Koh Phangan, Thailand

1. Riding a motorbike

Riding along the coast on a motorbike and discovering the nicest spots is (we believe) one the best things to do on Koh Phangan!

2. Phaeng Waterfall

The largest waterfall on Koh Phangan, complete with a viewpoint (± 20-minute hike) that looks out over the island and Koh Samui.

4. Than Sadet Waterfall

Three smaller waterfalls in the middle of the jungle. You can climb down 3 kilometers over large boulders, although using a motorbike is a lot easier!

4. Koh Mae

A small deserted island that can only be reached by crossing a sandbank. The best place on the island to go snorkeling.

5. Walking Street

Every Saturday the street near Thong Sala Pier is closed for traffic and transforms into a really nice evening market with souvenirs, clothing, and plenty of eating stands. Saturdays 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM.

6. Chinese Temple

Temple with many Chinese influences and a beautiful viewpoint that looks out over the dense jungle and Chaloklum Beach.

7. Ang Thong Marine Park

Imagine dozens of small tropical islands, clear blue water, pearly white beaches and viewpoints that will take your breath away. You HAVE to see this!

8. Yoga & wellness

For yoga, meditation and healthy food go to the western part of the island, where you’ll find the ORION Healing Centre, Agama Yoga, and Blooming Lotus Yoga.

9. Phangan Bicycle Tours

A fun cycling tour through the heart of the island, where you’ll see the true Phangan and learn more about the culture and daily life of the island.

1. Full Moon Party

Koh Phangan’s main party held every full moon on Haad Rin Beach and good for between 10,000 to 30,000 partygoers.

2. Halfmoon Festival

Techno party with a similar feel to the FMP, held in the jungle one week before and one week after the Full Moon Party.

3. Jungle Experience

Mainly techno and house FMP pre-party held 10 days before and one day after the FMP.

4. Black Moon Culture

The perfect party if you missed the FMP, but still want to party. Expect a mix of progressive, tech, and trance.

5. Waterfall Party

Party in the jungle on a spot where there used to be a waterfall. Every 2 days before and after the FMP with a mix of techno, trance, and deep house.

6. Shiva Moon

Small psytrance party in the jungle with three dance floors in a little valley. Perfect for lovers of trance.

1. Secret Beach (Haad Son)

This hip little beach, unfortunately, isn’t much of a “secret” anymore, but it’s still a great place to relax and it has a really nice beach bar. The beach is perfect for families with small children as the seabed slopes gently, leaving the water shallow for long periods of time.

2. Haad Salad

A beautiful, calm little beach with white sand, a few bungalows on the edges and a pleasant atmosphere. A good place to spend part of the day and go for a swim, snorkeling or enjoy the beach barbecue during sunset.

3. Haad Mae Haad

Just try and not to get lost in the oldest and largest Chinatown in the world! It’s a maze of small, narrow streets with bustling markets, little street restaurants, auto repair shops, medicine shops and hidden temples.

4. Coral Bay (Haad Khom)

Coral Bay is actually prettier than Bottle Beach – it’s located in a small bay with white sand, boulders, palm trees and an unparalleled view of green hills. Expect an empty beach with a handful of good bungalows and restaurants.

5. Bottle Beach (Haad Khuat)

Hard to reach Bottle Beach is heavenly, beautiful and known as “the most beautiful beach on Koh Phangan”. Though that might not be entirely true, it still is a gorgeous and peaceful beach.

6. Haad Thong Nai Pan Yai & Noi

Thong Nai Pan Noi is a small beach resort that offers the opportunity to have a romantic dinner on the beach. Also, Thong Nai Pan Yai is excellent for swimming as the sea is nice and cool and the water shelves slowly.

7. Haad Than Sadet

A calm and small little beach located in a stunning bay. The sea here is not crystal clear, but it is very refreshing and deep enough to swim all year round. At the right end of the beach, you can spot Komodo dragons.

8. Haad Thian

This pretty, small bay is very calm and fairly unspoiled. This is where you’ll find the Sanctuary, a great place for doing detox & yoga retreat on the beach. Activities include doing yoga, meditation and eating healthily. Be sure to check the two beaches that border it as well!

9. Haad Rin (Sunrise Beach)

Thong Nai Pan Noi is a small beach resort that offers the opportunity to have a romantic dinner on the beach. Also, Thong Nai Pan Yai is excellent for swimming as the sea is nice and cool and the water shelves slowly.

10. Leela Beach (Haad Seekantiang)

An unbelievably beautiful and quiet beach with small-scale resorts within walking distance of Haad Rin. Many websites and tour guides have declared Leela Beach as the island’s most beautiful.

11. Ao Ban Tai

Although not the prettiest beach on Koh Phangan, it is, because of its length, great for beach walks. The water is low (ideal if you have small children) and there are lots of nice places to eat.

1. Amsterdam Bar

Ao Plaay Laem, Wok Tum
This bar is built on a hillside and is a great option for a drink and a magical sunset. Come early so you’ll get a good seat.

2. Bayshore Resort

141 Moo 6, Haad Rin Beach, Bantai
Best. Pad. Thai. EVER! This restaurant on Haad Rin gets it: it’s nicely lit with lovely fresh meals served on little tables in the sand.

3. Bubba’s Coffee Bar

59/4 Moo1, Ban Tai pier
Hot spot for a great breakfast or lunch and an excellent cup of coffee, run by a super nice owner. Simply the BEST!

4. Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar

62/1 Moo1, Ban Tai Pier
One of the best restaurants of the island with a great atmosphere, fresh and excellent food and first class service. Perfect for a romantic dinner.

5. Freeway Bar and Restaurant

18/1 Moo 6, Hin Kong
Awesome hippie bar made completely out of driftwood and with a view over a beautiful sandbank. Often has live music in the evening.

6. Karma Kafe

18/10 Moo 8
For lovers of vegan, raw and/or health food, Karma Kafe is a dream come true. Expect fresh, biological meals with a super healthy twist.

7. Luna Café

1/16 Moo 1, Ban Tai
Small coffee place that serves good sandwiches, amazing fries and has a good wifi connection – a rather welcome feature. The mix of locals and tourists make this a really nice place.

8. Milky Bay Resort

103/4 Moo 1, Bantai
The best place on Koh Phangan to have a divine steak, but also for Thai cuisine, cocktails, Italian dishes or a Thai style seafood barbecue.

9. Pantip Market

Tongsala Rd. (near Thong Sala Pier)
Evening market with tourist-proof street food. Lots of options for ready-made snacks and meals, but there are also plenty of stands where they’ll prepare you some fresh food.

10. Petty’s Place

53 Moo 4 Wok Tum

This Thai/Italian restaurant not only serves the best Thai dishes (grandmother’s recipe), but also amazing Italian classics.

11. The Fat Cat Coffee & More

Walking Street Market, Thongsala
Nice little breakfast place that’s run by an incredibly friendly Portuguese couple. Expect homemade bread, a nice cup of coffee and conversations about cats.

12. Ying Ying’s Kitchen

Haad Salad, Moo 8

Great place if you want to have some authentic Thai food. Great tasting curries, chicken cashew nut, pad see eew… Ying is a great host, making you feel as if you’re about to have dinner at your friend’s house.

Domestic flight + speedboat

• Travel time: 2 hours
• Cost: ฿ 2,900-6,500 pp

A domestic flight is the quickest way to travel to and from Bangkok via Koh Samui, but it’s usually quite expensive (± 2.500 – 6.000 Thai Baht per person, excluding taxi and speedboat costs). After you arrive, you’ll take a taxi to Bangrak Pier, from where a speedboat will take you to the Thong Sala Pier on Koh Phangan (± 350 Thai Baht) in about half an hour.

Domestic flight + bus + ferry

• Travel time: 5,5 hours
• Cost: ฿ ± 3,700 pp

A cheaper alternative is to fly via Surat Thani, though you will still have to take a bus to Donsak Pier afterward. Bus tickets are for sale at the ticket offices located next to the airport exit. Buses ride back and forth and the ride will take about 1,5 hours. From Donsak Pier you’ll take the ferry (the bus will drop you off at the ferry company that departs the soonest) and then it’s still at least a 2,5-hour boat ride to Thong Sala Pier.

Sleeper train + bus + ferry

• Travel time: 15 hours
• Cost: ฿ 3,000 pp

You can also take the sleeper train to Surat Thani. The first night train departs from Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok at 5:05 PM and arrives in Surat Thani at 4:25 AM. But of course, it’s also possible to take a later night train so that you’ll arrive at a slightly more reasonable hour. Take a left from the train station entrance and along the road, you’ll find several small travel agencies/restaurants (such as Phantip) with buses, where you can buy bus and ferry tickets. The bus ride to Donsak Pier will take about an hour and a half. After that take the ferry to Koh Phangan, which will take you to Thong Sala Pier in about 2,5 hours.

Bus + ferry

• Travel time: 14 hours
• Cost: ฿ ± 1,300 pp

Most backpackers travel by bus and boat to and from Bangkok, simply because it’s a cheap and reliable route. At Lomprayah you can buy combined tickets for the bus and the boat, which will take you to or from Bangkok in 14 hours. The buses are comfortable, equipped with a toilet on board and will stop for food along the way – however, bear in mind that it’s still a long trip and you will spend the whole day traveling and not much else.

Khao Sok National Park

• Travel time: 5,5 hours
• Cost: ฿ 750 pp

From Donsak Pier ferries leave for Koh Phangan until 6:00 PM. So it is possible to travel straight on after your tour, provided you take the bus from Khao Sok no later than 2:00 PM (3:00 PM in case of light traffic). You will have to change buses in Surat Thani.

Koh Samui

• Travel time: 20 mins – 3 hours
• Cost: ฿ 350-400 pp

There’s at least one ferry every hour that leaves from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan. The trip can take anywhere between 20 minutes and 3 hours. For the quickest passage, we advise the Lomprayah and the Seatran.

Koh Tao

• Travel time: 1,5 hours
• Cost: ฿ 450 pp

Koh Phangan is easy to get to from Koh Tao. Ferries depart from Mae Haad Pier between 6:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Travel time is about an hour and a half, depending on the ferry company that’s taking you.

Krabi

• Travel time: 5 hours
• Cost: ฿ 800 pp

Buses leave from Krabi Town to Donsak Pier between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM. From there, you can take the ferry to Koh Phangan until 6:00 PM. The entire journey will take about 5 hours and will cost you about ฿ 800 per person.

Motorbike

Koh Phangan is the perfect island for riding a motorbike. The roads are in good condition – almost all paved – and traffic is calm. The only places where you’ll find steep hills are near Haad Rin and Than Sadet. Do take into account that in Haad Rin you will be required to hand over your passport or to pay a huge deposit. It’s best, therefore, to rent a motorbike through your hotel or at the pier. Rent for 24 hours is about 150 Thai Baht.

Songthaew

The dark blue songthaews are shared taxis that operate on fixed prices, run along the main road. Normally you can only get off on the main road, but for an extra 50 Thai Baht, they’ll usually take you straight to your hotel. When you arrive at the pier, a few songthaews will already be waiting – expect a fair price here as well. A ride will cost you anywhere between 100 to 200 Thai Baht.

Long tail boat

For inaccessible beaches (such as Bottle Beach or the beaches on the east coast) you take the long tail boat. Bear in mind that the boats’ operators can be quite adept at making you part with some extra baths (especially at Haad Rin), so make sure you negotiate well or share the boat with other travelers to pay less. A return ticket will cost about 200 Thai Baht.

November – February

Normally the cool season is the best season to travel to Thailand, but that’s not quite the case for Koh Phangan. November, December, and January are dominated by heavy rains.

March – May

The hot season on Koh Phangan means sun, sun and still more sun. Expect little to no rain during these months. It’s incredibly hot, but luckily the wind and the sea are there for some cooling down.

June – October

Surprisingly, the rainy season is the ideal time to visit Koh Phangan. Every day there’s a chance of small and refreshing showers, while the rest of the day is sunny and dry. The sea is calm and clear.