Koh Phangan, Phangan Island, Koh Phangan Thailand, Koh Phangan Map.

Suratthani province | Samui Island (Koh Samui) | Tao Island (Koh Tao)

Koh Phangan Island is to the northeast of Surat Thani, about 20 kilometers from Koh Samui. Its area of 170 square kilometers, or 106,250 rai, is surrounded by several minor islands such as Koh Tao, Koh Tae Nok, Koh Tae Nai, and Koh Ma. Vast plains stretch out on the west coast of the island, while steep cliffs drip to the sea in the east. It is encircled by charming beaches, beautiful bays, and clear waters, with an abundance of coral reefs and marine life

Koh Phangan is a district (Amphoe) of the Surat Thani Province in the Southern Region of Thailand.

Koh Phangan enjoys a warm climate around the year. Best time for a visit is from December to March or June to September.

The island has 9.2 sq. km of coral reef, which is 100 to 1000 meters wide, with its widest part in the Wok Tum area. 50-70% of the reef is alive with 300-500 meters covered in seaweed. The most abundant fish is the Mackerel.

Koh Phangan is full of undeveloped bays and coves and some of the remote beaches are only accessible by trekking through jungle paths or by taking a boat. The Island attracts many popular activities one being snorkeling at many of the island beaches; one beach in particular is in the northeastern tip at Koh Maa. Other activities now include kite surfing, kayaking and trekking.

Phangan has now become synonymous with the full-moon parties on Haad Rin. These monster raves take place every month and have become world famous, attacting up to ten thousand revelers each time. However, it should be remembered that Haad Rin is just one small slice of island's shoreline.

About 15 years ago the most common way of getting from one side of the island to the other was by boat or foot, but these days now new roads have been built everywhere, making it much easier to access to allmost all parts of the island.

The name of the island is often written as 'ko pangan' or 'koh pha ngan' and also as 'panghan'. 'Koh' in thai language means island.

Koh = island
Pha = meet or find
Ngan = sandy beach which can be seen at low tide

How to get there:

Koh Pha Ngan Beaches:
The beaches on Koh Pha-Ngan are some of the best in the Gulf of Thailand, and remain more popluar for people wishing to avoid the crowds of Koh Samui. Not all have been developed, so there are still those quiet deserted beaches which can be very attractive. There is also snorkelling to be done, with many beaches having live-coral formations.

Bottle Beach
This place is still remained wild because of the distance from the main roads and piers. You can access Hat Khuat by walking a steep path or by taxi boat (around 50 Baht) from Chaloklum. You can take a motorbike on the path if you are an experienced driver.

This beach is perfect for those who want to get away from it all. A fine white sandy beach enclosed by granite rocks that is great for swimming and snorkeling, it is another beach gaining popularity by families with small children.

Since the beachs is sometimes inaccessibel, because of bad weather conditions, you can get stranded here for a day or two as the boats can only navigate the seas here when they are calm.

Chaloklam
Situated in the north of the island, it is a very quiet fishermen village where you will find a very genuine atmosphere. There are several family-run groceries, restaurants, a couple of diving schools and even a '7-Eleven' (or 'seven' in thai) 24hr. supermarket.

A local fishing community lives and works around this large bay and it is a great place to buy or eat fresh seafood. Squid can be seen drying on nets in the sun. When the weather is fine with some 80-100 boats mooring in the bay. This place is a good start point to explore the northern part of the island.

Chaloklam
Situated in the north of the island, it is a very quiet fishermen village where you will find a very genuine atmosphere. There are several family-run groceries, restaurants, a couple of diving schools and even a '7-Eleven' (or 'seven' in thai) 24hr. supermarket.

A local fishing community lives and works around this large bay and it is a great place to buy or eat fresh seafood. Squid can be seen drying on nets in the sun. When the weather is fine with some 80-100 boats mooring in the bay. This place is a good start point to explore the northern part of the island.

Haad Rin
South-east of the island. A narrow peninsular of land that juts out to sea with beaches on both sides of the cape (east and west had rin).

Haad Rin West on the sunset side is the quieter beach of the two, but shallow corals at the beach makes swimming difficult there except at high tide. The palm-lined, boulder-strewn beach here can be extremely beautiful , especially whilst viewing a famous Koh Phangan sunset. Here is also where the Big Buddha ferry docks.

Haad Rin East on the sunrise side has a beautiful long sandy beach with many restaurants and bars, mostly catering to the backpacker and party scene. As the Full Moon approaches Haad Rin get's usually really busy. Watch the beach change into a fire-twirling open air party play ground.

Had Rin is Phangan's nightlife central. A 24 hour non-stop party place. Bungalows and guesthouses are quite expensive in comparison with other places on the island, and even on a non-Full Moon night, you're likely to be kept up until 2am by the powerful sound systems of all the bars and clubs.

Haad Salad
Southwards coming from Ao Mae Hat (but located at the north-west of the island). The road here is actually a path and it is in a bad state at some places, even for the experienced drivers.

It is one of the best swimming and snorkeling sites of the island and the beachside is franged with coral.

Haad Tien
Swimming here is only available in the high tidal season of Nov to Apr. This isolated beach is courser with a reef which is in swimming distance.

Had Yao (West)
One of the most beautiful beach on this island and by some considered as one of the best in Thailand. It is about a kilometer long and rather wide and located on the North-West coast of the island. Perfect for beach sports and beach parties. Several good resorts and restaurants are located here.

Had Yao (East)
A relaxed beach in the South-East of the island, but it is accessible only by walk or by a taxi boat or a longtail boat.

Haad Yuan
Had Yuan situated on the south-east of Koh Phangan, is about a ten-minute longtail boat ride away from Had Rin.

This place is excellent for swimming and several quality bungalow resorts. Can only reached by boat, or walking a jungle trail (not recommended).

Koh Maa
Located on the NE tip of the island lies a tiny island of Koh Ma, just across from the beach at Mae Haad. In low tide a sand bar connects the both. The months between Dec and Mar are the best times to visit as the rest of the year the tides are to low for swimming. Mae Haad provides a long stretch of beach with views of sunsets over Koh Ma.

Mae Haad
Mae Haad situated in the north-west of Koh Phangan, is a nice fishermen village at Mae Hat and has an isolated cove at Ao Hat Thong Lang.

From here you can access Koh Maa (thai for 'Horse island') by walking from the beach to the small island, since Koh Maa is joined to Mae Haad by a sand bar. Even at high tide the water is low enough to walk. At the west side of this small island you find a good place for snorkeling. There is a small basic bungalow resort and restaurant a here for that 'desert island' feeling when the tide divides the two islands.

The months between Dec and Mar are the best times to visit as the rest of the year the tides are to low for swimming. Mae Haad provides a long stretch of beach with views of sunsets over Koh Ma.

Srithanu
Srithanu is located in the north-west side of Koh Phangan. A fishermen village with a few supermarkets, restaurants, internet shops and a pharmarcy. Nearby is Leam Son Lake, the island's only sweet water lake.

Srithanu is a relative quite place compared to to other bigger villages on Phangan. Beaches are nice for swimming in the high season, during low seaon the tide is quite low.

Thansadet
Located in the east of Koh Phangan. About halfway up the road from Ban Tai Village to Thong Nai Pan Beach there's turn-off heading east at Thong Nang Village. This trail follows a river along which you'll see a series of waterfalls collectively known as Than Sadet Waterfall.

The year-round waterfall of Thaan Sadet cascades into the ocean at Haad Sadet beach. From the twin beaches here you can follow a trail inland along the waterfall to a series of boulders marking the initials of Kings Rama V,VII & IX of Thailand, who have all visited the falls over the last century.

Than Sadet is a historical site due to frequent visits there between 1888 and 1909 by Siam's great King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, whose initials are engraved on many big boulders along this rocky river. King Rama VII also left his initials on some stones there in 1926 and 1930, and more recently, in 1962 the current reigning monarch King Bhumipol Aduldej (Rama IX) followed his illustrious predecessor's footsteps and engraved his own initials on a stone.

The water from Than Sadet was one of the sacred water sources for the blessing water in King Vachiravuj (Rama VI) and the present King coronation ceremonies.

Thong Nai Pan
A beautiful bay in the north-east of the island. As beautiful this places is as dangerous are the roads that lead to it, untarred, sandy and steep. So a taxi or boat taxi is a good idea for people not so familiar to off road driving. In the raining season it's sometimes next to impossible to get there with a motorbike.

The bay is great for snorkelling, swimming and is very popular with families. It also has plenty of decent accommodation. Thong Nai Pan is a double crescent bay with a gently sloping beach surrounded by palms. With only a few beach bars, nightlife is very relaxed and easy going.

Thongsala
Koh Pha-Ngan's main town, situated on the west coast. Thongsala has a new build big pier where all the ferries from mainland and Samui arrive. You will find here many restaurants, travel agencies, clothes shops and two fresh markets.

This is the best place for shopping on Koh Phangan. Beside all the business and government offices, you can still enjoy the scenery of sunset, see the fishermen loading fishes and crabs from their boats, and taste home-made food and buy fresh seafood from the local market.

Near the 7-Eleven are a lot of small food stalls, you can get good meal sometimes until 02.00 in the morning.

Where to stay?
On Koh Phangan it's quite easy to find an accommodation, except for the time around "Full Moon Party" Dates and in the high season between december and february. For these dates it can be useful to book a house or bungalow in advance, to avoid spending the first days in a search for better accommodation.

Bungalow Resorts with Online Reservation

Where to eat?
If you like to eat then Koh Phangan offers you a variety of restaurants, bars and cafe’s offering you Thai and International dishes, something to suit everyone. And of course a large selection of fresh seafood which is locally caught.

Getting around the island
Taxi
An easy way to get around the island is by taxi, or "songthaew". Prices are negotiable and vary depending on the amount of people in the car.

Motorbike
The most common way to explore Koh Phangan is by motorbike. You can hire motorbikes in every village. Although there are still many dirt roads, it is possible to see a rather big part of the island. The Southwest and Northwest area have good cemented roads.

Jeep
As there are still a lot of dirt roads, 4WD jeeps are also an excellent way to get around most parts of the island. Most of the hired jeeps are not insured, so shop around if you want insurance. Hiring a jeep is a great way to make a daytrip to the more remote parts and attractions of Koh Phangan like the Than Sadet waterfall, Thong Nai Pan or Haad Rin.

Activities
Snorkeling & diving
There are many great snorkel and dive spots on the island, especially on the Northwest coast. One of the best spots is around the little island of Koh Ma ('Horse Island'), off Mae Haad beach at the Northwestern tip of Koh Phangan. There are several diving schools offering PADI courses around the island.

Boat trips / kayaking
Boat trips around the island or to other islands can be arranged at most resorts and travel agencies. Kayaks can be rented at most resorts and at beaches.

Quad riding / ATV
Just outside main town Thong Sala there is a quad racing track, the place is called 'ATV Exite'.

Thai boxing
Although ni Stadium in Bangkok is the place to be for the real Muay Thai match, Koh Phangan also has some small Muay Thai 'stadiums' in Thong Sala and Haad Rin. You can learn the art of Muay Thai yourself at the Jungle Gym in Haad Rin and Thong Sala.

Elephant Trekking
Just outside Chaloklum you can enjoy an elephant ride through Koh Phangan's jungle.

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