When people think of Ko Phangan, they associate with revelry and partying. I’ve had a thoroughly different experience filled with beach, quiet, and spiritual moments. I have thoroughly explored and savored the northern beach life in Ko Phangan. So sad to go :(.

NORTHEAST KO PHANGAN

The northeast is a wild and undeveloped area, with a few waterfalls and not much more than a few low-key resorts. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, nestled into a cove that makes it feel like an undiscovered fairytale land. This is a great area to visit if you don’t want to see many people but have all the natural beauty of being on a beach in Thailand. The swimming here is lovely, and the beaches are vast and walkable.

Beach Reviews

The main beaches are: (1) Thong Na Pan Noi, the poshest of the 3 beaches, (2) Thong Na Pan Yai, which has less of a developed feel, and (3) Bottle Beach, which is hard to get to and the least developed among the three.

1. Thong Na Pan Noi

Accomodation: There are some posh hotels on this beaches, with more infrastructure and restaurants…and generally more of a town.

We AirBNB’d from a place called Suan Sawan and stayed in a duplex villa with amazing views.

Great resorts hotels on the beach include Anantara, Panviman, and Buri Rasa (which has a tasty restaurant called The Beach Club). Pingchan looked like a good option as well.

The Beach

The photos aren’t great because they’re from rainy season, but this was my favorite actual beach for swimming and strolling. When the sun came out, it was blue and beautiful. Our rainy season walk:

Food

There are some great BBQs happening on the beaches, much better than many other parts of the island.

The Beach Club offered many food in food options, which is always fun. Jay and I got into a routine of eating, walking/swimming, and coming back there to work.

After basically only eating Thai food, I loved the Thai, Burmese, and Western options at the Luna restaurant. If I didn’t feel too badly about it, I would have ordered the foie gras.

2. Thong Na Pan Yai, which has some more of the backpacker type options.

Accommodation, Beach, Food

Longtail Beach Resort is the best option here, offering low-cost bungalows. We rented a house on AirBNB that was an extension of Longtail, and it was lovely with 3 hammocks, a porch, 2 bedrooms. It was the best of both worlds. We had all the conveniences of having a hotel on-site while having our own house.

Not much to do here except walk, swim, eat, work, and get massages. Heaven.

3. Bottle Beach

This was a funny adventure down a long and immensely steep and cracked dirt road, but we finally emerged onto a very secluded and beautiful beach. We played with a litter of puppies, stopped for lunch, swam a bit, and then headed back.

NORTHWESTERN KO PHANGAN

This part of the island is more developed and populated than the northeast, but I love the expat hippy vibe around here, particularly in Srithanu. The beaches are breathtaking on the sunset side of the island.

1. Haad Salad
   We stayed in medium-end bungalows overlooking the beach at a place called Cookies, which was fabulous, for $25-30/night. I was so happy to see a bunch of decent salad options on the hotel menu. Ooh…and summer rolls. We paddle-boarded, worked, watched the sunset.
   
2. Haad Yao
   Although it is not very developed, this is definitely more developed than the surrounding areas. This means you’ll find a good variety of restaurants. It is a great place to watch the sunset, and the white sand beaches are picturesque. I waited for Jay to make it to sunset, and he made it just in time!
   
3. Mae Haad
   OMG, breathtaking! You walk and approach from above. At a certain moment, you see this beach in between the thicket. It is a beach with a connecting island. Pictures cannot capture how beautiful it is!
   
4. Srithanu
   My hippie mecca for yoga and healing. I’m staying in a bungalow for $25/night at a place called Benjamin’s Hut right on the beach, next to a retreat center called Samma Karuna. I meditate from 7-8am, yoga from 8:30-10:30am, sometimes Qigong from 11am-12pm, and then yoga again from 4-5:30pm. Good stuff.Some views from Benjamin’s Hut:

   

   

   

THE SOUTHERN REGIONS

I didn’t explore them much except for the Full Moon Party in Haad Rin in the southeast (how could I forget?!), but they are more populated and have more of the party scene.

My intention was to stay on this island a week, and it has exactly been 30 days, exactly the length of time I can stay in Thailand on my visa! Down to the wire.

Next stop, Cambodia!