Koh Nang Yuan from the viewpoint

Koh Nang Yuan is three small islands off Koh Tao's north-west coast, joined by a curving sandbar, and the picture everyone knows is the one from the viewpoint on the highest of them. It is ten to twenty minutes by longtail from Sairee Beach, and the climb to the top is short and steep. From up there the sandbar curves away between two bays with water on both sides; the couple stands on the rock in front of it, and then the session goes down to the sand for the close frames.

Go as early as the island lets day visitors in. It is quietest before the day boats from Samui and Phangan arrive, and the viewpoint is small, so later in the day there is a queue for the same rock. The sandbar changes with the tide — wide at low water, narrow at high — so the tide table belongs in the plan here too. Around the island the reef comes close to the sand: walk on sand, never stand on coral.

Nang Yuan is privately run. There is an entrance fee, the island sets its own hours for day visitors, and plastic bottles and cans are banned — bags can be checked. It sets its own rules on drones as well, on top of the NBTC and CAAT registration every drone in Thailand needs. All of it changes, so check before you go. The Gulf's calendar applies: driest from about February to April, wettest from October to December, when rough seas can cancel the boats.