Of all the Thai islands I have visited, Phangan is my favourite–but not for the reason that 30,000 to 50,000 people visit every month in the peak season…The famous full moon party. Who am I to judge, after all, getting fucked up off a bucket full of god knows what is fun, but it’s just not my kind of thing, and I don’t think it should define one incredible island.
Thong Sala
This is the most built-up part of the island around the main ferry pier, where you’ll find markets, supermarkets, food courts and western-style cafes.
There are a few permanent restaurants at the Pantip market, just a few streets from the ferry terminal and a night market on the weekends. Phangan Food Court has some good spots; it’s also undercover with a good few fans, so an ideal place to shelter in the rainy season or summer.
The beaches around Thong Sala are nice, and we spent a couple of days in one of the many bungalow resorts scattered along the coast. That being said, I would encourage you to venture further afield–the best beaches are on the northern side of the island.
Getting Around
As there is no airport, you will most likely arrive at Thong Sala pier (or the smaller one at Haad Rin) and quickly realise there aren’t really any taxis or public buses. You can: a) arrange transport with your hotel in advance, or b) hire a scooter. Yes, you could hire a car, but the roads are pretty narrow, and it wouldn’t be easy to navigate the throng in busy areas.
I would recommend hiring a scooter somewhere near the ferry–take plenty of photos, leave a deposit, not your passport, check reviews ect, etc., and don’t drive drunk or stoned! I would also assume that most other tourists driving after 7 are drunk or stoned, and take caution accordingly–maybe I’m a cynic–but I’ve seen too many tourists wrapped in bandages.
Mae Haad Beach: Snorkelling and Resorts
On the Northern end of the island, this beach and reef are a perfect spot for snorkelling; unfortunately, the beachfront is dominated by a couple of big resorts, but on the bright side, anyone can hire their snorkelling gear and use their restaurants and bars along the beach.
To get to the snorkelling spot, you walk up the beach and along a spit with a lagoon on one side towards the big island. You can then leave your stuff under a tree and venture out into the coral–just be sure to visit around high tide, or wear water shoes, otherwise it’s hard to get deep enough without cutting your feet up.
Chalok Lam Beach
This quiet beach on the northern end of the island is absolutely spectacular. You can sit at a number of restaurants, eat fresh seafood and stare out at the fishing boats dotted along the bright blue. By the pier, there is a Sunday market that feels less stressful than the big markets on Samui, with plenty of families about and tonnes of fresh food to choose from.
Western Beaches
The next couple of beaches, as you circle down from Ma Haad, are Salad Beach and Haad Yao, cute strips of perfect sand adorned with bungalow resorts, little restaurants and tons of weed shops.
As you get further down, things get a little too hip for my liking; there are yoga collectives, vegan cafes, coworking spaces and too many white people with dreadlocks. Eventually, you hit a sandbank, and the beaches get a bit muddy before the road returns to Thong Sala.
Bottle Beach
It’s hard to write about somewhere in Thailand that is still quiet, spectacularly beautiful and off the beaten track, but enough ticktocks have exposed this gem for me to write about it. This beach is also at the northern end of the island, but you will have to take a totally different road to get there–one that winds through the mountains and national parks on the eastern side of the island.
The drive itself isn’t for the faint-hearted, expect to ride your scooter over potholed, up super steep hills and on gravel. There are also boat trips that set out from Thong Sala or Haad Rin, but you would likely have to arrange that on arrival.
The beach itself is an incredibly peaceful collection of small resorts, cheap bungalows, and some little restaurants–nothing over the top, but that’s the beauty of it. Wandering along the beach at night, surrounded by the jungle, you feel a long way from civilisation and all the better for it.
Haad Rin: Beach Party Central
As you can see from the photo above, Haad Rin is a bit more built up than other parts of the island; there are a couple of 7-11s, bars, restaurants and even some nightclubs. It is backpacker-party central, hosting full moon (and half and quarter) parties regularly.
On a full moon, backpackers from all around the world flock to Haad Rin to drink the night away on a beach that turns into a wild circus of music, fire dancing and a whole lot more. For all but hardened regulars, it’s a wild once-in-a-lifetime experience.
On a non-full-moon night, Haad Rin still has plenty going on, with some great little markets and bars open late into the night and stalls selling buckets full of mysterious alcohol on the side of the street.
Choosing Phangan
In a country with some of the best islands in the world, Phangan has stiff competition–but I’d recommend it to anyone. That is, if you want to go somewhere that still has quiet, remote areas to explore, national parks, amazing beaches, snorkelling, diving, partying, as well as the simple pleasures: fresh seafood served in small restaurants overlooking the fishing boats that caught it, peaceful markets in small corners of the island and bigger affairs in old towns.
Nowhere has it all, but this place has a lot more than most…
