84280 Koh Phangan
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Ко Панган · Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan beaches

Every beach on the island on one map: where to swim, where to eat by the water and how to get there.

One beach, a whole day. Swim, have lunch, return to the water. These three shores make very different days out.

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Places: 3 Beaches × Shore snorkelling × The sunset coast ×

Srithanu, Hin Kong and their neighbours. Beaches, studios and sunset gatherings; the tides reshape the shallows.

  1. Haad Chao Phao · Beach

    Haad Chao Phao Beach
    Sunset Beach

    Gentle flat bottom · swim near high tideShallow entry (kid-friendly) · reef 100–150 mLittle afternoon shadeResort sunbeds only · sea sunsetSea sunset

    A quiet beach on the west coast, just past Srithanu on the road north. Resorts and bungalows take the whole shore: a few cafes and massage huts by the water, sunbeds only at the resorts, no shops on the beach. The crowd is local: resort guests and neighbours.

    Directions in Google Maps ↗Place page →

  2. Haad Pleayleam · Beach

    Haad Plai Laem Beach
    Sunset Beach

    Swim around high tide only · shallow covesReef by boulders 100 m out · water shoesClear emerald water · kayak rentalSea sunset · hillside sunset bars above

    A chain of small sandy coves at the foot of the granite hill Khao Hin Nok, between Nai Wok and Wok Tum, below the main road. Granite boulders and mangroves divide the coves, and many boulders stand right in the water. The water is clear and emerald most of the year, and the light sand bottom makes the sea glow.

    Directions in Google Maps ↗Place page →

  3. Haad Son · Beach

    Haad Son Beach
    Sunset Beach

    Swim near high tide · rocks show at low tideSnorkel by the rocky point · water shoes200 m cove between rocks & jungleOverwater decks · sea sunset all year

    A small cove on the west coast between Chao Phao and Haad Yao: 100–250 metres of sand between rocks, with jungle behind. It goes by Secret Beach, but it stopped being a secret long ago: in season, especially from late morning, it is crowded.

    Directions in Google Maps ↗Place page →

Which shore for what

Koh Phangan has two different seas, and it is the shore, not the weather, that picks one. The west lies behind a reef: the water is calm and shallow, and at low tide off Hin Kong it goes out 700 metres to a kilometre, so people walk the sea floor. In the east the water is deep a few steps from the sand: at Haad Yuan, Than Sadet and Bottle Beach you can swim at low tide too. The east is open to the wind, though: from November to January the north-east monsoon brings waves, and on some days swimming is banned.

The tide has seasons as well. From about April to September the west's water stays low for long hours in the daytime, and a swim has to be timed to high tide. From October or November to March it is the other way round: the water is high most of the day. Each beach's page says when high tide is today.

Snorkelling without a boat. Mae Haad: the coral starts some thirty metres off the beach, by the islet of Koh Ma. Only at high tide on a calm day — at dead low tide it is too shallow and easy to scrape the coral.

With small children. Nai Wok by Thong Sala: behind a sand spit, a knee-deep lagoon at any tide.

To swim, not to wade. The east, and Bottle Beach. A longtail goes to Bottle Beach from Chaloklum, usually 150 baht a person: it leaves once about four people are aboard, the last at about five in the afternoon. In a storm the boats stay put and you can be stuck there for a day or two. As places to be stuck go, it is not the worst.

Box jellyfish occur in the island's waters. Where a beach has a net, swim inside it, and stay out of the sea at dusk and at night.