If you like the rustic beachcomber lifestyle, Koh Tonsay's 250m-long main beach is for you. This is a place to while away hours or days doing little but lazing on the beach, napping, reading, sipping cocktails, eating seafood and stargazing before retiring to your threadbare bungalow and drifting off to the sound of the waves. Scheduled boats to Rabbit Island (US$8 return, 20 minutes) leave from Rabbit Island Pier at 9am and 1pm and return at 3pm or 4pm.
Kep guesthouses can arrange boat tickets or you can purchase them at the Koh Tonsay Boat Ticket Office. Private boats to the island can be arranged on the spot at the ticket office and cost US$25 return for up to six people.
Rabbit Island is so named because locals say it resembles a rabbit – an example of what too much local brew can do to your imagination. The main beach, rimmed by restaurant shacks and rudimentary bungalows (US$7 to US$10 per night), is nice enough, just don’t expect the sparkling white sand of Koh Rong or Koh Rong Sanloem. This one is fairly narrow and might be populated by chickens or wandering cows. Still, you can swim here and it's a fine place to chill.
You can walk around the island to find more isolated beaches. The island has long been tagged for development but it appears that these plans have been put off for now.
Other islands of the Kep Archipelago include Koh Pos (Snake Island; about 30 minutes beyond Rabbit Island), which has a deserted beach and fine snorkelling but no overnight accommodation. There's also small, beachless Koh Svay (Mango Island), whose summit offers nice views. You can explore these islands for about US$75 with a private boat arranged at the pier, or Kep Adventures offers group trips.
