Koh Phangan 60 second travel guide

Photo by Victoria Peckham

Koh Phangan is a medium sized tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand, just a short ferry ride from Koh Samui. The island is now world famous for holding monthly full moon parties.

Weather

Tropical climate – hot and humid all year round. Avoid the rainy season in November.

Average exchange rate

$1 = 35 baht, £1 = 50 baht.

Cost of living

Reasonably cheap, avoid tourist trap restaurants to save some money. Western meal 180 baht, local meal 80 baht, bottle water 10 baht, beer in a bar 70 baht.

Top 3 places to visit

• Full Moon Party – Located on Haad Rin beach in the South East of the island, the monthly full moon party hosts up to 30,000 people from all over the world. Arrive at least 4 days in advance to secure accommodation. Drugs = $2,000 fine!
• Koh Ma – Beautiful Island in the North West with tidal sandbank that you can walk across. Great snorkelling too, makes for a good day trip.
• Baan Tai – Home of the slightly less insane half moon party which still attracts several thousand people every couple of weeks.

Most awesome place to stay

For the party crowd: Phangan Buri in Haad Rin (website rates are wrong – pay 1,200-1,500 for the cabins)
For the more chilled out: Dew Shore Bungalow in Baan Tai

Budget

You can buy a bucket for less than 150b, but most people end up forgetting how to stick to their budget by the end of the night. Can be done for700b per day, but most people will spend a considerable amount more.

Get there

Bus + ferry from Bangkok – 10-15 hours (Take the Government VIP bus)
Overnight sleeper train + ferry from Bangkok – 13 hours
Ferry from Samui 30 mins approx (You can fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui)

Get around

Songthew or shared taxis go around the island. 100b to most destinations. A little further and this might double. Thongsala ferry pier – Haad Rin is 100b

Why go there

Go there for the Full Moon party. If you absolutely can’t make it, go to the half moon. At other times the island is pretty quiet.