Monkey Island – Feed and swim with these amazing Thai native monkeys.

Monkey Island is a small deserted Island with low tropical forest vegetation and rocky pebble beaches. Its technical name is Koh Ped however most Thai people call the island Koh Ling which translates to Monkey Island. Monkey Island is situated north-east of Koh Khram island and West of the mainland fishing port of Bang Saray. It is inhabited by hundreds of native Thai Samae monkeys who scramble over its pebble rocky shores to happily greet any boats that arrive to feed them. There is also an interesting mermaid statue and a small Buddhist shrine on its north eastern beach which both make for a nice photo opportunity. The Monkeys generally like to congregate on the island’s Southern and Eastern beaches in order to be fed.

The sight of these monkeys is simply amazing and they can even swim in and under the water! If desired the friendly monkey will literally climb all over you as you feed them their favourite treats. The Monkeys favourite  treats are banana, watermelon, nuts and local Thai fruit. Once fed it is a fascinating sight to watch the cheeky monkeys swimming, play fighting and swinging from the trees.

The Thai Samae monkeys are technically known as crab-eating macaque or Macaca fascicularis because they are often located on beaches searching for crabs. The monkeys are native to Thailand and most of South East Asia. They are also known as the long-tailed macaque, due to its long tail which is often longer than its entire body.

Due to the scarcity of natural food on the island and the dramatic increase in the Monkey population over the last few years the native monkeys rely heavily on being fed by its visitors. Unfortunately during tourist low season there is often a food shortage which has been highlighted several times in the local media. Thankfully the Royal Thai Navy are always highly alert and will help feed the monkeys during tourist low season which lasts from May until the end of September.

A few years back one of our boats received some nice publicity for feeding these incredible monkeys and were actually featured on Thailand’s main news channel. We were visiting the island when we noticed that TV crew were recording as Navy personnel were feeding the monkeys some fruit. When Pattaya Yacht Charters turned up all the intelligent monkeys ran towards our boat as they knew that we supply them with their favourite food. All the TV crew turned and filmed as over one hundred Monkeys ran towards our speed boat to greet us. Our customers that day were from Newcastle England. They enjoyed being interviewed and were actually featured on the very next day’s news!

Thankfully these days there are several large ferry boats that frequently visit the Island however there is only one way to get there fast and in style and that of course is with Pattaya Yacht Charters.