Ko Jum

Golden Pearl Beach looking north. Mount Pu in background. Image - Ko Jum Lodge

Most of this page was written after my visit in 2006. However I returned in November 2008 and have inserted UPDATES when needed. There are also updates from other visitors with good information.

I’ve passed by Ko Jum on the Lanta-Krabi ferry three times in the past and haven’t had time visit, so this March trip I made a point of jumping into one of the long tails and checking things out. Glad I did, this is one nice uncrowded laid back island, the perfect place to sit back and relax or wander around and check the scene at a leisurely pace.
The guide books give the impression there are only two or three bungalow resorts, but in fact there are well over a dozen, spread out over 4 main beaches along the western coast. However the places are nicely spaced so there is never a feeling of overcrowding here. There is a good map and satellite image along with lots of other great info on http://www.kojumonline.com/.

Note that the northern mountainous section of the island is often referred to as Ko Pu.

A tout on the ferry showed me some photos of SEASON BUNGALOW (see link below) and said they had some 300baht bungalows, so I piled into their long tail when the ferry arrived off GOLDEN PEARL BEACH. Golden Pearl is the northern part of the 4km+ long southern beach, the rest being called ANDAMAN BEACH. Okay, Season’s 300 bungalows with attached bathroom were neat enough, although up the back next to the (not very busy) road and a fair walk to the restaurant. But they showed me one of the pastel painted concrete and tile 400 baht jobs, much bigger, much nicer, so I went for that. Wow, what a nice place! - tinted sliding doors, towels and comp water supplied, linen changed daily, window and door insect screens. No mirror in the bathroom though - a big one in a vanity in bungalow itself. I noticed this bungalow was 700 on the web-page. It really looked like 700 worth.
The big open plan restaurant up near the beach was breezy and had a great outlook towards Phi Phi. I thought the food pretty nice, prices towards the lower end of my bungalow stays, and the staff were super polite, friendly and efficient. The grounds are a sort of cleared coconut plantation but looked like a work in progress - I was not aware this place was really knocked around by the tsunami. Click on “tsunami” on Season’s web page to see how damaging this was. Hey, those bungalows are really solid construction.
The beach is pretty nice here, except at lowest tide where a lot of rocks on the sandy bottom were exposed, making swimming any distance difficult. There were some sitting platforms, lie-lows and hammocks back of the beach, perfect for checking the sun sinking into the sea just behind PP (in March at least).

UPDATE NOV 08 - I returned to Season for a meal on my latest trip. The food was still excellent value - some things cheaper than my budget Luboa Hut accommodation for this trip. The grounds are in better shape and the beach seems to have recovered quite a lot of sand. The cheaper places out the back have been refurbished and there were a half dozen extra, built further from the road. Most interestingly, the sweet girl in charge told me she hasn't increased prices since the tsunami rebuild - my fan type bungalow was 500 (okay, I originally got the ferry-tout special of 400), the family beachfront job was 1500 and the bungalows fitted out for 3 people were 700-900 depending on closeness to the beach. The backpackers' ones were 350. I was kinda pleased to see Season seemed to have the best occupancy rate of any place I passed - maybe that ferry tout is working real hard.

Dec 08 shot - my 06 bungalow was identical but further back from the beach to the ones at right. That is the restaurant down near the beach in background.

The walk southward along Golden Pearl-Andaman Beach is a pretty nice way to spend an hour or so. All the bungalow places looked pretty pleasant with the two most southern ones, JOY and NEW BUNGALOWS probably the busiest. New has some great looking tree houses, way up there. Right at the end of the beach is a small funky looking Paradise beach bar “Open 10am-Midnight” which is far enough from the nearest bungalows that noise would not likely be a problem.

Joy seemed to be the only place with hire bicycles, so I grabbed one and after the usual rebuild, did a tour of the rest of the island. The main road is mostly dirt and runs from one end of the island to the other, mainly some distance in from the beaches. It is fairly flat, which is just as well, because the gears were shot on my bike and I had to jam it into highest gear. I only had to get off and walk one hill.

UPDATE Dec 08- it is possible to walk the length of the west coast by rock-hopping between the beaches. It took me less than 2 hours at an easy pace with frequent stops to shoot pix, and the rock-hopping was pretty easy under half tide. Much over this, the section between Ao Si and Ting Ray beaches becomes quite difficult. From North beach to Ting Ray takes around 20 minutes, the same from Ting Ray to A0 Si and it only takes 5 minutes to go either side of the small headland between Ao Si and the long Golden Pearl/Andman. Towards the southern end of Andaman the bungalows at Joy seemed to have been refurbished. New Bungalows seemed almost deserted - it was one of the most crowded on my previous trip. There was a new bar - Go Bar - between New and the older Paradise Bar at the southern end of the beach. The whole island is still very relaxed - I reckon I saw fewer than 20 beach-goers on my 4 hour return journey.

Back to touring by bicycle - the road begins in the south at Ko Jum village which is on the mangrovey East coast and has a couple of piers for fishing boats and transport boats from the mainland. There are several small stores and restaurants, including Ko Jum Seafood (alongside the piers) which has had raves from previous posters.

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Ban Ko Jum is an interesting place to have a wander, with quite a few places to eat cheaply (image Panoramio-Laura Velerio)
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Ting Rai village is a pretty featureless ribbon development about half way up the island and Ban Ko Pu , down a short side road near the northern end of the island is very similar to Ko Jum village, perhaps a bit bigger.
The main road at the north end curves westward around the top of the island with several nice little bays visible as you pass, and terminates over on the west coast at its most northern beach, LUBOA. This beach is pretty nice, immediately backed by rainforested hills and there are several bungalow places, mostly a bit more rustic looking than Andaman-Golden Pearl - in general, even more of a ‘getting away from it all’ location. I had a beer at one of the restaurants, LUBOA HUT from memory, and the friendly owner showed me some immediate post tsunami photos - fortunately most of his bungalows are up on the lower hillside slopes, but his restaurant and the two beachside bungalows were pretty messed up. Fortunately no-one was hurt.

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The main road up the interior of Jum passes through pretty relaxed locations (image Panoramio-Ashahel Bush)
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Heading back down the island I checked out the area known as TING RAI BEACH which is actually a series of smaller beaches in the lee of Mount Pu. (note, the mountainous northern part of the island is sometimes called KO PU). Some of the hills on this road were a fair bit steeper and with my bike’s moonshot gearing I had to get off and push several times. Pretty hot work, so I had a great swim and some sun at gorgeous deserted MAGIC BEACH which you can check on that website.
Unfortunately I can’t tell you anything about the 3 resorts along here, because heading down the super steep rutted and rocky access road to the first, I locked up the brakes, slid into a transverse rut and did a two and a half forward somersault with tuck (the bike was tucked between my legs - instant falsetto baby). Subsequently I got the sulks, and 23 Band-Aids later, headed directly back to Season for a Chang or five in one of the beachfront hammocks.
Nevertheless, if those resorts have a beach similar to Magic, they wouldn’t be positioned too bad at all, and they sure look nice on the website.

UPDATE NOV 08 - I rock-hopped down to Ting Ray from North Beach during my latest trip, about 20 minutes - real easy at low tide with lots of patches of sand between rocks - but getting tricky on return at 3/4 high. You would need to go up into the bush and bush-bash in the last hour of the tide.

Ting Ray is a very nice beach with a few patches of big rock and the resorts built up the steep hillside but with beachside restaurants and bars - looked pretty good to me.

Dec 08 - high-end coming to Ting Ray - this very flash joint was going in towards the south end of the beach.

I also pushed on south to Ao Si - hey this is one gorgeous beach with ony two accommodation places.

Ao Si Beach 5 minutes walk around the headland north of Golden Pearl/Andaman - Ao Si Resort is situated on the far headland with restaurant and bungalows high up looking directly down the beach. I reckon it might be my next Jum accommodation.
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From the personalities viewpoint, I noticed a group of several hundred locals gathered at what seemed to be a community meeting spot beachside about halfway along Andaman. They were checking a group of 30 or so early teen ladies arranged line-dance style, dressed in short skirts and tops kind of a cross between Thai traditional, South Sea Wahini and the Olsen Twins Go Clubbing. Then the music cranked in, Thai disco style, and these sweethearts launched into a booty shakin’ bop which would do trailer-trash Britzer proud. Say it isn’t so! Teeny-raunch culture hits Ko Jum!! Now normally I don’t give a stuff when Lps and TOAs culture-nazis and behaviour-police start raving about the western corruption of Thai standards. But somehow I thought what I was seeing was a bit sad. Not to mention incongruous, when you think of all that stuff the afore-mentioned moaners and the guidebooks tell us about how conservative southern Muslims are.
However a farang girl checking the scene told me these people were Sea Gypsies from all over Jum and surrounding islands, come together for a kind full-moon party (annual, not monthly) where the aim is to dance, eat and booze all day until you drop. And sure enough, when I passed again that afternoon., a general party was going on big time and everyone was into the disco bop. Quite a few seemed pretty wasted. I think Sea Gypsies are more animists than Muslims.

UPDATE NOV 08 - STAYING AT LUBOA HUT

For my revisit to Jum I decided to stay on North Beach aka Luboa Beach - Ting Rai Beach did appeal but places there have been covered real well by others on this page. I remembered that Luboa Hut looked like my sort of place when I called in at North Beach last trip - so after I piled off the public longtail from Laem Kruat at Baan Ko Pu I got the local taxi motorcycle sidecar to take me the 5-7 km or so around the north end of the island for 50baht.
I found the beach perfect for low budget travellers seeking a completely laid back area (no independent bars or restaurants along here) and Luboa Hut to be a real nice, good value place to stay.

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North Beach with Mount Pu in background. Bungalows are mainly on the hillside behind the trees with restaurants at beach level - about half a dozen outfits scattered along here - all seemed to be budget in price. The beach is maybe 800m north-south.

Luboa Hut has paid more attention to rustic landscaping than other places on North Beach. The restaurant and sitting cabanas are behind a tangle of tree trunks, branches and broadleaf plants.

The bungalows are mainly scattered up a pretty steep hill behind the beach. There are 9 of various sizes including one family place - all spacious with bathrooms and big verandas - mine clean, in good condition and was 300baht (asking 350) in late Nov 08. Comfy beds, quiet at night apart from wind in trees. The only complaint - the tree cover made it a bit darkish in the daytime when the generator was not running - hard to see in the bathroom mirror for shaving etc. But those trees and the traditional design made for a cool bungalow. I’ll put a full review on travel fish when I get a chance.

North Beach is a great get away from it all place, no section more so than this southern most area which has only one bungalow place - Billee. This low tide shot shows the rocks start just off the beach, but at higher tide levels there is sand underfoot until it is deep enough to swim. I had some real nice swims along here. Fewer rocks towards the northern end.

Luboa Hut’s beachfront restaurant. Food nice and service from Nat and Ann very good. Prices about average for budget bungalows. That’s Phi Phi Leh and Don in the background. Sweet place to spend time. Nice hammock behind camera.

Email - aschariya5@yahoo.com (the email address on kojumonline has been hijacked by fraudsters)
By now the new website should be up - www.luboahut2008.com

Some more info and good pix
http://www.kohjumonline.com/luboahut.html

GETTING TO JUM
In dry season access is off the ferries running between Krabi and Lanta. Jum is quite a long island and the ferry stops north end, centre and in the south, where visitors bail out into longtails from the various bungalows.
The Ko Jum Online link in the OP has ferry times and prices and the administrator keeps this pretty up to date.
In wet season the ferries stop but you can get onto Jum using the small local longtails and ferries from the mainland leaving from Laem Kruat. This is at the end of route 4036 which branches off the main highway 4.

Actually SUERAL says the latter is not a bad way in dry season because it is a heap cheaper than the ferry:
"Catch a songthaew from the roundabout in krabi near the thai hotel to nua klong, there is another waiting to go to laem kruat where the boat is leaving.
It leaves somewhat by 14.00 (UPDATE DEC 08 - I also go one at 1030) everyday depending on the weather, people etc. It is actually going through the mangroves on the back of the island, so it is a short trip with a nice view but don't forget to bring earplugs."

Dec 08 shot

Public longtail across to Ban Ko Pu towards the north end of the east coast of Jum - 45 minutes for 50 baht. Similar boats to Ban Ko Jum near the southern end would take a bit longer. Note the comment below about the faster boat.
At my previous place - Siboya Bungalows - I was within sight and only 4km from the Ban Ko Pu pier but local politics meant a longtail charter would cost 600 baht (judging on what I paid elsewhere, 300 or less would have been fair). I agreed with some Italians to share, but when they changed their minds next morning I had to scramble for the 0800 20 baht public longtail across to Laem Kraut, wait around for 2 hours for this 1030 boat to Ko Jum. It was nevertheless kinda fun watching the loading of these boats with provisions from the markets just up the street and there is a cheap restaurant from which the following shot was taken.

Busy "pier" at Laem Kraut - public longtails for Ban Ko Phu villgage start here, and I noticed a big fast modern looking longtail "Ko Jum Express" or similar come across presumably from Ban Ko Jum and dock at a pier a few hundred meters further north - your songthaew driver will be able to direct you. This would probably depart around 0930 to 1030 - I'm not sure about afternoon trips. Mc Deli below also mentions a third pier on Jum - Mu Tu.

UPDATE MARCH O9 - McDeli just supplied this good access info. - "quick reminder to anyone on a budget that it is much cheaper to get off the bus (if coming from Trang) or songtaew (if from Krabi) at Nea Klong on the highway just 6km from Krabi. There is a nice market there and you walk just a few metres down the turning to the coast to the songtaew to Laem Kruat, the tiny port that handles all the local longtails to Koh Jum and Siboya. At Laem Kruat boats from different piers go to Koh Jum village, Mu Tu pier and Ko Pu village. It is a 50 baht mototaxi per person to any of the resorts from any of the three piers, once on Koh Jum. So ask around for the next boat. Obvious exception if you want to stay right next to Koh Jum village it is a bit daft to go to Ko Pu in the North. Same when leaving Koh Jum. You can hirea private speedboat (one couple paid 8000 baht to go to Phi Phi), you can get your resort's longtail to take you to the Lanta-Krabi ferry and pay 400 baht. Or you can pay 170 baht to go the local way (50 mototaxi, 50 longtail to Laem Kruat, 50 st to Nua Klong, 20 st to Krabi)."

To Jum from Phi Phi - pretty time consuming because you have to go by ferry either by Krabi or Lanta (the latter dry season only).
Quite a lot of people ask on travel sites about the cost of a longtail directly between the two places. Pon who runs Ao Toh Ko Bungalows on the east coast of Phi Phi told me in my August 07 visit that she has arranged longtails to Jum for 2500, time about one hour. See McDeli's info above abt a speedboat.
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Sun setting over Phi Phi Ley from Ko Jum (image Panoramio-Asahel Bush)
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UPDATE APRIL 07
MANDYSK has given me these 2 bits of info about the TING RAI area, of which I didn't get to see much:
"I just came back from Koh Jum (Koh Pu) 2 days ago and I absolutely loved it. I stayed at Ting rai and Oonlee Bungalows in the Koh Pu area. Andaman beach is definitely livelier and the beach is more of a real beach experience. But Koh Pu has something really special. I think its the rocks and the jungle like nature. I guess it depends on what you like. For me I like peace and quiet and beautiful nature. Koh Pu served me well. Ting Rai is a special place. Amazing hospitality, incredible nature, good swimming. Oon Lee bungalows are fantastic - a real impressive place. The restaurant is so classy, food incredible and again a real feeling of being in the jungle. Their bungalows are so well made - very good attention to detail and cheap B400 is low season. This island really is something special. Try and go to Coconut Beach which is a fair walk from Oon Lee and Ting Rai but quite close if you stay at Luboa Beach (north Beach). Too far to walk if you stay at Joy (on Andaman). But definately the nicest beach on the island. I am so sad to be home. You enjoy Koh Jum!"

"The best thing about Oonlee are their bungalows, restaurant and beach bar. Oon is quite professional. Great tunes, and great drinks. Food is like 5* quality, but very reasonably priced. The bungalows are great, awesome balcony with hammock (love a hammock), bathroom fantastic, he uses rocks as shelving, normal toilet, shower etc.. and great beds with mosquito net and fan. They even have french doors that open up on the balcony. The down side would be the swimming outside of Oonlee. It is very rocky but you can swim. I swam everyday but I would recommend wearing shoes in the water. Ting Rai beach is 2 seconds away and is better for swimming."
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UPDATE NOV 07
Well, Mandy Kalinski just can't keep away from Jum. She has just given this even more comprehensive information:
"I have just returned from a magical 3 month trip in Thailand and am suffering (yet again) from post travel trauma. I spent a bit of time on the lovely Koh Jum and thought you might appreciate an update. Firstly I would say go to this island now because in 2 years it will be a mini Koh Lanta. Already there have been some changes (especially on the koh jum side) in terms of development. Once 24 hour electricity is introduced, then the 7/11, it will be all down hill so don't hesitate go now before it is too late.This island is so easy to get to from Krabi. I think you know the way - take the ferry from Krabi to Koh Lanta, it stops half way and the longtails pick you up. Apparently this will all change in a few years and the ferry will stop at the pier on koh jum. I am still a firm supporter of the Koh Pu side (north of the island). Ting Rai will always be a favourite. Their longtail will always be at the ferry so don't worry if you haven't booked, but this place gets busy. Ting Rai is special. The bungalows are gorgeous, the food is great and you feel like you are home, almost immediately. The beach is great for swimming and the people who work there know all about the island. You will be looked after at Ting Rai Bay. It's a perfect place for families, couples and single travellers. This is an easy place to meet people and enjoy the incredible jungle surroundings. If they are full, don't worry stay next door at Old Lamp bungalows. These bungalows are fantastic. Big and great bathrooms. Also the restaurant is right on the beach so excellent for sunset time. Further down the beach is the more stylish than before Oonlee bungalows. Wow, what a place. Now they have a pool table, bar snacks at the ever so cool beach bar. Always good music and fantastic mojitas. Best drinks on the island - fresh mint from the herb garden! Ok, yes there are many, many, many rocks from Old Lamp to Oonlee but this is what makes the beach rustic and natural. Take a walk over the rocks (around 20 mins) past Oonlee and head to Luboa Bay. This North beach is gorgeous. Luboa Hut or Bonhomie would be the 2 to choose from. Both have fantastic hosts and great bungalows. The only negative aspects about this beach are the dogs. There are too many. But the water is like silk in the mornings. Make sure you walk past Bonhomie, down the main road for about 15 mins. The surroundings are fabulous, green jungle and great view of Koh Pu. You will see a small rubber house on the left hand side, take the narrow road which will lead to a farm and then bang, the spectacular Coconut beach awaits you. There are no bungalows on this beach, just clear green water, and in my opinion, the most beautiful swimming on the island.Ao Si beach is also great for swimming and if you like to walk on a long stretch of sand, this is where you should stay. Choose Ao Si bungalows. Fantastic rooms and the hosts are so hospitable. You can walk over the rocks to Golden Pearl and then to Koh Jum. But at night it is a little more tricky. I did get stuck one night on Koh Jum and had to walk through the village back to Ao Si (about 1 hour walk). Make sure you have a flashlight – this is vital. Koh Jum beach is nice, less of a jungle experience but still fabulous. I would choose Bo Dang. This place is cheap, the food is excellent and the hosts are special ladies. When Rosa plays those drums, you are sure to fall in a trance. Another choice would be Woodland Lodge. This is a very friendly place. The food is excellent too. You can easily walk to Koh Jum village from these places. Just follow the beach all the way around. Go to Koh Jum Seafood for lunch. So fresh and simple flavours, right on the river.This island is extremely friendly. At the moment it feels untouched. If you hire a motor bike, take care of the road between Ao Si and Ting Rai - what a mess. I think it will be sorted before the end of the year but when it rains this road is a nightmare. Nevertheless the nature on this island is stunning and the vibe is unlike any island I have been in Thailand. I hear Koh Phayam near the Myanmar border is similar. Go and enjoy the place!"
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Another shot of the northern end of Golden Pearl Beach and Mount Pu (image-guess who) - Ko Jum Lodge is the flashest accommodation on the island at this point of time.
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UPDATE FEB 09
Mc Deli just spent 2 months on Jum and sent this report to THE FORUM page. He stayed on Ao Si, so now we have guest reports from all the beaches on this page (if you consider Golden Pearl and Andaman the one long beach):
"Hi - we just got off Koh Jum after most of the last 2 months there. We were so happy there. I will pass some info in case it is useful.
We liked Ao Si (middle) beach the best. Only three resorts; Ao Si (that you, Mr Tezz, liked), Jungle Hill (similar jungle vibe to Ao Si) and Sun Smile.
We got a front rower at Sun Smile for 380b and we loved it. Great concrete construction, good nets on the windows, clean enough (though, given how well they are built they have the potential to look even better), good furniture (we love hooks! - though some rooms don't have the wardrobe) - but what you get at Sun Smile is a jaw-dropping sea and sunset view from every balcony (except 108 where the sunset is obscured by trees). And of course Ao Si beach is very, very quiet and great for swimming in front of Sun Smile at all times.
The Sun Smile kitchen is not the most exciting but it is clean, well organised (a change from previous years we understand) the basics are consistent and cheap (50/60 baht basic rice/noodle dishes).
And we loved the family.
The other main consideration was that there are only a few resorts along the stretch of beaches on Koh Jum's West coast that actually have great beach - that is not filled with longtails or rocky. Sun Smile has a great stretch - as do New and Joy Bungalow. Some places that are very nice (like the expensive Oon Lee) are let down by the rocky beach.We checked on nearly every bungalow outfit on the island - and based in the prices we were given and guessing what we could negotiate, we thought the standard at Sun Smile was great value (though they ask for 700 front row and 500 back row in peak season - and don't book through an agent as they put 200 on top). New, Joy and Bo Daeng get return customers and it is easy to see why - nice atmosphere, good beach, and the bonus of being nearer the bigger village. That said Ban Ting Rai, the middle village, is just out back of Sun Smile with 4 shops and a few small (local) places to eat.
We couldn't really see the attraction of going all the way to Luboa beach (far North) - there were a lot of scooters on the beach, it was mostly rocky, the accomodation didn't seem great value, and, if you want quiet, it is not really any quieter than the quiet places on the other beaches -just far more remote.
Ting Rai beach was a bit busier because Ting Rai Bay resort seemed to be very busy.
Golden Pearl beach is noisy because there are quite a few longtails but Seasons there is the place to go if you are a Nordic family!
The one issue there would be the coming of electricity. The cable has made its way from Phi Phi to Jum and is now somewhere between Siboya and the mainland. The locals are expecting the hook up in Oct/Nov. Some resort owners are preparing for some kind of boom along with maybe a younger crowd. I really can't see it. OK, there might be some kind of overflow from Phi Phi if that gets more crowded with airconditioned package tourists, and yes, Jum is precariously position between Lanta and Krabi (how I despise that ferry!). But my guess is that, given that Jum doesn't have the picture postcard white sand and karst rocks, and that there is recession in the western world, next year will be even quieter than this, and any bungalow who fits a couple of A/C units to test the water will ne up regretting it."
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If you see any mistakes or have extra info, please post below. If you have any questions, please ask them in THE FORUM rather than below. I don't get a chance to check all threads daily, but unless I'm travelling I'll try to monitor THE FORUM regularly.