Waxing gibbous
79% lit · full moon in 5 days
I will be full on 26 October. They dance under me on 27 October: the organisers set the date, not me.
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.
Sunset: company or open space. Two different evenings on the west coast. Choose the one you feel like.
One beach, a whole day. Swim, have lunch, return to the water. These three shores make very different days out.
An evening needn't start with a party. Go out for food, music, or a night of dancing. Start with the kind of evening you want.
Map
Choose what you need, or a part of the island, and the places on the map get numbers.
Choose a part of the island. Tap it again to return to the whole island.
Places: 3 Northwest beaches × × «» ×
Haad Yao, Haad Salad and Mae Haad. Different bays for a day by the sea.
Chaloklum's fishing bay, Haad Khom and Bottle Beach. Each beach has its own character.
Srithanu, Hin Kong and their neighbours. Beaches, studios and sunset gatherings; the tides reshape the shallows.
Maduea Wan and Baan Nai Suan. Studios and event spaces among residential areas and wooded hills.
Thong Nai Pan and Than Sadet. The other coast, across the hills, for a day by the sea.
Piers, markets and everyday errands — and the venues where the island meets in the evening.
Haad Rin is known for Full Moon. Beyond it lie Haad Yuan and Haad Thian, each with its own gatherings.
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Haad Yao · Beach
Haad Yao BeachOur pick · A day without moving between stops
A long northwest bay for alternating sea, a beachside lunch and a book. A useful choice for a group that doesn't all want to do the same thing.
Depth changes with the tide. Check the sea forecast before leaving and the waves when you arrive.
A long arc of light sand on the west coast, the most built-up beach on this side of the island. Along the water: resorts, restaurants and bars, sunbeds and umbrellas, massage, kayak and SUP rental, dive shops; behind the beach, on the main road, cafes and a 7-Eleven. Palms give shade.
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Mae Haad · Beach
Mae Haad BeachOur pick · For a little exploring
A sandbar links the shore to Koh Ma. Come if a towel on the sand isn't quite enough: watch the tide reshape the crossing and bring a mask for calm conditions.
The sandbar can be submerged. Keep off the coral; leave the mask in your bag when there are waves.
A beach in the north-west facing the islet of Koh Ma. A sandbar about 200 metres long joins them: at low tide people walk across, at high tide it goes under. The reef around Koh Ma is the island's best-known snorkelling without a boat: the coral starts some thirty metres from the shore. Fishing in the waters around Koh Ma is banned.
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Thong Nai Pan · Beach
Thong Nai Pan Yai BeachOur pick · To spend time on the other coast
An eastern bay beyond the hills is a reason to set aside a whole day. Arrive in the morning and leave time for lunch and a long walk by the water.
The road crosses the hills. Take a taxi if you're not a confident rider; this isn't a sea-sunset beach.
The southern and larger of Thong Nai Pan's bays: 800 metres to a kilometre of sand, open to the north-east. Quieter and simpler than Noi next door: bungalows and mid-range resorts, restaurants and bars by the water, massage, kayak rental, a 7-Eleven and shops in the village. A wide beach, often nearly empty.
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Thong Sala · Restaurant
MESTOToday · 20:00Musical jam with electronic instrumentsOur pick · Go out for a particular gathering
Choose it when you want a gathering, class or performance to give the evening a purpose. Check the next announcement and pick a programme that interests you.
The programme changes. Follow the date and time in the agenda; inclusion here doesn't promise an event tonight.
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Haad Rin · Beach
Haad Rin BeachTue, 27 OctFull Moon PartyOur pick · When you want a big night
Full Moon changes the rhythm of the whole beach. Choose Haad Rin for that crowded night, checking the date first: an ordinary evening is a different story.
Plan the return trip beforehand. After the party, take a taxi back rather than ride a scooter.
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Area to be confirmed · Supermarket
7-ElevenThe most common shop sign on the island: OpenStreetMap counts about thirty 7-Elevens on Phangan. Most are in Thong Sala, Ban Tai and Haad Rin, five or six in each; a few in Chaloklum and Thong Nai Pan; one each on the west coast in Srithanu, Haad Yao, Hin Kong and by Haad Chao Phao.
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Hin Kong · Studio
Ananda Yoga & DetoxA yoga and detox centre with accommodation on Hin Kong beach, on the west coast; the centre says it has run since 2006. A saltwater pool, a herbal steam room, an ice bath, Thai massage, a detox bar and three shalas, including a small one with a sea view.
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Haad Salad · Studio
ARCANAARCANA Wellness Village is an adults-only resort in the hills between Haad Salad and Haad Yao: rooms from dorms to villas, a spa with saunas, a steam room, an ice bath and pools, a gym and a restaurant. It is quiet, away from the party side of the island.
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Ban Kai · Beach
Ban Kai BeachThe eastern part of the long beach on the south coast: from Ban Tai it runs without a break to the Haad Rin hills. Broad in places, with coconut palms; the sea is eating the shore, and in places it has been shored up with concrete rings. Resorts with restaurants and bars line the beach, with plenty of inexpensive places to stay; by the road are a 7-Eleven, dive shops and massage.
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Ban Tai · Beach
Ban Tai BeachA long beach on the south coast, five kilometres east of Thong Sala. Resorts line it, many with their own pools, along with beach bars, restaurants, massage and hammocks; in the middle is a small pier with fishing and trip boats. Samui is in view across the channel.
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6 addresses · Supermarket
Big CThe big Big C on Phangan is a Big C Market, the chain's mid-size format, on the ring road between Thong Sala and Ban Tai. Thai and imported food, fruit and vegetables, cleaning products and household goods. Inside is the chain's own Pure pharmacy. A market sets up next to the store three evenings a week.
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Bottle Beach · Beach
Bottle BeachA cove on the north coast between steep headlands, one of the most secluded beaches on the island. Its Thai name is Haad Khuat (หาดขวด), "bottle beach". The sand is soft and light, with no coral or rocks where you swim; rocks at the eastern end.
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Chaloklum · Beach
Chaloklum BeachThe fishing village's beach in the north of the island: a long sandy curve in front of the village, with a pier in the middle and fishing longtails moored off the shore and pulled up on the sand. The sand is pale and soft, the entry gentle. West of the village is Malibu Beach, which has its own page.
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Maduea Wan · Viewpoint
Domsila ViewpointA viewpoint on the rocks above Phaeng Waterfall. The trail starts at the foot of the falls and climbs over steps and roots, about fifteen minutes up. At the top: the green middle of the island and, on a clear day, Samui. Usually few people.
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Chaloklum · Temple
Guan Yin TempleA Chinese shrine to Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, on a hill by the Chaloklum road. Red walls, gold dragons, warrior statues, and Guan Yin herself at the centre of the altar. The buildings step up the slope, and from the top you see Chaloklum Bay, on a clear day as far as Koh Tao.
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Haad Chao Phao · Beach
Haad Chao Phao BeachA 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.
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Haad Khom · Beach
Haad Khom BeachA small beach at the eastern end of Chaloklum bay, about two kilometres from the village. It is also called Coral Bay, after the resort, and Coconut Beach. Quiet, often almost empty, with plenty of shade from palms and casuarinas. A few bungalow resorts with restaurants and bars stand on the shore; there is no shop, the nearest are in Chaloklum.
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Haad Pleayleam · Beach
Haad Plai Laem BeachA 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.
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Haad Rin · Beach
Haad Rin Nai BeachHaad Rin's western beach, also called Sunset Beach, across the village from the Full Moon beach, a 5–10 minute walk. A long narrow strip of about 1.4 km: the third nearest the pier is built up, further on it is quieter, with palms. Guesthouses, bars, restaurants.
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Haad Rin · Pier
Haad Rin PierA small pier on the west side of Haad Rin, at the south-eastern end of Haad Rin Nai (Sunset Beach). The Haad Rin Queen comes here from Big Buddha pier at Bangrak on Samui: the only boat from Samui straight to Haad Rin, with no trip through Thong Sala. Every other ferry from Samui, Koh Tao and the mainland lands in Thong Sala.
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Haad Salad · Beach
Haad Salad BeachA beach in the north-west: five or six hundred metres of soft white sand. Quiet and family-friendly, with fewer people than Haad Yao next door. Resorts, restaurants, a couple of bars and massage line the shore; the restaurants have sunbeds, the palms give shade. There is no nightlife on the beach itself. It is also called Pirates Beach.
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Haad Son · Beach
Haad Son BeachA 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.
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Haad Tien · Beach
Haad Tien BeachA small, secluded bay on the east coast, north of Haad Yuan, with big boulders at both ends and jungle behind. There is not much sand, and it is coarse, gravelly in places. The main place here is The Sanctuary, a yoga and detox retreat; few places to stay, no shops, food at the resorts' cafes. The bay faces east-south-east.
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Haad Yuan · Beach
Haad Yuan BeachA bay on the east coast north of Haad Rin. Fine white sand and a soft bottom with no stones where you swim; granite boulders at both ends, crossed by wooden walkways to bars and restaurants on stilts. It faces east-south-east, to the sunrise.
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Area to be confirmed · Studio
Heart Shala -
Srithanu · Café
HEXAGONNot a club, despite the name: a vegan café and meditation space in Srithanu, with a herbal sauna and an ice plunge. The whole menu is plant-based: pancakes, avocado toast, smoothie bowls, salads, ceremonial cacao and matcha, and a set lunch or buffet at midday.
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Hin Kong · Beach
Hin Kong BeachOur pick · For a wide horizon and a long conversation
Boats, shallows and plenty of sky. Come for dinner by the shore or a walk; at low tide the sea leaves a broad stretch of sand.
Come for the light and the view. Hin Kong isn't a swimming choice at low tide.
A long, open bay on the west coast between Srithanu and Wok Tum: about two kilometres of narrow, yellowish sand. Palms lean over the water, and in places there are mangroves, replanted over the last few years. The bay's southern end is called Wok Tum, where the fishing boats are.
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Srithanu · Restaurant
K.C. KitchenOur pick · A generous plate to share
Choose Thai or Western food and leave room for dessert. A reader recommends the panang curry, caramel toast and rice with pork, describing portions generous enough to share between two.
The reader’s price guide is about ฿100 per dish. Check the opening hours on the map before going.
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Maduea Wan · Viewpoint
Khao RaThe island's highest mountain, about 630 metres. From the top you see the north coast (Chaloklum, Malibu, Mae Haad with Koh Ma) and, on a clear day, Koh Tao; Samui opens up on the way.
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Area to be confirmed · Club
La Casa Tropicana -
Haad Rin · Beach
Leela BeachA cove of about 800 m at the island's southern tip, a 5–10 minute walk from Haad Rin village, with a cliff at the north end and a forested hill to the south. It is sometimes confused with Haad Rin Nai (Sunset Beach), but it is a separate beach, south of the village.
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2 addresses · Supermarket
Lotus'sLotus's is the former Tesco Lotus: the chain changed owner and name, and the old name still lives on in conversation and on maps. A supermarket for groceries and household goods.
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Thong Sala · Supermarket
MakroMakro is a wholesale store for businesses, from cafes to guesthouses: big packs of food and household goods. Phangan has one, in Thong Sala, on the ring road between Lotus's and Big C.
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Chaloklum · Beach
Malibu BeachThe name for the stretch of Chaloklum's beach in front of Malibu Beach Bungalows, on the west side of the village by the 7-Eleven. The sand is among the whitest and finest on the island, like flour. The bay is sheltered, with hardly any waves, and no snorkelling either: shallow, no reef.
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Nai Wok · Beach
Nai Wok BeachA small bay just north of Thong Sala pier, across the river: the beach nearest town. In front of it runs a long sand spit ending in an islet, and behind the spit is a calm, very shallow lagoon with almost no waves. Resorts line the shore; it is quiet, with families with small children and photographers.
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Srithanu · Studio
Orion HealingA yoga, detox and holistic-healing centre on the shore in Srithanu, at the south end of the village, running since the mid-2000s. It has bungalows and live-in programmes: detox and fasting, yoga teacher trainings, Reiki courses.
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Maduea Wan · Waterfall
Phaeng WaterfallA waterfall in the middle of the island, by the headquarters of Than Sadet–Koh Phangan National Park. Not one wall of water but a staircase of small cascades along a jungle stream. The trail beside them is wooden steps, roots and ropes. From the foot it is about fifteen minutes up to the Domsila viewpoint, with a view over the island and Samui.
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Thong Sala · Market
Phantip MarketOur pick · Dinner when nobody can agree on a cuisine
In Thong Sala, put dinner together from several stalls and meet without a reservation or a big plan. Everyone can choose their own food.
Phantip is a regular market. Saturday Walking Street is a separate outing, not the same market.
Thong Sala's main food market. It is open every day but comes alive towards evening, around five: rows of stalls in the yard and a covered hall with long shared tables next to them. Thai food (pad thai, som tam, curries, skewers, grilled fish, roti, mango sticky rice) sits alongside sushi, pizza, Israeli and Indian stalls. Fruit shakes everywhere.
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Haad Salad · Studio
Pyramid YogaA yoga centre and residential school in the jungle on a hill above Haad Salad: pyramid-roofed shalas, the Sound Dome, bungalows with jungle and sea views. It runs teacher trainings (200 and 500 hours) and multi-week Chakra Yoga courses.
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Haad Chao Phao · Studio
Samma KarunaA school of personal development with its own campus on the shore of Haad Chao Phao, in the Srithanu area: yoga, meditation, tantra and breathwork. Every day: early meditations (OSHO Dynamic, Vipassana sitting), yoga, breathwork in the afternoon, tantra practice in the evening, and a bonfire and sauna at night.
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Srithanu · Beach
Srithanu BeachSrithanu village's beach on the west coast: a gentle arc of fine light sand, some 250–300 m long, south of Zen Beach. Quiet, few people, no music in the daytime. Bungalows and resorts line the shore; the sunbeds belong to the resorts and cafes. It faces west-south-west, and the sun sets into the sea.
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Maduea Wan · Supermarket
SuperCheapSuperCheap is a Thai chain from Phuket, about a hundred stores across the south of Thailand. Phangan has one, north of Thong Sala by the District Office.
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Than Sadet · Beach
Than Sadet BeachA small cove, some two hundred metres, on the east coast below the Than Sadet waterfalls. The stream from the falls splits the beach in two, and the cascades are a short walk upstream. The sand is coarse and pebbly, hard on bare feet; big boulders at both ends.
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Thong Nai Pan · Beach
Thong Nai Pan Noi BeachThe northern and smaller of Thong Nai Pan's two bays in the island's north-east, about 600 metres of sand. It faces east: a sunrise beach, with no sunset over the sea. The sand is clean, with no coral or rocks where you swim; rocks only at the ends of the bay.
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Thong Sala · Pier
Thong Sala PierThe island's main gateway by sea. Lomprayah and Seatran Discovery catamarans come in from Samui, Koh Tao and the mainland (Donsak and Surat Thani); Raja ferries from Donsak; Songserm boats from Samui and Koh Tao. Only Raja carries cars and scooters.
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Thong Sala · Market
Thong Sala Walking StreetThong Sala's Saturday evening market. Once a week Talat Kao Road, often called Chinese Street, is closed to cars and fills with stalls: street food, clothes, jewellery, crafts, souvenirs. There is live music.
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8 addresses · Supermarket
TopsTops is Central Retail's chain, with a lean towards imported food. The Tops Phangan supermarket is on the ring road east of central Thong Sala, about 300 m from Lotus's.
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Ban Tai · Temple
Wat Khao ThamA temple on a hill above Ban Tai, looking over the south coast to Samui; people come up for the sunset too. It is known as a place of meditation: for many years it ran ten-day vipassana courses for foreigners. The centre's website no longer works, and we could not confirm whether the courses still run.
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Ban Tai · Temple
Wat PhoA temple in Ban Tai known above all for its herbal steam room. The abbot started it in the early 2000s: herbs, lemongrass among them, are boiled in a wood-fired cauldron and the steam is piped into separate rooms for men and women. Massage is offered on site after the steam.
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Wok Tum · Temple
Wat Phu Khao NoiEvery guide calls it the island's oldest temple, and its white stupa is dated to the 15th century. The main stupa, about 10 metres tall, is ringed by eight smaller ones, with old ceramic bowls set into the masonry. The other buildings are newer.
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Srithanu · Beach
Zen BeachOur pick · When you feel like being around people
Bring something to sit on and arrive before sunset. Settle on the sand, listen if someone has brought an instrument, or just stay by the water.
Music is spontaneous, not a scheduled concert. Choose another shore if you want a quiet evening.
A small beach on Koh Phangan’s west coast, in Srithanu. Its hour is sunset: the neighbourhood gathers here in the evening, drums, acro yoga, slackline and sometimes fire appear on the sand, and the sun goes straight into the sea. Half an hour after it, the beach is still full.
No places for this choice yet. Try upcoming events or a day by the sea.
Upcoming events ↗To the sea ↗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.