Hotels in Koh Phangan, Thailand: where to stay, beach by beach

Which part of Koh Phangan should you stay in?

The island has no single centre, so the first decision is the coast. The south is where the boats arrive. Thong Sala is the port town, with the night market, banks, hospitals and the cheapest beds; it is practical rather than pretty, and its beach is shallow and tidal. East of it, Ban Tai is the longest stretch of coastline on the island: a paved road lined with hostels, family resorts, long-stay houses and pool villas on the hills, with the Half Moon and jungle parties inland. At the southern tip, Haad Rin has the Full Moon Party on Sunrise Beach and the widest choice of hostels and backpacker bungalows, plus a few good resorts on the quieter Sunset and Leela sides.

The west coast is the sunset side and the one most repeat visitors choose. Srithanu, 6–9 km north of the port, is the yoga, wellness and digital-nomad village, with vegan cafés, co-working spaces, the Friday drum circle on Zen Beach and the highest concentration of guesthouses and monthly rentals on the island; the quiet Hin Kong and Wok Tum shoreline to its south has the best sunsets. Further north, Haad Yao is a long sweep of sand with resorts along its whole length and the best all-round swimming on this coast, with the small coves of Chao Phao and Secret Beach just south of it. Haad Salad, in the north-west corner, is a sheltered family bay with mid-range resorts and hillside villas, next to Mae Haad and the Koh Ma sandbar, the island's best shore snorkelling.

The north coast is Chaloklum, a working fishing village at the end of the straight road from Thong Sala, with Malibu Beach at the end of its bay and long-tail boats to Bottle Beach, which has no road and a handful of bungalow resorts. The north-east is Thong Nai Pan: two bays separated by a headland, Noi with the island's five-star resorts and pool villas, Yai with mid-range resorts and a village, reached by a steep but now concreted road across the island. Than Sadet, just south, has the national-park waterfall and cheap bungalows on a white beach, while the south-east beaches of Haad Yuan and Haad Thian have no road at all and are reached by taxi-boat from Haad Rin.

Hostel, bungalow, resort or villa?

Koh Phangan has an unusual spread of accommodation. Among the 580 properties listed here, private villas and holiday homes are as common as hotels: two- to four-bedroom houses with a pool and a kitchen, mostly on the hills above Ban Tai, Srithanu, Haad Salad and Chaloklum, and often better value for a family or a group than two resort rooms. Hostels cluster in Haad Rin, Ban Tai, Thong Sala and Srithanu; fan bungalows survive on the boat-access beaches, in Ban Khai, Chaloklum and Haad Khom; mid-range resorts line Haad Yao, Haad Salad, Ban Tai and Thong Nai Pan Yai; and the five-star category is concentrated on Thong Nai Pan Noi, with a few outliers on the west coast and around Haad Rin.

In 2026 a dormitory bed costs about 200–500 THB (US$6–16), a fan bungalow 500–1,000 THB, an air-conditioned bungalow or guesthouse room 800–1,500 THB, a mid-range resort room 1,500–3,500 THB (US$47–110), a beachfront boutique room 2,000–5,500 THB, a private pool villa from about 4,000 to 10,000 THB and a five-star room or villa from around 9,000 THB up to several times that at Christmas. High season adds 30–50 %; in Haad Rin a 500 THB room becomes 1,000–1,500 THB on Full Moon nights and many places impose a minimum stay of three to five nights around the party. Each listing shows the type, size and bed layout of every room, the number of reviews and the guest score, so you can filter by pool, sea view, kitchen, family rooms or free parking.

How do you get to Koh Phangan?

There is no airport. A private airfield near Ban Tai was started in 2013 and abandoned in 2015 after it was found to encroach on the national park; the strip is still there and nothing has moved since. Everyone arrives by boat, almost always at Thong Sala pier on the south-west coast.

The fastest route is through Koh Samui airport (about 1 hour from Bangkok with Bangkok Airways, the only carrier). The piers are 10–15 minutes from the terminal: Seatran Discovery from Bangrak takes about 30 minutes to Thong Sala for roughly 250–300 THB, and the Lomprayah catamaran from Maenam 20–30 minutes for 230–300 THB; Songserm and Raja Ferry sail from Nathon in 45–60 minutes. The Haad Rin Queen goes from Bangrak straight to Haad Rin pier about six times a day (20–30 minutes, 200–300 THB), which saves the hill road if you are staying at the party end. In season there are more than twenty crossings a day between the two islands, from about 08:00 until the early evening.

From Surat Thani (URT airport with low-cost flights from Bangkok Don Mueang, the Phun Phin railway station or the city) a minivan takes 1–1.5 hours to Donsak, then a car ferry: Raja Ferry about 2.5 hours for 280 THB, Seatran about 2 hours 15 for 320 THB, five departures a day each between 05:00 and 18:00; the Lomprayah catamaran does it in under two hours for 350–550 THB. Combination tickets (flight or train plus minivan plus ferry) cost about 1,050–1,900 THB. A night boat leaves Surat Thani city at 23:00 and reaches Thong Sala at 05:00–06:00, mattresses on an open deck. From Bangkok overland, bus-and-ferry combinations via Chumphon or Surat Thani take 11–16 hours for 1,200–1,600 THB all in, and the sleeper train to Surat Thani (about 12 hours, 1,100–1,400 THB in a second-class berth) connects with the morning ferries. From Koh Tao, Lomprayah and Songserm cross in 1–2 hours for 450–600 THB.

Once on the island, shared songthaew pick-ups leave from the pier: about 100–150 THB a person to Ban Tai or Haad Rin, 200 THB to Srithanu, Haad Yao, Haad Salad or Chaloklum, 300 THB to Thong Nai Pan or Than Sadet, more at night and on party dates, and in 2026 some drivers ask up to 400 THB. Scooters rent for 150–350 THB a day; the hill to Haad Rin and the roads to Thong Nai Pan and Than Sadet are steep, and the island's clinics treat scooter injuries every day, so a helmet, a proper licence and dry roads matter more here than on Samui. There is no Grab or Bolt. Haad Yuan, Haad Thian and Bottle Beach are reached by taxi-boat (about 500 THB from Haad Rin) or long-tail (about 150 THB from Chaloklum).

When is the best time to visit Koh Phangan?

The Gulf coast runs on the opposite calendar to Phuket. February to April is the driest, calmest period, with the clearest water; April and May are the hottest, around 35 °C by day, with Songkran on 13–15 April. June to September is the green season: short thunderstorms, mostly sunny days, lower prices and calm seas on the west coast. October to December is the rainy season, wettest in October and November, when the east coast (Haad Rin Nok, Thong Nai Pan, Than Sadet, Bottle Beach) can be too rough to swim and Ang Thong marine park closes from about 1 November to 15 December; the weather usually clears before Christmas. The sea stays at 27–29 °C all year.

Price seasons follow the weather and the moon. High season is mid-December to mid-February (peak at Christmas and New Year, when booking weeks ahead is essential), with a second high in July and August, plus every Full Moon week in Haad Rin. September to November is the cheapest time. Full Moon Party dates for the rest of 2026 are 31 July, 28 August, 26 September, 27 October, 24 November, 24 December and a New Year countdown on 31 December; dates shift by a day when the full moon falls on a Buddhist holy day, when alcohol sales are banned nationwide.

What is there to do on Koh Phangan?

The Full Moon Party on Haad Rin Nok runs from about 21:00 to sunrise, entry 200 THB in cash at the road into Haad Rin; there are no advance tickets. The Half Moon Festival in the Ban Tai jungle takes place twice a month, with day tickets from 1,300 THB and night tickets from 2,500 THB, and Jungle Experience, Waterfall and Black Moon parties fill the other weeks. Away from the parties: the Phaeng waterfall and Domsila viewpoint in the centre of the island (100 THB for adults, open 08:00–16:30, trails of 30 minutes to 1.5 hours) and the Khao Ra summit trek from the same side (4–6 hours return); Than Sadet waterfall, a 2.5 km string of pools down to the east coast where King Rama V carved his initials on the rocks; the Koh Ma sandbar at Mae Haad, walkable at low tide with the best shore snorkelling on the island; Bottle Beach by long-tail from Chaloklum or a two-hour jungle hike from Haad Khom; the Chinese temple above the Chaloklum road, Wat Phu Khao Noi and Wat Khao Tham; yoga, detox and dance in Srithanu; and day trips to Ang Thong National Marine Park (from about 1,000 THB by big boat plus the 300 THB park fee) or to Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan for snorkelling. Night markets run daily in Thong Sala (16:00–22:00), Srithanu (vegan, 17:00–21:30) and Haad Rin (17:00–24:00), and Thong Sala's Saturday Walking Street from 16:00.

Practical facts, 2026

Koh Phangan district has about 15,000 registered residents on the island, in two sub-districts: Ko Pha-ngan for the west, north and east, and Ban Tai for the south and south-east — which is why hotel addresses in Haad Rin and Thong Nai Pan often read "Ban Tai". ATMs, 7-Elevens and pharmacies are plentiful in Thong Sala, along the Ban Tai road, in Haad Rin, Srithanu, Haad Yao, Haad Salad, Chaloklum and Thong Nai Pan, and absent on Bottle Beach, Haad Khom, the boat-access beaches and Than Sadet; foreign cards pay 220–250 THB per withdrawal and most bungalows, restaurants and taxis take cash only. The government hospital is in Wok Tum, and there are private hospitals on the Ban Tai road and in Ban Khai plus 24-hour clinics in Haad Rin; serious cases are transferred to Samui. Tap water is not drinkable; refill stations sell drinking water for a few baht a litre. Power comes by submarine cable from Samui and cuts are common in storms.