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Koh Phangan

Full Moon Parties and Hidden Jungle Beaches

Plan this trip
3 daysIdeal stay₹2,530From / night₹1,260Food / day₹280Entry

Famous for the monthly Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach, but most of the island is quiet: jungle waterfalls, yoga retreats and hard-to-reach bays like Bottle Beach and Thong Nai Pan. Twenty to thirty minutes by boat from Samui; no airport. Rooms near Haad Rin cost double around the full moon and sell out weeks ahead.

Highlights

  • Full Moon Party on Haad Rin
  • Thong Nai Pan Noi beach
  • Bottle Beach by long-tail boat
  • Snorkelling at the Koh Ma sandbar
  • Than Sadet waterfall
  • Thong Sala night market
  • Yoga and wellness retreats in Srithanu
  • Sunset at Zen Beach
  • Phaeng waterfall & viewpoint

Things to do

  • Full Moon Party on Haad Rin (full-moon night)Evening · 5h
  • Long-tail boat to Bottle BeachMorning · 4h
  • Koh Ma sandbar snorkellingAfternoon · 3h
  • Phaeng waterfall & Domesila viewpoint hikeMorning · 2h 30m
  • Morning yoga class in SrithanuMorning · 1h 30m
  • Thong Sala night market dinnerEvening · 2h

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: January – August

Worth knowing

Gulf Islands Rainy Season

The Gulf islands are on the opposite cycle to Phuket: dry from January to August, wettest from October to December, peaking in November with heavy downpours. Ferries to Koh Tao are the first to be cancelled when the north-east monsoon blows; keep a day spare.

Heads up

Full Moon Party Dates

Haad Rin hotels charge double and set 3–5 night minimums around each full moon. If you want quiet, stay at Thong Nai Pan or Srithanu, or avoid the full-moon week.

  • Full Moon Party, Haad Rin · 24 Nov, 24 Dec; New Year countdown 31 Dec — Monthly all-night beach party on Haad Rin Sunrise Beach for 10,000+ people; entry about ฿100-200. Moved by a day or two when the full moon falls on a Buddhist holy day. Haad Rin rooms often need a minimum stay of 3-5 nights around it and cost double; extra boats run from Samui. Keep valuables at the hotel.
  • Buddhist holy days (Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asahna Bucha) · Visakha Bucha 31 May; Asahna Bucha and Buddhist Lent 29–30 Jul — Candle-lit processions round the temples at dusk, worth seeing in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya. Alcohol may not be sold anywhere, bars included, for 24-48 hours (hotels and airport duty free excepted); the Full Moon Party moves a night.
  • Christmas and New Year peak — The most expensive fortnight of the year on the islands: resorts set 5-7 night minimums and compulsory gala-dinner charges on 24 and 31 December, and Phi Phi, Samui and Phuket ferries and flights fill a month ahead. Indian school holidays add to it. Book by October.