Staying in Chaloklum: bungalows and resorts on Koh Phangan's north coast

32 accommodations

Chaloklum (also Chalok Lam or Chaloklam) is a fishing village on a wide bay on the north coast of Koh Phangan, at the end of the straight, flat, 10 km road north from Thong Sala, 15–20 minutes from the pier. It is the quietest of the island's towns: a main street of seafood restaurants, cafés, dive schools and a 7-Eleven, a long-tail pier where the boats to Bottle Beach leave, and a fishing fleet moored behind the retaining wall in the middle of the bay. Malibu Beach, at the western end of the 3 km bay, has powder sand, round trees and clear shallow water and is one of the best swimming beaches on the island. This zone also covers the coast to the east: Haad Khom (Coral Bay), 2–3 km away on a partly steep track, and Bottle Beach (Haad Khuat), which has no road at all.

Who should stay in Chaloklum?

Chaloklum suits people who want a village rather than a resort strip: long-stayers and families who like a working town with a real fishing economy, divers using the north-coast schools, and anyone who wants to be close to the north-coast beaches without paying west-coast prices. It is 20 minutes from the ferries, has the practical things — ATMs, pharmacy, a small public health station, supermarkets — and a growing café scene along the pier road, and the sunsets from the bay are as good as Srithanu's. Malibu Beach gives it a swimming beach that many resort areas lack.

Choose Bottle Beach instead if the point is to disappear: a white beach with four or five bungalow resorts, reached by long-tail from Chaloklum pier (about 150 THB a person, 10–15 minutes) or by a steep two-hour jungle hike from Haad Khom; generator electricity in some places, no ATM, no shop, and one of the best beaches in the Gulf. Haad Khom sits between the two, with cheap-to-mid bungalows, coral just offshore and some resorts on power only from dusk to dawn. Skip the whole north coast if you need nightlife or a swimming beach in the middle of the village: the centre of Chaloklum bay is muddy at low tide and sheltered for the boats, so you swim at the ends.

Bungalows, guesthouses and villas in Chaloklum

The 32 places listed here are mostly guesthouses and bungalows in the village at 600–1,500 THB (US$19–47) a night, mid-range resorts on Malibu Beach at 1,500–3,500 THB, and pool villas and holiday homes on the hills above the bay and towards Koh Ma at 4,000–10,000 THB, some of them among the most recently built on the island. Bottle Beach has fan and air-conditioned bungalows at roughly 600–1,500 THB, and Haad Khom a handful of simple bungalow resorts at similar prices. Monthly houses for long-stayers are common in and behind the village. Each listing says whether the property is in Chaloklum village, on Malibu Beach, at Haad Khom or on Bottle Beach, and how it is reached, because "north coast" covers four very different ways of arriving.

How do you get to Chaloklum?

From Thong Sala pier a songthaew costs about 200 THB a person and takes 15–20 minutes on the flat, paved road, the easiest drive on the island; a scooter does it in the same time. Most resorts on Malibu and Bottle Beach arrange a pick-up or a boat if you send your ferry time. For Bottle Beach, long-tails leave the Chaloklum pier roughly hourly in season, more often in the morning, and stop when the sea is rough; the dirt track from the Thong Nai Pan road is for 4x4 only, not for scooters. For Haad Khom, the track east of the village is rideable with care and a small bike. Chaloklum is also the starting point for snorkelling boats to Koh Ma and the north-coast reefs.

What is there to do in Chaloklum?

Swim at Malibu Beach, snorkel off Haad Khom or take a boat to the Koh Ma sandbar at Mae Haad, the best shore snorkelling on the island. Dive with the north-coast schools, which run to Sail Rock, about an hour offshore, the top dive site in the Gulf. Climb to the Chinese temple on the hill above the Chaloklum road for the view over the west coast, or drive to Paradise waterfall, 20 THB with a rope swing, best after rain. Eat seafood on the pier road, where the fishing boats land the day's catch, and watch the sunset from the west end of the bay. Bottle Beach has a steep 45-minute climb to a viewpoint above the bay, and from Haad Khom the jungle path continues to it for walkers who would rather earn the beach than take the boat.

When to stay in Chaloklum

The north coast faces the open Gulf, so it takes the north-east monsoon from late October to December: the bay gets choppy, the Bottle Beach boats stop on bad days and swimming at Malibu is better in the morning. From January to April the water is calm and at its clearest, and the fishing village is at its busiest; June to September is the green season, cheap and mostly fine. Rates on Malibu and Bottle Beach peak at Christmas–New Year, but Chaloklum has no party calendar, so Full Moon weeks change little here.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Chaloklum from Thong Sala?

About 10 km, 15–20 minutes by songthaew (200 THB a person) or scooter on the flat, straight paved road north from the pier.

Can you swim in Chaloklum bay?

At the ends of the bay, yes — Malibu Beach at the west end is one of the island's best swimming beaches; the middle of the bay is muddy at low tide and reserved for the fishing boats.

How do you get to Bottle Beach?

By long-tail boat from Chaloklum pier, about 150 THB a person each way and 10–15 minutes, roughly hourly in season; on foot via a steep 2 km jungle trail from Haad Khom in one to two hours; or by 4x4 on the dirt track from the Thong Nai Pan road. There is no scooter route.

Is there an ATM on Bottle Beach or Haad Khom?

No. The nearest ATMs, 7-Eleven and pharmacy are in Chaloklum village; bring cash for the beach bungalows.

Is Chaloklum good for families?

Yes: it is quiet, flat, has a shallow swimming beach at Malibu, a small health station and restaurants within walking distance, and many of the newer villas above the bay have private pools.