Compared to Koh Lipe the tiny Koh Jum island is like going back in time. Located 25 km south of Krabi, it is truly a sleepy little island with nothing to do. And blissfully so.
Getting there may feel like a bit of a struggle, but it was actually very smooth. Krabi is well connected from KL and the van-boat-truck transfer organised through our hotel worked seamlessly.
Koh Jum Beach Villas
We were hosting a larger than average group of visiting family and wanted to spend time with them on the beach – and minimize all the cooking and sleeping on mattresses involved. The guests wanted to go to Thailand, so we started looking for somewhere right on the beach where we could all spend time together. After endless nights spent online we stumbled upon Koh Jum Beach Villas with a variety of private villas to choose from.
The villas are privately owned and rented out when not used by the owners. Hence all the villas have individual touches and the whole place has a residential feel to it, with wide space and lush gardens between the villas. The resort takes issues of environment and social responsibility seriously – an effort worth supporting and not too common in the region.
Photos: Koh Jum Beach Villas
While our villa was not right on the beach, it was only a few steps away. The resort has a restaurant (that also delivers to your villa) and the villas have kitchens if you want to cook. They offer a shopping service to stock up your fridge before arrival, and drinks are replenished daily. We found that it was actually cheaper to eat out, but it was great to have a fridge full of cold drinks at the villa after a day at the beach. There are a few other hotels and restaurants along the beach, but the food at our resort was a notch up from the rest.
The beach may not be as white as white can be, but the quietness makes up easily for that. At low tide, the beach is full of rock pools with all kinds of creatures for the kids to discover. A boat trip to Phi Phi island or Koh Lanta can be easily arranged if you need more action.
Activities on Koh Jum island
We took advantage of the bicycles and kayaks available at the resort. If you have ambitious people in your party, you can tell them that the little island you can see from the beach is further than it looks. Oh but wait, I did tell them too! I almost got a tiny bit nervous when they were not back five minutes before our departure for the airport. Mainly because they had all the hungry salty wet sunburnt children with them. Luckily they paddled in just when the suitcases were being loaded on to the pick-up and I recovered from my hyperventilation.
Both Koh Lipe and Koh Jum islands are lovely little paradise islands with suitable amount of things to do (almost none) and enough services to get by (meaning good food and coffee). If that’s what you want from your holiday, start planning!
