Rabbit Island: a night on Koh Tonsay

A short boat ride from Kep to a small island of palm trees, hammocks and simple bungalows, where the evening entertainment is the sunset and the stars.

Area

Kep

Start from

Kep pier

Distance

about 30 minutes by boat

Time needed

1 day or overnight

Best season

November – May for calm seas

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Wooden boat from Kep

Tickets & rules

Boat ticket; no permits

Why go

Koh Tonsay, Rabbit Island, is a short trip from Kep but feels a world away. Boats drop you on a strip of golden sand lined with coconut palms and a handful of rustic bamboo bungalows and restaurants. There are no roads, few people, and nothing much to do except swim, read and eat seafood.

Spend a day if that is all you have, but staying overnight is the real pleasure. After the day-trippers leave, the island goes quiet, the sea turns pink, and after dark you can sit by the water and watch the lights of fishing boats on the horizon.

It is not a luxury island, and that is its charm: simple, cheap and slow.

The story

The English name comes from the island’s outline, which people say looks like a crouching rabbit when seen from the mainland; the Khmer name, Koh Tonsay, also means Rabbit Island. Like many places on this coast, it has its own folk tales about how it got the name, and every boatman seems to tell a slightly different version.

For a long time the island had only a few fishing families and coconut groves. Visitors began to come over from Kep in the 2000s, when the town itself was slowly reviving, and families on the island built the first simple bamboo huts to rent. It has stayed small and low-key ever since, with no roads and no big hotels.

Today a few families run the bungalows and restaurants, and electricity is often provided by generators for a few hours in the evening, though this is improving. Coconuts, fish and crab are local, and the menu changes with the catch.

From the beach you can see the coast of Kep, the hills of Bokor, and on clear days the outline of Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island to the south.

Getting there

Boats leave Kep’s pier in the morning and return in the afternoon; buy tickets at the pier or through your guesthouse. Prices are modest, often under ten US dollars return per person, but check current fares. Private boats are also possible. The crossing takes around 20–30 minutes; seas can be choppy in the wet season.

A suggested plan

1. 9:00 amTake the morning boat from Kep pier.
2. 10:00 amFind a hammock or bungalow; swim in the calm, shallow water.
3. 12:00 pmLunch of grilled fish or crab at a beach restaurant.
4. 3:00 pmWalk around the island’s edges; explore quieter beaches.
5. 5:30 pmSunset from the beach; dinner by candlelight if staying overnight.

Where to stay

Stay in one of the simple bungalows on the island for a night, or base yourself in Kep and visit on a day trip.

Good to know

• Bring cash; there are no ATMs and card payment is rare.
• Bring a torch, mosquito repellent and a power bank.
• Book a bungalow in advance in high season.
• Confirm the return boat time before you leave Kep.