Breakfast on Koh Tao

Breakfast is a serious business on Koh Tao. Between early dive boats and slow beach mornings, the island has grown a whole breakfast culture, and @breakfastonkohtao is the Instagram account that keeps track of it, rounding up the best plates across the island. This is a quick guide to what's out there.

What breakfast looks like on Koh Tao

For such a small island, the range is surprising. French bakeries turn out croissants, pain au chocolat and real bread; cafes do full English fry-ups for the hungry and the homesick; and the healthier end runs to smoothie bowls, fresh fruit, granola and proper specialty coffee. Some of the best spots are right on the sand, so you can have your eggs with a sea view.

Timing matters on a dive island: many places open early for the first boats, from around 7am, and wind down by mid-afternoon, so breakfast here often stretches comfortably into brunch.

Where to go

For pastries and viennoiserie, head to a bakery like The French Market in Sairee or Croissant & Ko down in Chalok. For a proper sit-down brunch, the cafes around Sairee and Mae Haad have you covered. And for a running shortlist of where the island is eating breakfast right now, follow @breakfastonkohtao, whose feed is below.

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