Koh Phangan, Thailand – How to Arrive ? Where to Stay ? What to Visit ? Page 1

Maps – Orientation

Map 1 : Transport to the islands (Samui, Phangan, Tao)

Map 2 : Koh Phangan – Overview

Map 3 : Beaches and Attractions

Map 4 : Koh Phangan – Interactive Map

How is Koh Phangan ?

A very nice island. Great beaches, great landscape and great nightlife. Also the food is OK.

Unlike Koh-Samui, here everything is smaller: There are less people and you feel that you are on an island. The tourists are younger compared to Koh Samui. There are some expatriates who has chosen to live here.

Note : I compare the 3 islands (Samui, Phangan and Tao) on a separate page.

Koh Phangan is about 12 Km long. It is the middle size island between Koh Samui and Koh Tao.

Look at Map 2 above. There is not a circular road around Koh Phangan (like there is in Koh Samui). The reason for that, is that there is a mountain on the top right corner of the island and probably the authorities didn’t want to build a tunnel. The main road is running vertically on the left of the island (marked in grey on the map).

The left side of the island is the more developed one (significantly more developed). There are some small roads that go horizontally towards beaches on the right side (you can see the little roads on the Interactive map above, Map number 3).

The main town of the island is Thongsala on the left side.
The main pier is in Thongsala town (marked in red on Map 2).

Haad Rin is a famous beach on the south of the island. The full moon parties are taking place here. See about the full moon parties in Haad-Rin, on the second page.

There is also a small Pier in Haad Rin.
There is no airport in Koh Phangan (there is one in Koh Samui)

How to Arrive to Koh Phangan ?

There is a dedicated page about how to arrive to this group of islands, with maps and location of the stations and piers + Info about the transit cities Surat-Thani and Chumphon + the boats between the islands.

Location of the Piers in Koh Phangan

The main pier of Koh Phangan is in the main town of Thongsala. You will almost certainly arrive to this pier.
See location of Thongsala pier on Google Maps or on the Maps above. Taxis are waiting for passengers on this pier.

The second pier is in Haad Rin. This pier mainly serve for day tours. See location of Haad Rin pier on Google Maps or on the Maps above.

You can book Flights, Trains, Buses and Taxis inside Thailand with the site 12GoAsia Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Where to Stay in Koh Phangan ? – Hotels

Note : Around the day of the full moon party (each month), a lot of tourists are arriving to Koh Phangan and the hotels get full and the prices go up. So look at the shape of the moon and reserve your hotel in advance for these days.

See the following Map :

Option 1 : In the Town of Thongsala – The Main Town

There are at least 3 good reasons why you may want to stay here :

It is close to the pier, so no need to travel with a taxi when you arrive and when you depart.
Location : It is located half way on the road, between Haad-Rin and the north-west beaches. Very convenient.
A lot of food in the town (food-courts and restaurants).

See Hotels in Thongsala – Koh Phangan. After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.

Option 2 : In Haad-Rin

This is considered to be a backpacker zone. The full moon parties are taking place here.

Even if you are not a backpacker you can choose to stay here because :

The beaches are very nice, including the pier on the other side of the mountain.
It is an animated zone at night. A very happy place.

Why you may choose not to stay here :

There is a lot of choice of food, but not necessarily of top quality. It is more “fast food” style.
The crazy atmosphere of the neighborhood may not suit everyone.

Not that the beach at the other side of the hill, Rin Nai Beach, where the pier is located, is very nice with nice resorts.

See Hotels in Haad-Rin – Koh Phangan. After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.

For example Hotel Sunset Beach Villas, is on the pier side

Note that there are a lot of resorts between the town of Thongsala and Haad-Rin (on the beaches). If you have a rented motorbike, it is a good position.

See Hotels between Thongsala and Haad-Rin. After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.

Option 3 : On The Upper-Left side of the island

This is the elegant place to stay. There are a lot of very nice beaches with moderately animated zone on the road. Good restaurants also.

For example in front of Srithanu Beach, on the road, there is a popular zone with cafés.

See Hotels around Srithanu Beach . After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.

For example Shanti Boutique Hotel is near Srithanu Beach.

Beaches in the area that are really nice and with nice resorts near the water :

Option 4 : On The right side of the island

The right side of the island is much less developed. Still, there is a nice zone with a group of hotels and restaurants. It is called Thong Nai Pan and Thong Nai Pan Yai (2 beaches close to each other).

If you live here, you can enjoy a quiet and beautiful beach.

You can eat in one of the local restaurants or travel with a motorbike about 30 minutes and arrive to the left side of the island, the developed side.

See Hotels around Thong Nai Pan. After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.
See Hotels around Thong Nai Pan Yai . After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.

For example there is the Hotel Buri Rasa Village Phangan

Option 5 : Anywhere on the island

There are a lot of nice places to stay inside the land or near more isolated beaches. After you Click, use the Map to find the desired location. Read opinion of travelers for each hotel.

See Hotels in Koh Phangan.

Note : Many of the hotels in Koh Phangan have dogs. You may feel heartbroken when you need to leave.

How to Move in Koh-Phangan ?

Note : There are no buses in Koh Phangan and the Taxi service is not great. Rent a motorbike if you can.

Option 1 : By Foot

By foot, you can only reach your neighborhood.

Option 2 : By Motorbike (or rented car)

By far, the best option to move in Koh Phangan. The rent price for a motorbike per day is around 250 Baht for a 125 cc (price at the time of writing). Motorbikes with an engine of 160 cc are also popular and they are a little bit more expensive.

The main roads in Koh Phangan are in good condition. The little roads that lead to hills and beaches on the upper right side of the island, are more problematic.

Note : Unfortunately, there are a lot of irresponsible tourists who ride on their motorbike while they are drunk. Be careful. It is very advisable to put an helmet and to drive slowly when the road is wet.

Option 3 : By Taxi

The Taxi are pick up cars or minivans. You need to stop them on the road or ask your hotel that they will call one. They are also waiting on popular stops like the pier in Thongsala and Haad Rin.

The taxi can take you on a private ride or a shared ride. You need to negotiate the price.

There are also some Motorbike-Taxi on the island, but they work without an application, you need to catch them somewhere.

Option 4 : By Grab Taxi

Doesn’t seem to work in Koh Phangan (at the time that I am writing).

Option 5 : By Organized Tour

They will transport you to the destination.

How is the Nightlife in Koh-Phangan ?

The nightlife is great. The most intense nightlife is in Haad-Rin, on the bottom of the island. But not only there.

Haad Rin

It is a feast here every night. The beach is full of bars and the town of Haad Rin is full of bars. See location on Google Maps.

On the following photo, one popular bar in Haad-Rin :”One Love Bar”. A lot of Reggae music is played here and there is sometimes a live band. See location on Google Maps.

See about the full moon parties in Haad-Rin, on the second page.

The Night Market – Café Vintage

Located on the main road between Thongsala and Haad-Rin. See location on Google Maps.
It is a very nice night market for eating. There are several stands with international food. There is a band playing. It is not a market selling goods.

If you don’t know what to eat, take a “Mango sticky rice”. It is always good and healthy.

Thongsala Town

The town is very animated at night. See location on Google Maps.

There are 2 food court here that are open in the evening.

Except the food courts, there are quite a lot of restaurants and bars which are active

Hin Kong Beach

A very nice beach with good restaurants-bars right on the beach. See location on Google Maps. Quite active in the evening. I would rate this place very high in its attractiveness. A very good place to have a cocktail.

Srithanu Beach

The road in front of Srithanu Beach is moderately animated at night. There are some good restaurants in the area. See location on Google Maps.

Everywhere on the island

There are of course, bars and restaurants in places where tourists stay. Sometimes it is just in an isolated resort.

How is the Climate in Koh-Phangan ?

Note : The climate in Koh-Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao is quite similar.

Temperatures

It is hot in this zone, all year round. At day time around 30 degrees Celsius. At night around 25 degrees celsius. You better have air-conditioning in your room.

Rain

Like in all Thailand, there is also in this zone a rainy season. The rainy season here is from May to January.

The month of November is very rainy, around 400 mm rain.
October and December around 200 mm rain.
The rest of the rainy season is moderate : May to October around 120 mm rain.
In the dry season, it can also rain. February, March, April : Around 60 mm rain.

What to Eat in Koh-Phangan ?

There are plenty of restaurants and food courts.
Let’s start with the cakes. There are 4 bakeries owned by French. As everyone knows, French cakes and Croissants are superior, so don’t look anywhere else.

Real French Bakeries

Note : The following bakeries are very small. It will often be the French owner serving you.

French Bakery Phangan – Located right in Thongsala town.

You can arrive here by foot, if you live in Thongsala. They mainly have Pain au Chocolat and Croissant in the morning. So, not a lot of choice but these two pastries are made with top quality ingredients and they are very good (That’s exactly what I need in the morning).

They have also this strange stuff :

Julien’s – Located 2 Km from Thongsala on the road towards inland. They have pastries, cakes and bread. You can have a breakfast here.

A lot of bread

Croissant & Ko – Located on the main road between Thongsala and Haad-Rin. About 4 Km from Thongsala.

They have cakes

And bread

Albert’s macaron – They are located on the top of the island in a beautiful area.

It is relatively far from Thongsala but as a tourist, you will arrive to this corner of the island, at least once. They have here Macarons and cakes but no bread.

It is a Patisserie and not a Boulangerie.