Koh Phangan is one of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand that hosts the famous Full Moon Parties. The best way to get there is to fly into Koh Samui and then take a ferry to Koh Phangan. Expect to meet people from all over the world here who are looking to meet new friends and have a good time. The beaches are beautiful and so are the people!
Accommodations
Stay at The Dancing Elephant Hostel. Had the most amazing time staying here! All the people staying there are very social and fun, and the staff was extremely friendly and could not have been better. Don’t get your own private room, just stay in the dorm rooms. It is dramatically cheaper to stay in the dorm rooms and, to be honest, we really wish we stayed in the dorm rooms rather than paid a whole lot extra to have our own private room and bathroom. The room was definitely not even close to worth what we paid for and it was down the street from the dorms and where everyone hung out. The Dancing Elephant is minutes from amazing restaurants and about a five-minute walk from the beach. Hands down the best hostel I’ve ever stayed at!
Food
My Friend – By far everyone’s favorite restaurant in Koh Phangan. The staff at our hostel recommended it and it just so happened to be a one minute walk from our hostel, too. We ate there for almost every meal and absolutely everything was amazing! Their yellow curry and pineapple curry were great, as well as their tom kha gai. I also really enjoyed their vegetable glass noodle soup (great for some revival after all of the buckets you’ll be drinking there). Don’t even get me started on their pad thai and mango and sticky rice…..SO GOOD!
Monalisa – Owned by an Italian and, let me tell you, the pizza tasted like we were in Rome! I went there two nights in a row and ordered the same exact thing….margherita pizza. They even have that spicy olive oil to compliment the pizza (not that it needed it!).
Mama Schnitzel – I only went here once, but this is the place that got me hooked on the vegetable glass noodle soup. Seriously so amazing, but be warned that your breathe will wreak of garlic after. Don’t worry, just drink a couple buckets after (or before) and the garlic won’t even phase you….or someone else!
Nightlife
Let’s be real, the only reason you’re going to Koh Phangan is for the partying. And by partying, obviously I mean the Full Moon Party. Unfortunately, there was no full moon party for the month of July (when I went), but I still got to go to a half moon party. It was definitely a night for the books. I somehow managed to stay up past sunrise until 7:30AM. The party doesn’t start till midnight and is in the middle of the jungle. The full moon party is located on the beach and has about 40,000 people. There is literally no room to move there and if you want to even attempt to move you have to walk waist deep in the ocean to get around people (as told by the lovely staff at The Dancing Elephant). What to wear to a full moon party: closed toed shoes (unless you want to step on glass). Don’t worry girls, everyone wears their nikes and it’s so packed with people that no one can even see your feet anyways. We bought shirts and shorts on the island, since there’s a good chance paint will end up getting on your clothes. Speaking of paint, get artistic and make some cool designs on your skin with the neon paint that looks awesome in the black light. Drink a ton of water during the day so you have a chance at lasting past sunrise and don’t even think about drinking before 7:00PM. We started drinking at 8:00 and drank one bucket, then went and ate pizza at Monalisa at 9:00, then went back to the buckets. If you can’t make it to a full moon party, don’t even worry there is plenty of nightlife that won’t disappoint! Every single night at Haad Rin beach there are parties….Every. Single. Night. There are games to play, fire jump roping, and plenty of entertainment. Honestly, I had just as much fun at Haad Rin Beach as I did at the half moon party!
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