Town Tools builds free, public tools for Kep and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.
From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.towntools.org/kep-kep-kh/rabbit-island-boat
There is no bridge and no fixed timetable to Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay) — the way over is a small boat across open sea from Kep pier. This page does two things: it reads the wind and waves on the crossing for today and tomorrow in plain words, and it tells you the real public fare so you don't get charged the private-charter price.
Rough water in the rainy season
From about May to October the south-west monsoon brings choppy water and afternoon storms. In rough seas these small boats become unstable, and getting on and off is the dangerous part. If the sea looks bad, wait — the island will still be there tomorrow.
On the water — Kep ↔ Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island)
Right now: smooth water (waves around 0.1 m), a gentle breeze (about 15 km/h, gusts to 23).
Today · Mon 12 Oct
Much the same through the day.
When
Looks like
Waves
Wind
Rain
Morning — the first boats, from about 9am
smooth water, a gentle breeze
up to 0.2 m
up to 27 km/h in gusts
a shower possible
Afternoon — the last boats back, by about 5pm
smooth water, a gentle breeze
up to 0.1 m
up to 32 km/h in gusts
about 9 mm of rain
Tomorrow · Tue 13 Oct
Much the same through the day.
When
Looks like
Waves
Wind
Rain
Morning — the first boats, from about 9am
smooth water, a gentle breeze
up to 0.2 m
up to 31 km/h in gusts
a shower possible
Afternoon — the last boats back, by about 5pm
calm water, a gentle breeze
up to 0.1 m
up to 31 km/h in gusts
about 10 mm of rain
The crossing, normally
Boats leave when they have enough passengers and when the sea allows, not to a fixed clock. The times above are the pattern people report — treat them as a rough guide and confirm at the ticket office.
The real public fare
About US$10 return per person on the shared public boat, paid in US dollars. The US$25 you may be quoted is the price to charter a whole private boat (up to about six people), not the per-person fare. The crossing is roughly 4 km — about 20 to 30 minutes each way.
Buy at the official ticket office
Buy at the Koh Tonsay boat ticket office at Kep pier — travellers describe it as the last big house on the right, just before the quay — rather than from the touts at the outdoor stands who quote the private-charter price. Public boats run roughly hourly, about 9am to 5pm.
Confirm the last boat back
There is no published timetable for this crossing anywhere online. The ticket office at the pier has the real departure times — ask for the last public boat back before you go over, so you are not stranded on the island for the night.
Small boats on open water
The crossing is made in small wooden passenger boats across open sea. We could not find a record of a serious accident on this particular route — but small boats, overloading and monsoon waves are a dangerous combination anywhere on this coast.
Don't let a boat leave badly overloaded, take a life jacket if one is offered, and watch children closely at boarding — slipping while getting on or off is how people get hurt.
Nothing on this page is a green light to cross. It reads the wind and the waves; it cannot see your boat or your captain. If the boatmen at the pier say the water is not right today, believe them — they can see it and you cannot.
Forecast updated 12 October at 18:50. Wave and wind figures are open-water model forecasts for the open water of the channel between Kep pier and Koh Tonsay, not readings from a boat — conditions in channels and near the shore differ. The words follow two published descriptive scales (the Douglas sea scale for waves, the Beaufort scale for wind); they describe the water and are never a judgement that a crossing is safe to make. Weather and marine data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Smooth water
Waves around 0.1 m · a gentle breeze (about 15 km/h, gusts to 23)