What to bring when you're travelling with kids and babies to Koh Tao

Traveling with babies, toddlers, and kids can be so tricky, you question which equipment to bring, will the hotel have a highchair or cot, can I buy nappies, do they have baby food etc..

As a Koh Tao local, having lived here for over a decade and having raised 2 kids on this island I can tell you it is so much easier these days. When Phoenix was born,10 years ago, finding nappies, milk powder and supplies was a nightmare, we'd actually go to the mainland and stock up or ask a friend on a visa run to bring us anything we needed.

Today nappies, milk powder, baby cereal, mosquito cream, sunblock, baby paracetamol and pool toys are widely available. However, if you have the room in your luggage I would definitely bring your own nappies from home, they don't weigh a lot, they'll be your preferred brand and probably cheaper, and you'll be left with room at the end of your trip for some holiday souvenirs. Here is my list of essential items and where and what you can buy if you run out.



Essential items to pack

• Any special dietary kinds of milk, snacks, food as there is not a great deal of choice here, however you can find goat milk formula in a few shops.
  
• Pushchairs and stroller are a great place to store the little ones during dinner and are handy to have if the restaurant you're eating at doesn't have a high chair. I recently bought a Pockit GB stroller which is the smallest pushchair in the world and I absolutely love it, not ideal for babies under 1-1.5yrs but great for toddlers. They collapse in seconds, only weight around 4kgs and can be taken on the airplane with you if you have a stopover, which is super handy.
• Pop up cot, if you've messaged your hotel ahead and they don't have cots, definitely pack something like a KinderKot. They're like mini tents for babies and you can zip them in and keep mosquitos out, they also have a blow-up mattress inside for comfort. Ours is super light and fits in our suitcase. I also pack a cot sheet or 2 in case of milk spills and also for some extra comfort for my little guy.
  
• Hoody, jumpers or cardigans are super useful when you're traveling by bus, boat or plane, often the aircon on public transport can range from 'not working' to 'freezing' so it's always best to be prepared for these situations
• Swimmers, you will find that your children will live in these, swimming nappies can be brought but come with a hefty price tag so best bring them from home. I'd recommend bringing a few and recycling them as they don't absorb liquids and dry easily.
• Don't pack towel, most resorts, guest house, hotels, and villas will supplies these but do invest in some sarong, these can be brought in most beach shops and are pretty cheap. They roll up very small, dry easily and don't bring half the beach with you after they've been shaken out.
  
• Chemical free, natural sunscreen's are an absolute must! Not only are sunscreens extremely expensive here (costing around 400 baht for a small bottle) they are also incredibly bad for our coral and ocean life and can result in killing our sea life! If you don't have any other option but to buy here, make sure you apply to your children at least 1 hour before they get into the sea.
• Bring hats for the children as you won't really find many choices here
• Slip on shoes and flip flops, ideally made with rubber. It is Thai custom to remove your shoes when entering restaurants, shops, and bars. More often than not my kids will just kick them off and spend 90% of their day barefoot so you'll start getting pretty fed up with trainers or sandals coming on and off with fiddly straps etc..  There's a great flip flop shop in Sairee located on the Choppers and Indie cafe road (with a 7 eleven on the corner). It has a great range of sizes for bigger children but may not have too many smaller sizes.
• Bring your own mask, snorkel and goggles, the main reason is that you really want your children to have properly fitted masks so they can truly enjoy their experience in the water. You can buy cheap sets at many of the beach store but I want to stress the importance of using quality equipment, a leaking mask could put a child off snorkeling all together. We highly recommend if you are buying on Koh Tao to go to Offshore solutions, conveniently located on the 'yellow brick road' (the path which runs parallel to Sairee beach) between Bans diving resort and Good time adventures. They stock kids size mask, snorkels, rash vests, fins, goggles and even arm bands (the only store we could find them on Koh Tao). 
• Kids helmet, whilst they can be very bulky, if you do intend on riding a motorbike here, this item is invaluable. Koh Tao doesn't really offer a lot of choice, if any, when it comes to kids
  
  sizes so bring one from home. You'll find that it's actually a lot cheaper and you'll have a lot more choice. Kids motorbike helmets aren't generally sold in stores like Argos or Kmart but a proper fitting bicycle helmet should suffice. My boys use EGG helmet brand which aren't cheap but we use them daily so it was well worth the investment.