The 6 Best Hostels in Koh Tao — Ranked Honestly

If you’re searching for the best hostels in Koh Tao, you’re probably on the ferry tomorrow and need to pick a bed tonight. Here’s the honest version: Koh Tao has a handful of hostels genuinely worth arguing about, and they’re built for completely different travellers.

The right party hostel is a nightmare for someone who wants sleep. The best dive hostel is dead quiet for someone chasing nightlife. Picking by star rating alone is how you end up in the wrong bed.

Full disclosure before we start: we run Wonderland Jungle Hostel, one of the six on this list. We’re not pretending otherwise — but we’ve also lived on this island since 2018, we know every hostel here, and a list that only features us would be as useless to you as it would look fake to Google.

So this guide covers the real competition, what each place actually does best, and who should skip us entirely. For everything else on the island, start with our complete Koh Tao guide — or if you’re not sold on a hostel over a hotel room yet, our hostel vs hotel Thailand comparison makes the honest case either way.

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Koh Tao Hostels at a Glance

Six hostels, six different trips. This table is the best hostels in Koh Tao compared in 10 seconds — the full breakdowns below explain the trade-offs nobody puts in their listing photos.

Dorm beds across these hostels run roughly 300–1,000 THB in low season and 500–2,000 THB in high season depending on the hostel, with party hostels mid-priced and private rooms everywhere costing two to four times a dorm bed. For what that does to your daily numbers, see our Koh Tao budget guide.

How We Ranked the Best Hostels in Koh Tao

Three inputs. First, guest review scores on Hostelworld and Booking.com — checked at the time of writing, quoted per hostel below, because scores move.

Second, eight years of living here: we’ve seen inside every hostel on this list, we know their managers, and we hear unfiltered feedback every week from guests who stayed there first. Third, honesty about downsides — including our own. Every hostel below gets its flaws listed, not just its pool.

One thing we’d push back on: “best” doesn’t mean one winner. The best hostels in Koh Tao are the ones that match your travel style — a sleep-deprived introvert at Slumber Party and a party animal at a silent dive resort are both in the wrong place, whatever the ratings say.

“I booked 3 different hostels at koh tao, the last one was Wonderland and i have to tell you: I will go there again”

— Tobias Muhr, Google review

1. Wonderland Jungle Hostel — Social, Not Party (Chalok)

Yes, this is us. Here’s the case, and then the catch. Wonderland is the highest-rated social hostel on Koh Tao — rated 9.5+ across 1,300+ reviews on Hostelworld, Booking.com, and Google.

The concept is the middle ground most hostels miss: there’s something happening every single night — quiz nights, Mario Kart tournaments, karaoke, family dinners — but the fun moves into town around 11pm, so the people who want to sleep actually sleep. Around 85% of guests arrive solo, staff learn your name by day two, and 1 in 5 guests extends their stay. Some extend three times. If the idea of walking in solo and actually meeting people sounds daunting, our guide to making friends at a hostel covers exactly how that plays out.

What’s included in the bed price: free breakfast, a pool, a jungle-view common area with a pool table and a Nintendo Switch, weekly free family dinners, an outdoor gym, and an on-site restaurant. And one thing no other hostel on this island can offer: your stay funds free education in SE Asia through Horizon Asia — 12 kids a week taught on Koh Tao alone.

“The social vibe here is unmatched; it’s incredibly easy to make friends as a solo traveler, but it’s not a chaotic party hostel.”

— simone grandinetti, Google review

The honest downside: we’re not central. Wonderland sits up a hill in the jungle in Chalok, on the Mae Haad border — that’s exactly why it’s quiet, but it means Sairee’s restaurants and bars are a 5–10 minute scooter ride away, not a stumble.

The pier is 3–5 minutes by scooter (about 20 minutes on foot, uphill). Babaloo, right next door, rents scooters — and if you don’t ride, Art’s taxi (ask at reception) covers the gaps. If you want to step out of your dorm directly onto a busy street, Savage below is the better pick.

Verdict: the best all-rounder on the island — solo travellers, couples who want social-but-peaceful, and anyone who’s done the party hostel circuit and wants actual friends plus actual sleep. Breakfast is included, prices move with the season, and booking direct always gets the best price.

2. The Dearly — Best for Divers and Value (Chalok)

The Dearly is a chill resort-style hostel in Chalok with a 5-star PADI dive centre on the property — you sleep where you train, which removes all the morning logistics of a dive course.

Scoring 9.4 on Hostelworld and 8.8 on Booking.com at the time of writing, it’s the daytime hostel: pool, rooftop area, free breakfast, occasional hikes and activities, and genuinely quiet nights. If we’re honest about value for money across the whole island, The Dearly is probably the strongest baht-for-baht pick — solid facilities at a fair price, though private rooms push the budget up.

The honest downside: quiet cuts both ways. It’s a 10–15 minute walk to Chalok beach, far from Sairee’s nightlife, and the social energy is gentler than the hostels above and below — great for remote workers and people mid-Open-Water-course, underwhelming if you’re hoping the common room kicks off at 9pm.

You’ll want a scooter. If diving is the reason you’re coming to Koh Tao, read our Koh Tao diving guide before you book anything.

Verdict: divers, longer stays, and value hunters who want calm without going full hermit.

3. Deishaview — Laidback Social with the Best View (Chalok–Mae Haad Hills)

Deishaview is the hostel we’d call our closest philosophical neighbour — social, but relaxed social, not party social. It sits high in the hills between Chalok and Mae Haad with a huge common area looking out over Chalok bay towards Koh Phangan, a view most paid viewpoints on this island would charge for.

There’s a dive school on-site with guest discounts, daily low-key events (pool tournaments, yoga), a good bar and restaurant, fast Wi-Fi, a foosball table, a 55″ TV with Netflix and a Nintendo Wii, free 24/7 drinking water, tea and coffee — and resident dogs and cats doing quality control on the sunbeds. It holds 9.3 on Hostelworld and 8.6 on Booking.com at the time of writing.

The honest downside: access. The hill up is genuinely steep — not first-time-rider territory — and from the parking area it’s about 120 steep steps down to the hostel. Without a scooter, staying here barely works; with Thai midday heat, walking it isn’t a plan.

Guests also note the dorm AC is off from 10:00 to 19:00, which only matters if you nap at 2pm. People either bounce off the hill after two days or fall in love and stay for weeks. There’s no middle.

Verdict: confident riders who want peace, views, and slow-burn social — and don’t mind earning it with steps.

4. Savage — Most Central, Design-First (Sairee)

Savage wins on one axis nothing else on this list touches: location. It sits in the middle of Sairee’s busy main street with restaurants, cafes, massage shops, and a 7-Eleven within 400–500 metres — the one hostel here where skipping the scooter entirely is a legitimate strategy.

It leans design-led and photographs well, draws a young social crowd plus couples, and runs daily activities. There’s a pool table and a rooftop pool (a shallow one — it’s for cooling off and photos, not laps).

The honest downside: the rooms. The most consistent complaints are small dorms and small privates, no windows in many rooms, and a slightly dated feel compared to the Instagram first impression. It’s also mid-island from the pier — a 20–30 minute walk with a backpack, though it’s a pleasant one.

If you’re weighing central-and-walkable against space-and-quiet, our where to stay in Koh Tao guide breaks down exactly this trade-off, area by area.

Verdict: no-scooter travellers and short-stayers who’d trade room size for stepping straight out into Sairee.

5. Revolution — The Party Hostel (North Sairee)

If you want to party every single night, stop reading and book Revolution — it’s the most famous party hostel on Koh Tao and it’s extremely good at being exactly that. It sits in North Sairee surrounded by the bars (Pub Crawl and The Local are neighbours), runs happy hours and group parties nightly, throws in free breakfast and occasional free family dinners, and organises daytime tours and hikes for the survivors.

The crowd is solo travellers and party people, age-restricted to 18–35, and at the time of writing it scores a 9.8 on Hostelworld against an 8.3 on Booking.com — a gap that tells you exactly who loves it and who doesn’t.

The honest downside: it’s always loud. That’s not a flaw, it’s the product — but don’t book it wanting a good night’s rest, and don’t book it as a couple looking for quiet time. Revolution is built for partying and meeting people, in that order, and sleep finishes a distant third.

If your trip leans this way, you might also be weighing the islands themselves — our Koh Tao vs Koh Phangan comparison settles which one fits a party-first trip.

Verdict: party-every-night travellers on short stays. The best at what it does — just be sure it’s what you want.

6. Slumber Party — Full Party Mode (Sairee Beach)

Slumber Party doesn’t pretend. Its own Hostelworld description tells you there will be loud, drunk people — and it delivers nightly. Located right by Sairee Beach with its own beachfront bar and restaurant, daily events, and everything walkable, it’s pure nightlife with beds attached.

Age restriction 18–35, same as Revolution. At the time of writing it scores 8.5 on Hostelworld and 6.2 on Booking.com — the widest platform gap on this list, which maps exactly onto party-crowd-loves-it, everyone-else-doesn’t.

The honest downside: sleep is difficult most nights, cleanliness gets recurring complaints, and if the chaos isn’t your lifestyle it will feel like exactly that — chaos. Couples and anyone over the party phase should look anywhere else on this list.

Verdict: the full-send party crowd. Everyone else has five better options above.

Which Koh Tao Hostel Should You Book?

The shortcut version, the way we’d answer a guest asking at reception — because picking between the best hostels in Koh Tao is really just answering one question: what do you want your nights to look like?

• Solo and want to make friends (without losing sleep): Wonderland first, Deishaview second. Both social-not-party — our solo travel Koh Tao guide covers how the first 48 hours play out.
• Party every night: Revolution or Slumber Party. Honestly — go there, not to us. You’ll have a better time and so will everyone’s earplugs.
• Best value for money: The Dearly. Fair prices, strong facilities, free breakfast.
• Here to dive: The Dearly (dive school on-site) or Wonderland (our partner dive school Nitro is sold at reception, and Deishaview also trains divers with guest discounts).
• No scooter, everything walkable: Savage, with Slumber Party as the party-flavoured alternative.
• Couples who want social but peaceful: Wonderland’s private rooms — social common area by day, quiet nights, none of the dorm chaos.
• Travelling in high season (Dec–Mar): book whichever you pick in advance — the good hostels sell out as standard. In low season, beds drop up to 50% and walk-ins work.

Best Hostels in Koh Tao — FAQ

Pick Your Bed — The Rest of the Trip Follows

Here’s what eight years of watching travellers arrive has taught us: the hostel decides the trip. The same island, the same beaches, the same things to do — but the people you meet at breakfast determine whether Koh Tao becomes a three-day stopover or the place you tell stories about for years.

The best hostels in Koh Tao are all the right answer for somebody. Be honest about which somebody you are, and you can’t really get it wrong.

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