11 BEST BEACHES ON KOH PHANGAN – The Complete Guide
The beaches on Koh Phangan are absolutely beautiful. White powdered sand, hanging palm trees, fun beach and clifftop bars and calm turquoise water. Sounds like the ultimate paradise right?! We lived for more than 5 months on Koh Phangan and explored every beach on the island for several times. There is a beach for everyone. The more hidden beaches on Koh Phangan for peace seekers, beaches with direct access to luxury resorts, and beaches ideal for families with kids. In this blog post we share with you the 11 best Koh Phangan beaches with practical information about how to get there, what to expect and the facilities on or near the beach. After reading this ultimate Koh Phangan beach guide, you know which of the Koh Phangan beaches are the best for you!
Best Koh Phangan tours
Besides exploring the best beaches in Koh Phangan, it is also a lot of fun to explore the rest of the lush, untouched island. There are many fun tours to book, below are the ones I highly recommend. All of these tours include certified guides and for the adventurous activities also accident insurance. You can reserve now and pay later, with cancellation up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund.
- Private One day road trip around Koh Phangan. Hop in an airconditioned SUV car and explore the most beautiful parts of Koh Phangan in this private 7 hour tour.
- ATV Jungle Safari Tour Koh Phangan. Experience a completely off-road adventure and explore the vibrant jungle and panoramic viewpoints of Koh Phangan.
- 2 hours Jet Ski Safari Tour in Koh Phangan. Go for a speedy adventure in Koh Phangan and explore the beautiful waters and coastline while feeling the rush of adrenaline.
- Koh Phangan 7 hour beach discovery tour. Discover the best and most hidden beaches around Koh Phangan or customize your own program within 7 hours to explore the best of Koh Phangan island.
- Off-road trip tour in a 4×4 truck around Koh Phangan. Explore the mountain jungle and hidden beaches of Koh Phangan during this off road adventure tour in a 4×4 truck.
- One day trip to AngThong Marine park by speedboat including lunch. Explore Ang Thong National Marine Park in a speed boat from Koh Phangan and swim, snorkel and kayak to explore the beautiful National Park.
- Sailing Yacht experience to AngThong Marine Park & Koh Phangan 3 days/2 nights. Sailing, fishing, swimming, kayaking, eating, watching the sunset and much more during this 3 day 2 night sailing yacht tour around AngThong Marine Park.
- PADI Open Water Diver Course in Koh Phangan. Get your PADI Open Water Diver Certification in 3 days. This package includes 4 Open Water Dives, all required learning materials, dive equipment and resort transfers.
11 BEST BEACHES KOH PHANGAN
Bottle beach
Let’s start with one of our favorite beaches, Bottle Beach! This beautiful white sand beach on the Northern part of the island is a true adventure to get to! You have to drive all the way down to the beach off-road, or you can hike your way to the jungle which will take you around 2 hours. Another option is to get a boat from Chaloklum Beach which will bring you to Bottle Beach. Because Atiba is an experienced motorbike driver, we found our way to the beach via the unpaved road with the scooter. But if you’re not a very experienced off road motorbike driver, then you might want to choose the option to go hiking or with the taxi boat. The hike starts at Haad Khom beach and takes you along the beautiful coast and through the lush jungle of Koh Phangan.
A bit further along the east coast you will find Thong Nai Pan Noi beach which is also worth to visit if you’re doing a little beach hopping day.
Once arrived we knew it was so worth the drive to Bottle beach! This place is just incredible, and because it is literally off the beaten path, there are not many people around. A perfect beach for peace seekers to enjoy a relaxing beach day. There is a restaurant where you can order food and drinks, and there is also a toilet available.
Read the complete guide to Bottle Beach here
Leela beach
All the way on the other part of the island in the southern tip, you will find Leela beach. Also known as Haad Seekantang in Thai. To enter this beach you have to go through a resort. You can choose from a few depending on which part of the beach you want to chill. If you enter via Coconut resort you will see the palm tree swing where you can take some nice photos. We entered the beach via “The Cabin” all the way at the end of the beach. There we found an awesome wooden boardwalk along the rocks which provides an amazing view on the ocean and beach.
Read the complete guide to Leela beach here
Haad Yuan beach
Haad Yuan beach in Koh Phangan is one of the beautiful, hidden beaches of Phangan’s east coast. It gives a real paradise feeling, as a ‘postcard perfect’ tropical beach with overhanging palm trees and some of the most clear and turquoise waters of the island. This pristine beach of only 150 meters long is surrounded on both ends by rocky outcrops and lush green jungle. The access to this beach is not easy which is why Haad Yuan is one of the least visited beaches of Koh Phangan. You either have to hike to it, where you’ll pass an amazing viewpoint, or get their by taxi boat. Both have a bit of an adventurous touch to it, but it is totally worth it.
Read everything about hiking to Haad Yuan beach and what to expect in this complete guide
Haad Rin beach
On the other side of Leela beach, you will find Haad Rin beach. This is where it’s all happening! The famous Full Moon party is being held at this beach every month. Just a little tip; don’t go into the water the day(s) after the Full Moon party as it’s generally known that many tourists use the sea as toilet…
With that being said, this beautiful white sand beach is a great place to relax with lots of facilities around. There are many restaurants and shops located in the town of Haad Rin that are just a few minutes walk away from the ocean. The perfect combination of a paradise white sand beach but with all the conveniences close to you.
Haad Mae beach – Koh Ma island
This beach in the north of Koh Phangan has a special form as it’s connected with a beautiful green island called Koh Ma. A perfect place to fly your drone or take some great pictures with the island in the backdrop. You have to enter Mae Haad beach, like many other beaches on Koh Phangan, via a resort and restaurant. There is a swing at the beach and enough shade provided by trees. There is also a restaurant and toilets. You don’t have to pay to park your scooter or to enter the beach.
Read the complete guide to Mae Haad beach and Koh Ma island here
Thong Lang beach
This small and kind of hidden beach is located on the northern part of Koh Phangan in between Koh Ma beach and Chalok Lum beach. It is obvious that this beach is not that developed yet, although there are hammocks and a swing to chill in. There were no restaurants or food stalls around at the time we were there, but this might be different in high season. Really worth it to enjoy the quiet surroundings on this cozy beach!
Chaloklum beach
Located on the northern part of Koh Phangan, Chaloklum beach is less visited than the other Koh Phangan beaches. With cafes and food-stalls located around the bay, Chaloklum Beach is a true paradise for the peace seekers that are looking for a more local vibe. The pristine white sand and relaxing atmosphere makes this definitely one of the best beaches of Koh Phangan. Taxi boats depart from the pier of Chaloklum beach to drop people at Bottle beach if you don’t want to go by motorbike or do the 2-hour hike. There is another beach close to Chalok Lam beach which is also worth checking out. It’s called Malibu beach and is a very pure beach.
Haad Salad beach
Salad beach, also known as Haad Salad, isn’t a busy beach, so it’s the perfect spot for people looking for a more quiet place to relax. This beach also has the perfect white powdered sand and palm trees along the beach which provides some shadow. There are some small resorts along the beach and a few little restaurants. You can even get a massage at this beach if you’d like to!
Secret beach (Haad Son)
This beach is really cool, but not really secret as the name suggests. Via a lush sandy path, you can enter this beautiful white sand beach. The water is, just like all the other beaches on Koh Phangan, extremely blue and the sand extremely soft. There is enough shade provided by trees and also at this beach is a small restaurant where you can order food and drinks. On the right side of the beach is a swing where you will have an amazing view over the rest of the beach. A perfect place to chill for a day!
Read the complete guide to Secret Beach here
Zen beach
This was our favorite beach to watch the sunset while drinking a beer and coconut. This beach is located in the Srithanu village and attracts many people in the afternoon who come just to chill, make some music with drums, watch the sunset and do yoga. It gives a very magical feeling to see people come together while playing music, enjoying the sunset and drinking a beer together. We even saw bioluminescence, a blue luminous organism which only appears in warm calm waters. This made our evenings here extra magical!
Zen beach turns into a magical place during sunset and is during the day a perfect place to relax
Hin Kong beach
Close to Amsterdam Bar Koh Phangan you will find Hin Kong beach all along the road connecting the more busy Thong Sala area with the more laid back Sri Thanu. When we were at Koh Phangan it was most of the time low tide, so we could walk far into ‘the sea’ before we arrived at the water. You can find this beach in between the Seaside cafe and Choco Villa. It’s a long stretch of sand and you can also find the “famous” Hanging Tree along this beach. Just look it up on Google Maps and you will find the exact location.
If you have a drone, it is super cool to take a picture of the sandbank. Have a look at the shot we took at Hin Kong beach sandbank.
More Koh Phangan travel inspiration
We hope you enjoyed this blog post about the best beaches on Koh Phangan Thailand.
For more travel tips about Koh Phangan, head over to these blog posts:
Best things to do in Koh Phangan
Best restaurants in Koh Phangan
Bottle Beach – The Complete Guide
Secret Beach – The complete guide
Leela Beach – The Complete Guide
Mae Haad Beach & Koh Ma island – The Complete Guide
For more travel inspiration to Koh Tao, head over to these blog posts:
Koh Nang Yuan – The Complete Guide
Is your plan to travel to Koh Samui? Then read this blog for all the best things to do in Koh Samui
Thank you for showing us all the different beaches on the island of Koh Phangan! Each of them have a different atmosphere. I like the drone foto of Haad Mae beach the most!
Hi Ilse,
what a beautiful beaches on the island of Koh Phangan, a really tropical Paradise Island !