Call it the island that time forgot about — until recently.
Ko Jum’s main attraction is its ruralness — a single daily ferry makes the rounds for tourists from Krabi. No ATM’s, limited cellphone coverage, and potentially limited electricity means you really are getting away from it all. Electricity only came to the island in 2008, and the slower pace of rural island life can still be seen across the board. If you came to the island to take up anything more ambitious than a casual stroll along the beach, you’re in the wrong place.
Pristine beaches, anyone? Part of the Golden Pearl Beach, which is appropriately nearby the Golden Pearl Bungalows. A total of seven beaches are named over at kohjumhotels.com, though with almost no signage about the beaches, you’d be hard-pressed to know where one beach ends and another begins. Most are named and referenced as being close to a bar, bungalow, or resort.
Plenty of shell-encrusted rocks are around — steer clear of these if trying to swim.
While there’s only one main road through the island, it’s not paved the whole way through. A fairly big chunk in the middle of the island and most of the side roads are dirt, gravel, and lots of rocks — definitely not for the first-time scooter driver. The good news: mountain bikes and 4×4’s are both available for sale, while some basic taxi services are available. You’ll also discover plenty of bungalows throughout the island, although some will require some searching to find!
The Pimanphu beach area on the southeastern coast, complete with a small bar and shop nearby. Read it carefully — there was a number of cheeky signs worth enjoying:
A look out at some boats from the Ko Pu pier on the northern side — you’d only want to come here if you’re willing to head back to Laem Kruat instead of the Krabi Pier. This side has seen very little in the way of tourism development, and houses quite a few of the 1,500 permanent residents on the island.
In short, it’s isolated, rural, and beautiful. There’s just enough infrastructure around, though don’t expect air conditioning or hot water at anything other than the couple of higher-end places. Expect most bungalows to be basic wooden shacks. Fans and mosquito nets around the bed are about as fancy as some of them get. Try to see the proposed room before accepting it so you know what you’re getting — like many things in Thailand, this area is changing to meet the needs of tourists.
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Name: Ko Jum (กาะจำ) / Koh Jum / Ko Po / Ko Pu / Ko Phu (the northern end of the island is Ko Pu, while the southern end is Ko Jum)
Address: Ko Jum, Nuea Khlong District, Krabi
Directions: (current as of March 2015)
Option A: The easier and faster way during the high season (mid-November to April) is to start from Krabi Pier, also called Klong Ji Lad / Klong Jilad. (GPS: 8.045903, 98.905867) The once-daily ferry leaves Krabi Pier at 11am, costs 550 baht, and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to make the ~35km trip.
As you approach the island, the ferry will stop offshore of Ko Jum, and a number of long-tail boats will transfer you to your hotel. Ask when the ferry makes the return trip back to the mainland, or ask at the hotel.
Option B is better only if you’d rather go the traditional way, are looking to bring your scooter to the island from the mainland, or are going during the low / rainy season. If that’s you, head to the Laem Kruat Pier, which is about 32 kilometers southeast of the Tesco Lotus in Krabi (GPS for the pier: 7.889749, 99.027020). Light blue songthaews are around and have English on the side, but these are infrequent. If you’re riding a scooter, take route 4 (Phetkasem road) east from the Tesco Lotus, pass the airport, and go another 4 kilometers. Look for blue signs pointing you to Laem Kruat or Siboya Island. Turn right onto route 4036, the side road just before a Top Charoen Optical store. Head down this road for about 23km, and pick up some gas at one of the gas stations or vending machines before reaching the ferry.
Officially, long tail boats leave from Laem Kruat for Ko Pu / Koh Po (the southern end of Ko Jum) at 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:00pm, 2:30pm, 4:00pm, and 5:30pm. Boats make the return trip back to Laem Kruat / the mainland at 7:20am, 7:40am, 8:00am, 8:30am, and 1:30pm, so don’t be late! We paid 300 baht total for two people and one bike to make the ~20km, ~30 minute one-way trip.
Hours: The beach is open 24/7, though it gets pretty quiet after dark.
Admission: free
Phone: none
Website: One unofficial website is at http://kohjumhotels.com/
