Koh Phangan travel blog — The fullest Koh Phangan travel guide & Koh Phangan itinerary 3 days for first-timers

So according to the schedule, in the afternoon of the first day of the trip, we dragged each other around the island to check in the most beautiful corners. We explored the super beautiful beaches of Koh Phangan to take photos where a lot of our fantastic moments were captured. These photos have attracted quite many likes from our friends.

Some beautiful beaches to note are:

Bottle Beach: This beach is amazingly green with white sand and many sailboats. Just like in those calendar pictures.

Haad Salad: There are a lot of hammocks and coastal palm trees. This beach is less visited and should be wild and quiet. Come here and lie on a hammock while thinking about life. Sounds pretty cool for me.

Haad Rin: Not to mention this beach is the most famous one on the island. This place is where the Full Moon Party festival takes place, which attracts tourists from all over the island to come here. This is home to bars and restaurants so you should expect to see a huge crowd here. The drinkers also gather in this area, so you beautiful girls should be aware when walking on this beach at night.

Haad Yao: Plan your schedule to come to this beach for sunset watch is the best. Haad Yao was voted as the most romantic beach on the island. Admire the sea view and turn up a love song to sing along just like in a romantic novel. Whoever has a crush should come here to confess his love.

Evening: Culinary and party culture

After walking along the beach, your stomach must have been craving for food. So, let’s come to Thong Sala Night Market. Available at the market are regular and affordable Thai foods: Pad Thai, papaya salad, porridge, fruit cake, smoothies, coconut cream and so on. We recommend that you try mushroom smoothies “only on Koh Phangan”!

Or you can stop by Haad Rin area where restaurants and eateries run along the coast. With a tight budget, common local eateries are good enough; if you want to try something more special, visit a fancy restaurant. In addition, there are also street vendors on the beach in case you want to chew something during your walk. A lot of fresh seafood dishes are prepared for visitors, and if possible, try the perch fish with a bottle of beer.

* Tips: On Koh Phangan island, most of Belgian famous beers are available for you to try.

Remember to throw your trash in the dumpsters.

At night, you should go to a beachside bar, listen to music, and make friends with visitors from all over the world. Nothing much, buying a bottle of chilled beer is enough to blend into the lively atmosphere here. Plus, the staff in Koh Phangan bars are very polite, courteous and hospitable. Thus, the party should be exciting until midnight.

Koh Phangan itinerary: Day 2 (#koh phangan travel blog)

Morning – afternoon: Go for a swim and experience water games

Well, getting up at dawn when traveling is an extremely difficult challenge. It seems that everyone is determined to “get up early tomorrow to welcome a new day” and the result is having brunch is always awesome, right? Me too!

Therefore, our second day started a little late because last night we had a little too much to drink, so we stayed in until 9 before we finally arrived at the beach!

This is the main part of our island trip: swimming! It’s undeniably the pearl of Thailand, the sea here is beautiful and charming. Clear turquoise water, white sandy beach without a piece of trash, cool breeze blowing through your skin and shady green palm trees running along the coast make an incredible impression. A dreamy background for people to take amazing photos.

There are different features for each beach: Haad Rin is vibrant and bustling while Hat Yuan and Hat Thian are quieter and more peaceful. Whichever you prefer, just head straight to that beach.

Something to note: Wear your bikini. You know what, Koh Phangan welcomes year-round Western visitors so everyone wears their bikinis wandering around the island. Remember that in Koh Phangan, everyone is beautiful. Don’t worry if you are not in your best fit. Feel free to show off your body! (Actually, if you’re wearing something not bikini to walk on the beach, it will be quite strange. Then, don’t question why everyone keeps looking at you.)

Another activity that attracts tourists to this island is water games. Adventurous and relaxing games are always available to try at all times. The most popular one is scuba diving, which is a great way to admire the ocean with a variety of beautiful corals and fish under the water.

Besides, you may try kayaking, surfing, fishing and so on. People coming to the islands of Thailand mainly because they want to try these water sports there, you should also experience them. You will love them for sure.

Evening: Go wild with the Full Moon Party

My favorite part of the 3-day trip to Koh Phangan is the Full Moon Party. As its name suggests, the Full Moon Party is a banquet that takes place on the full moon day at the busiest Haad Rin beach of this beautiful island of Koh Phangan. This is not a traditional festival of indigenous people, nor is it a meeting for international visitors but it is a party for the youth when coming to this island.

Taking part in this party, you will enjoy awesome EDM hits while burning yourself with extremely unique and dramatic fire dance performances throughout the night. And the most exciting part is to use luminous paint to decorate yourself similar to the Color Me Run activity. To make it straight, it’s super dirty but fun at the same time.

And yet, everyone would drink, enjoy the food and talk through the night as if they knew each other from previous lives. Just keep going like that until late night.

In 2019 the festival will take place on January 20, February 20, March 20, April 19, May 19, June 17, July 18, August 15, September 13, October 14, November 11, and December 11. So you have to plan your schedule to attend the Full Moon Party on the right day.

Koh Phangan itinerary: Day 3

Morning: Conquer the wild nature

You must be chilling hard last night, so the next morning should be rather relaxing. In Koh Phangan in addition to swimming and water games, you can visit the natural gardens where lush greenery and butterflies cover the sky, Ann Thong Geopark or beautiful poetic natural waterfalls.

Great waterfalls include Nam Tok Than Sadet and Nam Tok Phaeng. Remember to wear shoes that have good grip or the road will be really slippery and dangerous.

Afternoon: Visit sacred temples on the island

If you are interested in spiritual life and want to spend some time on a religious site during the island trip, the afternoon can be spent to visit the temples of Koh Phangan. Of course, on the land of the golden pagoda, there are pagodas everywhere.

The most famous is Guanyin. Besides, Wat Khao Tham, Wat Phu Khao Noi, Wat Samai Kongkha and Wat Pho attract a lot of tourists.

The pagodas and temples here seem majestic and somewhat mysterious, so whether you come here to pray for peace or just visit as a tourist, you still need to keep an attitude for discipline and show your respect.

Evening: Visit the market for gifts and souvenirs

The best place to buy Thai gifts in Koh Phangan that you should pay a visit is Thong Sala Market, which sells clothes, fabric, jewelry, food and so on for an affordable price. Well, on the island, the most popular tourist attraction is the sea so there are no luxurious shopping centers for you to hunt for expensive stuff.

Koh Phangan is indeed an ideal place to take oneself away on a vacation. If you have a chance to go to Thailand, remember to explore this island. It’s worth your time and money.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Koh Phangan you can refer to

• Koh Phangan Day Tour by Junk Boat
• Koh Phangan Day Tour by Speedboat
• Koh Pha Ngan (Mingalaba) Road Trip
• Ferry & Bus Ticket between Bangkok and Koh Pha Ngan by Lomprayah
• Ferry Ticket between Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui (Nathon Pier/Pralarn Pier) by Lomprayah
• Ferry Ticket between Koh Samui (Nathon Pier/Pralarn Pier) and Koh Pha Ngan by Lomprayah
• Lomprayah Ferry Ticket (One Way) between Phuket and Koh Phangan
  Koh Phangan One Way Ferry Ticket to Koh Tao
• Ferry Ticket between Chumphon (Thung Makham Noi Pier) and Koh Pha Ngan by Lomprayah
• [SALE] 4G Sim Card (Thailand Pick Up) for Thailand
• 4G SIM Card (BKK Airport Pick Up) for Thailand (Unlimited Data)
• 4G Pocket WiFi (Bangkok and Phuket Airports Pick Up) for Thailand
• 4G Portable WiFi for Thailand from Uroaming (Unlimited Data)

Are you looking for more Thailand travel guide and top things to do in Thailand: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Thailand travel blog — The fullest Thailand travel guide for a budget trip to Thailand for the first-timers.