Diving

British Woman found dead on Ko Tao: What happened

A young British woman, Christina Annesley (23), was found dead on the night of January 21 on Ko Tao in Thailand - on the same island where Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered in September 2014. This led to speculations.
But the Daily Mirror reports, citing Christina’s mother, Margaret, that Annesley died of “natural causes". On January 19 Christina Annesley had tweeted, that she needed antibiotics.
According to her tweets Christina Annesley was travelling alone. Before arriving on Ko Tao she had stayed on Ko Samui. Annesley had been in a relationsship with Olly Neville, former youth leader of UKIP party in Great Britian. UKIP party leader, Nigel Farage, tweeted: "Very sad and shocked to hear of the death of Christina Annesley. Thoughts and prayers with her family and friends."

Update on 23.1.2015
As Bangkok Post reports, Christina Annesley suffered from a chest infection during her holiday in Thailand. As documented on her Twitter-Account she drunk a lot of alcohol, what is not recommended during chest infections. Police said the body of Christina Annesley was discovered inside a bungalow room at the InTouch Resort on Sai Ree beach.

Christina Annesley took antibiotics to fight her chest infection. Drinking alcohol then can be dangerous. Read more: Can I drink alcohol while taking antibiotics?


Update on 27.1.2015
Autopsy by Thailands police found Valium and alcohol in the body of Christina Annesley, as The Nation reports. A combination of alcohol and Valium can lead to death, as it is explained here. In her Twitter-Account Annesley posted about consumation of both.