Top 6 Activities You Must Try On Koh Phangan Island!

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Kho Phangan island is a very popular island to visit in the Gulf of Thailand Surat Thani province. This region has three main islands: Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, and Koh Samui. But there’re many good reasons why my friends and I chose Koh Phangan as the island destination in our two weeks trip in Thailand. You can have very unique island experiences here from the beaches, trekking in nature, Thai food, water activities, and party life.

After Bangkok, my friends and I went to Koh Phangan to get our island life fix. Thailand is gifted with very beautiful islands surrounded by amazing waters so I highly recommend you should go and visit one either here in the Surat Thani region or Krabi region on the other side.

In fact, you can actually do most of these in one tour except for one (guess what it is haha) that is provided by Mingalaba Road Trip. For the three days we were there, we dedicated one day for the tour so we got the full Koh Phangan Island experience. The Mingalaba Road Trip takes you to five different famous destinations of the island. I will summarize later at the end of this post.

This island is actually very close to my heart. I spent my 28th birthday here and did one of the things I love the most which is spending time on the beach. Not only the beach but this island has both the sandy beach and the nature vibes when you explore the inside of the island. I will share with you the places I visited as part of the tour so you can do them yourself and also the places I went that’s not part of the tour. 3 days in Kho Phangan was enough to do all the 6 fun activities.

1. Check Out the Oldest/Tallest/Biggest Tree in the Island

Yes, there is this one tree in the island that’s all encompassing and you should check it out. It’s very close to temple Wat Pho and our resort so we ended up checking it out ourselves and then also with the tour.

Called the Yang Na Yai Tree, it’s quite a big tree in the island and you can see it from afar so you won’t be able miss it. Said to be over 400 years old and above 50 meters tall, this resin tree is one of the famous natural landmarks in the island. Resin trees are common quite common in Thailand and this one is the oldest, tallest, and biggest here.

2. Visit A Koh Phangan Waterfall

There are two main waterfalls in the island both in Koh Phangan National Park: Than Sadet Waterfall and Phaeng Waterfall. I had the opportunity to visit one of them, Than Sadet Waterfall, as part of the Mingalaba Road Trip.

The Than Sadet Waterfall was quite refreshing. Shaded by the trees and you can bathe in the water. I was there in the morning so the water was cool. It was really nice to sit on the shaded rocks and dip your toes on the water. I walked back and forth the river and the waterfalls. At the end I decided to also dip my whole body and kind of swim. It was a bit difficult because there’s not much distance to swim to. I know there’s more opportunity to swim during the trip anyways and I will have my fair share of swim.

3. Go To a View Point To See The Island From The Top/Sunset

As I said, Koh Phangan is one unique island because it has both the beach and nature vibes. It has mountains where you can see the island from the top so you know there are many amazing lookouts and view point bars here.

I went to Apichada View Point Bar and Three Sixty Bar Koh Phangan. Day 1 in the island, after seeing the giant tree, Apichada View Point Bar was only 20 minutes walk away so we went there. The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous even though I was not there during sunset. I did catch the sunset at Three Sixty Bar Koh Phangan which was the last stop of the Mingalaba tour. I love lookouts and seeing the sun go down right before my eyes was a great experience. Thought of the fun activities I did during the day and how accomplished I felt.

4. Try Some Water Activities

I’m not into water activities but I went snorkelling to see fishes, sea creatures, and corals. If you’re really into water activities you certainly can do them on the island and your accommodation can also assist you if you want to do it on a tour.

I snorkelled at Mae Haad Beach, another destination of the Mingalaba tour. This beach is a connecting sand beach to a small island Koh Ma. You can walk on Mae Had Beach to the island or snorkel your way there. The water was super clear so you can see the sea creatures right away once you go in the water. Remember to bring some water shoes to protect your feet from rocks and sea creatures on the sand.

5. Hangout On The Beach

This is a given. Obviously, when you’re on an island surrounded by the most crystal blue waters in the world, you must hangout and relax on the white sand beach. This was probably what I most spent my time on. I did it any time of the day every day and anywhere on the island.

I can stay on the beach forever and relax. Nap, listen to music, people watch, soak my feet in the water, watch the waves and more.

6. Dance The Night Away at The Full Moon Party

The Full Moon Party was the main reason why we chose this island and the time we went. For those of you that doesn’t know, the Full Moon Party is a party that happens Haad Rin beach once a month when it’s full moon. Thus the name Full Moon Party. The fact that this party happens every month during a full moon felt pretty special so my friends and I decided to go. We met up with our other group of friends here who were also in Thailand at the same time as us.

We met some fellow Canadians in the Mingalaba tour who will also be at the party so we decided to meet up with them too. Three groups all together so I was with a pretty big crowd.

Apparently, nowadays, there are other spin offs such as the Half Moon Party and Black Moon Party. The half moon happens twice a month, before and after the full moon party located north of Haad Rin. The Black Moon Party happens during new moon (shouldn’t it be new moon party?) in Ban Tai beach.

November 22, 2018 was the date for the Full Moon Party that month so we went to Haad Rin that night. I just turned 28 and I was ready for my first party as a 28 years old. FYI, there are parties happening in the island every night not only these ones. My tip is make sure to book in advance accommodation, plane and ferry tickets because they can get fully booked as the full moon date gets close.

The beach party was what I expected it to be. Bunch of expats, tourists, and backpackers all come together in one night of dancing, drinking, and wild activities all throughout the night. Party goers were drinking those red bull buckets left and right and it actually felt like a music festival. Different type of music were loudly played in each bar. Extreme activities such as fire jump rope, fire limbo and fire dancing. Basically many fire activities which was really nice to bright up the night.

More Information

Getting Here

I travelled to Koh Phangan by ferry from Surat Thani Donsak Pier. There are two main ferries that can take you to the island: Raja and Lomprayah. Raja ferries are slower than Lomparayah. You can book your tickets online. Here are the timetable schedules for both Raja and Lomprayah so you can check which time will work best for your schedule.

Accommodation at Morning Star Resort

I stayed at Morning Star located in Ban Tai booked through Agoda. My friends and I stayed at the Deluxe Family Bungalow for a really good price of THB 6,447.50 (~ 215 USD/27 CAD) for 3 days for 3 people. It was around 30 a night per person. They have their own pool, hammocks to relax on, and beach area. This resort gave that island vacation feel because all their accommodation were bungalows.

We chose this resort because it was right in the middle on the main road. Half way point from the port and the Haad Rin beach for the Full Moon Party. Therefore, we had some peace and quiet away from the busy port and nightlife scene. Since it’s close to the main road, it has great access to convenient stores and restaurants.

Mingalaba Road Trip

This awesome day tour provided by Mingalaba was really good. We didn’t want to worry about transportation and also the destinations were the famous places on the island. I got the full experiences and tried everything to try in Koh Phangan so I highly recommend this tour. This is the order of the tour:

• Thong Nai Pan Beach (beach time)
• Than Sadet Waterfall
• Haad Yao for lunch (Abosulute Island Restaurant, a view point restraurant)
• Mae Haad Beach (snorkeling)
• Three Sixty Bar (sunset and another view point)

The tour includes accommodation pick-up and drop off as well as lunch at a view point restaurant. All for a really good price of 500 THB (~17 USD/ ~22 CAD) per person. Pick-up is around 11 am and estimated return at 17:30 depending on the sunset. The trip gives you additional amenities and equipments are provided. Fresh fruit, cold drinks, life jacket, and snorkel mask.