Waxing crescent
14% lit · full moon in 12 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
Where to go on Phangan
A day by the sea, a sunset, or somewhere to spend the evening. What are you in the mood for?
Choose a part of the island. Tap it again to return to the whole island.
Northwest beaches
Haad Yao, Haad Salad and Mae Haad. Different bays for a day by the sea.
← Whole islandChoose a place ↓ Seven parts to help you get to know the island. An informal guide, not administrative boundaries.A map with your spot
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Our picks
A day without moving between stops
Haad Yao
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.
For a little exploring
Mae Haad & Koh Ma
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.
Looking for a particular place?
More places in our directory
To the sea · Northwest beaches
Places to go
Places: 3
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Area to be confirmed
Joy Beach Villas Today · 18:00Sunset Chill: Free Women's Community Gathering w/ Cigale -
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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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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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 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 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 Yao · Beach
Haad Yao BeachA 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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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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Mae Haad · Beach
Mae Haad BeachA 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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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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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 Nai Pan · Beach
Thong Nai Pan Yai BeachThe 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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Srithanu · Beach
Zen BeachA 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.