Ko Tao is still truly amazing. Rich in natural beauty, perfect for diving, snorkeling, kayaking and a few nice trails to hike with rewarding views over the island. It also attracts a different crowd of people than Ko Samui or Phuket, which is good news for all who want to avoid the cocktail by the bucket/full-, half- and three quarter-moonparty trash. But all is not well and Ko Tao is already showing some serious signs of destruction. In recent years the island has seen a massive amount of development which led to the disfigurement of many wonderful and untouched coastal sceneries. Every year there are a couple of new concrete resorts, set into the landscape like Mike Tyson would place his fist on the nose of his opponent. Sewage water from the resorts is pumped straight out into the ocean and is not exactly helping the eco system to maintain itself. Once you snorkel around the beaches, you'll realise that most of the corals there are dead. Destroyed by the swivel of ship propellers, taxi boats, and unexperienced divers and snorkelers who step on it, break it and so on. They once have been very colourful and teeming with all sorts of marine life, but now they're brown, crumbling and covered in algea. There is still a decent amount of fish around who eat the remains of the coral, so going snorkeling is still fun to do. But if you talk to the locals they will tell you what these places have been years ago. Quite a few of them said that they are not going snorkeling or diving any more as they can't bear to see what's down there. Some reported that they are afraid to speak up, as there have been serious threats to those who dared to oppose the big business players. Even though there are a lot of efforts to protect what is still there and a number of conservation projects doing excellent work, they can only succeed, if the tourist industry itself puts the environment before its profits. Otherwise Ko Tao will end up like so many other places before, a wasteland of karaoke bars, bacardi buckets and littered beaches. Sorry to put the fly into the soup, but the difference between this scenario and a place that is worth visiting and living in lies entirely in our hands. As long as there are businesses on the island who are keen to make a difference, to preserve nature and protect it, they will rely on us spending our cash there and keeping them alive. The big corporations will only change their ways if they get hit where it hurts them the most, not in the heart but in the cash register. So please think twice where you book your stay and keep an eye out for recommended places. In the end it might pay back double as you will have a much better experience and the feeling that it will be worth coming back.