August 26, 2022, 3:39 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Koh Phangan is much more than just the island where the original Full Moon Party takes place. It’s a yoga hotspot, a food paradise, and a playground for scooter enthusiasts. TRAVELBOOK author Anna Wengel spent nearly a month on the Thai island and has tested and documented why you can confidently steer clear of the Full Moon, Half Moon, and other party events, and what you should do instead.
Koh Phangan is known to many for the famous Full Moon Parties. I attended once and can honestly say: Stay away! There are more worthwhile–because they are nicer and smaller–Full Moon Parties around the world (such as on Gili Air in Indonesia). The original from Thailand is hardly more exciting than the drinking tourism at Ballermann and much more exhausting than the nightlife in Arambol, India.
What do you miss if you don’t go? Crowds of partygoers in skimpy, white, and neon-colored clothes, staggering under burning limbo poles and sliding down water slides, preferably landing face-first on the beach. Masses of people dancing to techno, urinating in the sea while others swim nearby, turning the entire beach of Haad Rin into a huge plastic landfill within minutes. Teenagers to seniors drinking from buckets, later drowning their intoxication with overpriced skewers and various Western fast food. Got the picture? Exactly. You really don’t need to go to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party. But for many other things, you should.
For more tips and inspiration about Koh Phangan, TRAVELBOOK author Isabell Furkert offers insights in the following podcast episode of In 5 Minuten um die Welt:
1. Riding a Scooter in the Rain
Riding a scooter is fun. Especially when it has rained in torrents on Koh Phangan. Initially watching other two-wheeler riders cautiously during their rain-sliding sessions, I eventually find myself on my overly pink scooter, joyfully riding through puddles that were streets just yesterday. The scooter sinks into the water, which splashes over my feet. A hole in the ground, hidden by water, nearly causes me to fall. But it doesn’t matter; I’m only moving at a walking pace anyway.
The rain starts again. It pours down in torrents. I keep riding, laughing, watched by people seeking shelter by the roadside. Riding a scooter is, of course, also fun when it doesn’t feel like the world is ending. You don’t get wet and you see more. Typically Southeast Asian, the scooter is also the main mode of transport for locals and tourists on Koh Phangan. The infrastructure is so good that even scooter novices have no problem, at least on the flat coastal sections. The steep roads in the mountains require a lot more practice. But since there are always idiots, a warning: Please ride only with a functioning brain. So not drunk, on drugs, or completely clueless and overly confident.
Also interesting: How Thailand tourists unnecessarily put themselves in danger
2. Practicing Yoga
Koh Phangan is a playground for yoga enthusiasts. Far from the madness of the Full Moon Party, a small yogi world thrives in the west of the island. Srithanu gathers vegan restaurants and cafes, long-haired men and women with dream bodies and blissful looks, as well as daily yoga classes. Standard classes like Hatha, Vinyasa, and Yin are available for beginners and super-yogis alike. At the retreat center Samma Karuna, for example, yogis and those aspiring to be can book individual classes or entire retreats. The courses take place in a tropical Garden of Eden oasis with a sea view, making even 90 minutes feel like a cotton candy eternity of relaxation and bliss.
3. Trying (Unknown) Healing Methods
In a mindfulness-hippie bubble like Srithanu, yoga is naturally not the only thing to try. The range of methods to sharpen one’s mindfulness, heal heart, mind, and body, or simply relax is vast. Those interested can find treatments like Reiki, Crystal Healing, various types of meditation, Ayurveda, craniosacral therapies, numerous massages, and others that are intriguing for both mindfulness beginners and near-enlightened individuals. My greatest discovery during these weeks: Bars Therapy. For this, I visit two Slovenians who moved to Thailand, in their lovely island home, and let therapist Barbara place her fingers on 32 points of my head for an hour. The goal: to release the electromagnetic charge behind feelings, thoughts, and learned beliefs.
4. Eating Through Koh Phangan’s Food Heaven
I could have survived in Thailand on mini-skewers alone. Shrimp, octopus, broccoli, corn, tofu, various types of fish and meat–there’s hardly anything that isn’t available on a skewer. On the Phantip Night Market in Koh Phangan’s capital, Thong Sala, one skewer stand stands next to another. Tired of the sometimes very greasy fast-food skewers, I also try numerous typical Thai dishes on the night market and in many restaurants on the island. Almost all are delicious. The only downside: the selection feels the same in every restaurant. It’s quite convenient, then, that the tourist-overloaded island also offers a large selection of Western and Eastern food, as well as vegan healthy food.
5. Finding Your Favorite Beach
Following some turn, the road suddenly ends. A steep concrete path with stairs on the side leads downward. Curiously, I step down the stairs–and arrive at the small beach cove that now holds the crown of my favorite beach on Koh Phangan: Haad Son Beach. A few couples and small groups of people sit here at sunset on white sand and under palm trees. Tightly embraced, sipping coconuts, and sharing idyllic world wisdoms. It’s beautiful here. Almost as beautiful, I find the small offshore island Koh Ma in the north, connected to Phangan by a beach section. Other well-known favorite beaches include Srithanu Beach, Salad Beach, Bottle Beach, Malibu Beach, Haad Chao Phao, and several others. You can’t really go wrong with beaches on Koh Phangan. They all fit the Southeast Asian beach cliché. Many have resorts and eateries. The main differences are in the clientele. The southern beaches are particularly crowded with tourist stereotypes who come to the island to party. The beaches in the west and north are often emptier and mainly populated by peaceful people and hippies who relax, meditate, and gaze at the sea for hours. To find your personal favorite beach, there’s only one thing to do: explore the beaches. Also, talk to locals; they might reveal (almost) secret beaches to you.
Also interesting: These are the 9 most popular beaches in Thailand
6. Watching the Sunsets of Koh Phangan
When the sky turns into almost unreal pastel shades, transitioning into an exaggerated palette of bright colors from orange to purple, the island becomes quiet. Hippies, families, partygoers, couples, and everyone else sit on the various beaches around the island and watch. They witness a dramatic sky show that takes place every evening. The sunsets are so beautiful that they should be on the bucket list every evening.
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7. Exploring the Inland
Koh Phangan is green. And within that greenery hide some very beautiful natural wonders. The Paradise Waterfall is one example. Paths, first paved and then unpaved, lead through the jungle to the waterfall. If you take on the climb parallel to the waterfall, a lovely view awaits–as in several places on the island. Anyone bringing a bit of time to Koh Phangan should definitely take trips into the island’s greenery. Besides Paradise, you can see waterfalls like Phaeng, Than Sadet, and Than Prawet. Depending on the weather, the waterfalls can not only be viewed but also swum in their pools. Additionally, you’ll see jungle. Pure, dense, green jungle. That alone is impressive enough.
How to Get to Koh Phangan?
By boat. Various providers ensure a very regular boat service from the mainland or neighboring islands. If you want to go exclusively to Koh Phangan, fly to Koh Samui and take a ferry from there. It takes 30 minutes.