Koh Phangan Travel and Destination Guide

The Koh Pha Ngan Full Moon Party

One of the world’s best known monthly events and a must-do on the backpacker trail, the Full Moon Party has to be seen to be believed. 

Once a month, the entire beach is inundated with a young, hip crowd. The music is psy-trance and techno biased, but Orchid plays drum’n’bass and Drop-in bar and Cactus Bar spin some more mainstream house hits.

It’s a truly cosmopolitan affair with between 8,000-20,000 revelers from all over the world, and a generally friendly vibe – you may make lots of new friends but whether you remember them in the morning is another question! The copious amounts of alcohol consumed inevitably leads to some accidents and drunken mishaps, and there are also unsavory characters preying on those who get completely smashed. But it has also gone down in many peoples personal history books as the night of their life. With fire dancers, scores of top-notch sound systems lining the beach, and a sea of people dressing up and getting down, it’s a life affirming sight for any self-respecting hedonist.

Some helpful hints below will help you avoid some of the more common pitfalls that can occur, and if you follow these simple measures you can relax and enjoy the party:   
  • DO NOT TAKE VALUABLES Leave passport, wallet, bank cards, phone and camera in your hotel safe and take just the essentials in your pockets or a small over-the shoulder bag
  • DO NOT GO SWIMMING OR WALK BARE FOOT ON THE BEACH The tides can be dangerous, and the beach is strewn with bottles
  • DO NOT GET INTO ROWS WITH THE LOCALS There have been instances of booze-fuelled rows turning nasty. If a disagreement arises, just walk away
  • DO NOT BUY ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES There are plenty of undercover police, and penalties are severe
  • DO NOT let these warnings put you off !! – just keep your wits about you (or a friend with wits about you) and enjoy a fabulous night.  
During the party, if it all gets a bit much, there are a couple of nice chilled places to hang out and recouperate for an hour or two. The Outback Bar near the main pier plays great deep house and has a good menu and well stocked bar. The Mello Mountain, perched on the hill at the far North end of the beach has chill-out tunes, hammocks, cushions, and you can watch the action down below. If you are not completely exhausted by the morning, there is an after party up the hill from the beach called ‘backyard’ which is an eye-popping, end-of-the road affair – good view, good tunes and good fun. They also host 3 parties a week in the newly refurbished club.

Despite Haad Rin now having over 5,000 rooms, Hotels often become completely booked up in the week preceeding the full moon party, so if you plan to stay in Haad Rin, it is advisable to book a couple of weeks in advance. Other options include staying on another beach on the island and taking a long-tail or taxi car to and from the party, or staying on Koh Samui and travelling by speed boat from Big Buddha Beach. Petcharat Marina runs an hourly service throughout the night.

The party beach of Ban Tai, between Thongsala and Haad Rin also hosts a monthly Black Moon Party and the twice-monthly Half Moon parties, which happen a week preceeding and following the main event. Check party sites for Full Moon Party dates, but be aware that these can change at very short notice if there is an election or religious holiday on the same day. 
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