our warm recommendations around the island
Eight kinds of day out, all within reach of Hin Kong. Pick one to see it on the map.
Specialty coffee and brunch · Ban Tai · 9.5 km by road, about 20 minutes via Thong Sala
The original Bubba's, open since 2015 on the south coast. Eggs benedict, shakshuka and homemade sourdough out of a kitchen that has had a decade to get them right, with street-side tables, an air-conditioned room and a garden to choose between. It is the furthest of the three branches from Hin Kong, so make a morning of it rather than a coffee run.
Specialty coffee and brunch · Thong Sala · 5 km by road, about 12 minutes south
The newest Bubba's, a few minutes from the Thong Sala pier, which makes it the obvious stop on a ferry day whether you are arriving or leaving. Same 7am opening, same brunch of eggs, sourdough and properly pulled espresso, in the middle of the island's main town. Worth combining with whatever else you need to do in Thong Sala, since almost everything on the island is there.
Coffee roastery and brunch · Haad Yao · 4 km by road, about 10 minutes north on the coast road
This is where Bubba's roasts, mostly Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Tak beans with some Central American and African lots, and the cafe sits right in front of the machine. The all-day brunch is the same as the other branches, with the smell of roasting behind it. It is directly across the road from the Haad Yao 7-Eleven, so it is easy to find and easy to park at.
Thai breakfast cafe · Wok Tum (Middle Road) · 2 km by road, about 5 minutes on a scooter
Thai breakfast rather than the avocado-toast kind: rice soup with egg, fish or minced pork, steamed dumplings and shrimp, noodles, and a plate of greens, priced the way locals pay. It sits on the inland middle road a few minutes east of Hin Kong, plain-fronted enough that you can ride straight past it. Mornings are when the kitchen is at its best.
All-day beachfront bistro · Hin Kong · 200 m, a 3 min walk south along the sand
The nearest beach kitchen to the villas, a couple of minutes south along the sand. Kik and Kla run it as a pair - he cooks Thai and Asian-fusion plates, she does the desserts and the cocktails - and it opens early enough for coffee and French toast before turning into a sunset dinner spot. It is closed on Wednesdays.
One-woman Thai kitchen · Srithanu · about 2 km, 5 min by scooter
Pear cooks, takes the orders and clears the tables herself, so nothing arrives quickly and the portions are enormous. The papaya salad and the panang curry are what regulars come back for, and she will leave the egg out of the pad thai without being asked twice. She opens around midday and closes in the early evening, and it is cash only.
Wood-fired Italian · Hin Kong · 270 m, a 4 min walk south along the sand
Neapolitan-style pizza from a wood-fired oven built of volcanic rock, plus fresh pasta, served on a terrace that opens straight onto Hin Kong sand. Dinner only, from around half past five, and the west-facing tables go first because the sun drops into the sea directly in front of them. Gluten-free pasta is on the menu, and the kitchen is closed on Wednesdays.
Open-air Thai kitchen · Hin Kong · 800 m, 3 min drive or a 10 min walk inland
Ton Sai is the Thai word for banyan, and the restaurant is an open-sided room sitting in the greenery on the inland road behind the beach. The kitchen runs a long Thai menu at village prices, and the dishes people order again are tom yum, the papaya salad rolls, pineapple fried rice and mango sticky rice. It opens in the afternoon and runs late, and it is closed on Saturdays.
Tapas and cocktail bar · Hin Kong · 700 m, about a 10 minute walk south along the beach road
Charlie's opens at five, which is about when the Hin Kong sunset starts doing its thing. Tapas and cocktails come out in the bar and lounge, while the restaurant behind runs a blackboard menu of larger plates that changes with what came in that day. The barman knows his spirits, and the wine cellar sells bottles to take away at a discount if you would rather drink yours back at the villa.
Beach bar and restaurant · Haad Yao · 4.5 km north, about 12 minutes by scooter on the west coast road
Coco Locco is built into the front of TropiCoco Beach Resort on Haad Yao, so you can drink upstairs with the whole bay laid out in front of you or take the steps down and eat with your feet in the sand. The kitchen covers tapas, Thai and Western plates and a long list of Italian pizzas, and the bar does a buy-one-get-one happy hour on its hundred-baht drinks. There is a saltwater pool alongside if you want to turn it into a whole afternoon rather than just a sunset.
French beach bistro and bar · Hin Kong · 300 m, about a 5 minute walk south along the beach
Two French hosts run this bistro straight onto Hin Kong sand, five minutes down the beach from us. The kitchen swings between French plates and Thai ones, and the cellar holds over sixty wines by the bottle with a good spread available by the glass. On Friday and Sunday nights the music turns into a full show with dancers and fire, going until around eleven.
Closed Mondays. Live musicians play at sunset most nights, but the singers, dancers and fire show only run Friday and Sunday evenings, from about 9pm.
Monthly full-moon beach party · Haad Rin · 17 km, 35-45 min by road over the steep Haad Rin hill; party-night boats also run from Thong Sala and Ban Tai
Once a month, on the night of the full moon, the sand at Haad Rin Nok disappears under sound systems set end to end and a crowd running into the tens of thousands. It builds after dark and keeps going until roughly six in the morning, when the beach thins out to buckets and stragglers watching the sun come up. Wear shoes, keep your phone somewhere safe, and give the fire skipping ropes a wide berth.
Every month year-round, though the date occasionally shifts a night around Buddhist holidays, and December to February is by far the busiest.
Jungle rave, three stages · Ban Tai (inland jungle) · 10 km, about 20 min by road, the last stretch on an unlit inland track
Twice a lunar month, roughly a week either side of the full moon, a clearing about two kilometres inland from Ban Tai opens as the Magical Forest: three stages under the trees running psytrance, tech house and hip-hop from around 9:30pm to sunrise. Tickets are meaningfully cheaper online than at the gate, and taxis wait outside until the music stops. It is a real forest floor, so wear something you don't mind ruining.
Runs twice a lunar month year-round; heavy rain in the October to December monsoon turns the forest floor to mud.
Beach club day party · Ban Tai · 9 km, about 15-20 min by road along the south coast
The Half Moon weekend now opens here the afternoon before the jungle night - an infinity pool over the water at Ban Tai, deep house and melodic techno, doors at 2pm and music until midnight. It sells as its own ticket, so you can do the day party and skip the forest, or string the two together. On ordinary days it is just a beach club, calm enough for a long lunch.
Only a Half Moon venue on festival weekends; the rest of the month it operates as a normal daytime beach club.
Sunset beach club · Haad Rin (sunset side) · 15 km, about 30 min by road, most of it the Thong Sala to Haad Rin route
Merkaba faces west across the water, so the sun sets straight in front of the deck, which is the reason to arrive by late afternoon rather than after dark. Beach Bums sessions run most weekends from around 1pm and carry on well past sunset, and the club also programmes psytrance nights on the two-storey floor beside the pool. It traded as Samsara for years, and plenty of taxi drivers still know it by that name.
The sunset is the whole draw, so it is worth checking the sky in the October to December rainy months.
Jungle party, four stages · Ban Tai (inland jungle) · 14 km, about 25-30 min by road; the venue's own pickup runs the last stretch in from the gate
Two nights a lunar month - two days before and two days after the Full Moon Party - this patch of jungle above Ban Tai becomes four stages built around boulders, a shallow stream and a natural swimming pool. Music runs from about 9pm to six in the morning: house and techno on one stage, psytrance on another, hip-hop, reggae and afrobeats on the rest, with fire shows between sets. A free pickup shuttles people in from the entrance, or it is a five-minute walk through the trees.
Runs year-round on the full-moon cycle; the stream and pool are at their fullest in the October to December wet season, when the paths also get slippery.
Boat-access bay · North coast, east of Chaloklum · No road access. 9 km / about 20 min to Chaloklum, then a 15 min longtail boat
A wide north-facing bay with no proper road to it, which is most of why it still feels the way it does. Longtail boats run over from Chaloklum in about fifteen minutes, or you can walk the rough jungle trail from Haad Khom in one to two hours. There are a few bungalow operations and beach kitchens, no shops and no ATMs, and the last boat back leaves around 5pm, so the day has to be planned around it.
Boats stop running when the north swell comes up, mainly November to January. Ask in Chaloklum before committing to the trip, because getting stranded is a real possibility.
Snorkelling beach · Chaloklum · 11 km, about 25 min by scooter
A short curve of sand on the eastern side of Chaloklum Bay, backed by coconut palms with a couple of low-key bungalow restaurants behind it. The reef sits close enough to shore that you are over living coral about a minute after you put your face in the water. The road down from Chaloklum is steep and rough, so most people park at the top and walk the last two minutes.
Snorkelling is best from December to March, when the bay is calm and clear. It can be churned up and murky during the November monsoon.
Full Moon Party beach · Haad Rin · 16 km, about 35 min by scooter
Roughly 800 metres of pale sand on the island's southern tip, and the beach the Full Moon Party has been held on since the 1980s. On every other night of the month it is an ordinary swimming beach with bars, tattoo shops and cheap food along the back, and the swimming is genuinely good. Come at sunrise and you will more or less have it; come on the full moon and you will share it with tens of thousands of people.
One party a month, on or near the full moon. Rooms across the whole south of the island get scarce and expensive for two or three days around it, so book well ahead or plan to be elsewhere.
Quiet sunset beach · Haad Rin · 17 km, about 40 min by scooter, then a 10 min walk from Haad Rin
Around the southern point from Haad Rin, ten to fifteen minutes on foot and a completely different mood once you get there. Shallow clear water, granite boulders closing off each end, and Koh Samui sitting on the horizon as the light goes. A few resorts along the back serve food and drinks, but there is no through road and nothing much happens after dark.
Busiest in the two or three days either side of the Full Moon Party, when Haad Rin overflows and people walk over here to escape it.
Sandbar and snorkelling · Mae Haad, north-west coast · 8 km, about 20 min by scooter
At the north-west corner of the island a sandbar runs out from Mae Haad beach to Koh Ma, a small rocky islet sitting inside a protected marine zone. At low tide you can walk across it; at high tide you swim, and the coral off the far side is the best snorkelling on Koh Phangan. Bring your own mask, and reef shoes if you intend to walk out.
The sandbar only surfaces at low tide, so check a tide table before you go. Snorkelling visibility is best roughly February to September, and the corals sit awkwardly shallow at the bottom of the tide.
West-facing sunset cove · Haad Son · 4 km, about 10 min by scooter
A crescent of about a hundred metres of sand between two headlands, with Koh Raham's rock-terrace bar on the point above it. The water is calm and clear and the cove faces due west, so the sun drops straight in front of you rather than off to one side. The track down is steep and loose in places — take it slowly on a scooter, or come by taxi if you plan to stay for sunset drinks.
The access track gets slippery after rain, and it is a genuinely awkward climb back up in the dark.
Calm swimming beach · Srithanu · 2.5 km, about 7 min by scooter
The shallow bay below Srithanu village, where the water stays waist-deep a long way out and the sand is soft rather than coarse. It is the easiest swim on this stretch of coast and an uncomplicated place to sit out a sunset, with beachfront kitchens serving food all afternoon. Srithanu village behind it is the yoga and vegan end of the island, so it is an easy half-day rather than a single stop.
Very shallow at low tide — worth checking the tide if you want a proper swim rather than a wade.
National park river beach · Than Sadet, east coast · 20 km, about 45 min each way over the mountain road
A river-mouth beach on the wild east coast, inside Than Sadet–Ko Pha-Ngan National Park. Thai kings carved their initials into the boulders in the stream behind it over more than a century, and the stream still runs down across the sand to the sea. Getting there means a steep, twisting mountain road in both directions, so it is a full day out rather than an afternoon.
The stream and the waterfalls behind the beach run hardest from October to January. The mountain road turns slippery after heavy rain, and there is a 100 baht national park fee at the gate.
Sunset drum-circle beach · Srithanu · 2.5 km, about 7 min by scooter
A narrow strip of sand just north of Srithanu beach, reached along the rocks or through the trees rather than by any obvious road. People start turning up in the late afternoon with drums, guitars and fire staffs, and by sunset there is usually a circle going. No sunbeds, no vendors and patchy shade, so bring a sarong and your own water.
The sunset gatherings run year-round but thin right out during the November and December rains.
Small jungle waterfall · Ban Madeua Wan, island interior · about 6 km, 15 min by scooter to the trailhead, then a walk in on foot
A small fall on the stream that runs off Khao Ra, the highest hill on the island, reached on foot from the tracks that start inland at Ban Madeua Wan. It sees far fewer people than the national park waterfalls, partly because nothing is signposted and the path is easy to lose after rain. Wear shoes with grip and carry more water than feels necessary.
Only worth the walk during or shortly after the rainy season, roughly October to January. It is usually dry from March through July.
Jungle pool, rope swing · Chaloklum · about 9 km, 20-25 min by scooter, with a steep rutted 500 m track at the end
The turn off the Chaloklum road is signed, but the last five hundred metres is a steep rutted track and plenty of people leave the bike at the bottom and walk. What waits is a broad jungle pool with a rope swing over it, and the waterfall proper about forty minutes further up the path. Thirty baht at the gate.
Needs recent rain. Dependable from about October to January; by the late dry season the pool goes still and shallow.
National park waterfall · Phaeng, central island · about 7 km, 15-20 min by scooter
The first waterfall inside the national park gate, about fifty metres from the car park, so you can be standing under it a minute after taking your helmet off. The pool at the base is shallow and cold, and the path keeps climbing from here to Phaeng Yai and on to the Domsila viewpoint if you have the legs for it. There is no entry fee.
Best during or just after the rainy season, roughly October to January. From March to July it often runs dry.
Roadside jungle pools · Than Sadet, east coast · about 19 km, 45-60 min by scooter
The easiest of the Than Sadet waterfalls to reach - park across the road and walk a minute down the steps into the trees. Water slides between huge granite boulders into a chain of pools deep enough to sit in, and you can scramble upstream to find quieter ones. The rocks stay slippery even in full sun, so take it slowly.
Best from October to January, during and just after the rains. From March to July the pools drop and the falls can slow to a trickle.
Royal river cascades · Than Sadet, east coast · about 18 km, 45-60 min by scooter; the last descent into the valley is steep
The river here drops through a three kilometre run of falls and pools that King Rama V came back to often enough, between 1888 and 1909, to leave his initials carved in the boulders. It is the most reliable water on the island, and the walk upstream from the road rewards anyone happy to pick a line over wet rock. The road down into the valley is steep enough that a nervous scooter rider should think twice.
Holds water longer than most falls on the island, but still at its best during or shortly after the rainy season, roughly October to January.
Rocky waterfall park · Mae Haad · about 9 km, 20-25 min up the west coast road
A ten minute walk down through palms and jungle from the Mae Haad road brings you to a wide rocky basin where the water spills over flat granite into a series of pools. It is one of the quieter waterfalls on this side of the island and the fifty baht entry keeps the numbers down. Mae Haad beach and the Koh Ma sandbar are two minutes further along the road.
Best from August to January, during and just after the rains. It largely dries up from late March onward.
Jungle trail to beach · Haad Khom, Chaloklum · About 11 km, 30 min by scooter
Two routes leave the same parking spot at the end of the paved road past Coconut Beach. The jungle path is about 2 km with 250 m of climbing and takes an hour and a half, marked in blue and yellow; the coastal path is longer and rockier at two to three hours, and pays for it with sea views. Bottle Beach has no road in at all, which is why it stays quiet, and taxi boats run back to Chaloklum roughly hourly for 150 baht.
October to December rain turns the clay to mud and the coastal route becomes genuinely unpleasant. The taxi boats back also stop in rough seas, so check before you commit to walking one way.
Coastal jungle trail · Haad Rin · About 16 km, 40 min by scooter
Roughly 3.5 km one way, with most of the 300 m of climbing crammed into the first twenty minutes above the houses behind Palita Lodge. After that the path levels into shaded jungle that opens now and then onto the water, then finishes on a rickety timber walkway down onto the sand at Haad Yuan. Allow two hours, wear shoes with grip, and take the longtail taxi boat back rather than walking it twice.
Walkable year round, but the steep clay sections get slick after rain and the taxi boat back stops running when the sea is choppy. October to December is the worst of it.
Jungle summit climb · Central interior, off the Thong Sala to Chaloklum road · About 6 km, 15-20 min by scooter
At 627 m this is the highest ground on Koh Phangan, and the path to it starts on private land behind Khao Ra Bungalows where a 40 baht trail fee is collected. Reckon on two hours up and one back down over about 500 vertical metres, steep and rooted most of the way, with the jungle closing in overhead. The reward is a set of summit boulders you scramble onto to see both coasts at once.
January to May is the reliable window. Monsoon rain from October to December leaves the rooty sections greasy and usually puts cloud over the summit, which is the whole point of going up.
West coast sunset viewpoint · Hillside above Wok Tum, west coast · About 3 km from Hin Kong, 8 minutes by scooter
A terraced bar cut into the hill above Wok Tum, and the simplest place on the island to watch the sun drop over the whole west coast, with the twin islets of Koh Tae Nai and Koh Tae Nok in the foreground. There is a pool and a kitchen, but the top deck is what people come for. On a clear evening the good tables go from about half past four.
Open daily from midday until late. Entry is reported at 100 baht, worth confirming on arrival. Arrive by 16:30 or 17:00 to get a seat before sunset; the last stretch of road up is steep.
Fishing village night market · Chaloklum, north coast · About 9 km from Hin Kong, 18 minutes by scooter
Chaloklum is still a working fishing harbour, and on Sunday evenings the lane behind the pier closes to traffic for grilled seafood straight off the boats, home cooking, and work by island artists and makers. It draws more residents than visitors, with live music and room for children to run about. Come before sunset, because the light over the bay is half the reason to be there.
Sundays only, roughly 17:00 to 21:00, and it runs year-round. Busiest and best stocked December to March. Free entry.
Hilltop Chinese temple · Central island, on the Thong Sala–Chaloklum road · About 6.5 km from Hin Kong, 15 minutes by scooter
A cluster of tiled shrine halls climbing a hillside off the Chaloklum road, begun in 1992 after a local woman dreamt that the goddess of mercy wanted a beacon built for the island's fishermen. The central hall holds a thousand-armed Guanyin, and the upper terraces open out over jungle to Chaloklum Bay, with Koh Tao on the horizon on a clear day. The turning is easy to ride straight past, so watch for the Goddess of Mercy Shrine sign.
Daily, roughly 08:00 to 17:00, 40 baht entry. Cover shoulders and knees. The access road up from the highway is short but steep, and the highway itself is fast, so take the turn slowly.
Village wellness food market · Srithanu, west coast · About 1.5 km from Hin Kong, 5 minutes by scooter
The closest market to the villas, in the village that anchors Phangan's yoga and wellness scene. Alongside the usual Thai grills you get raw cakes, vegan curries, kombucha and cold-pressed juice, and the crowd is a mix of long-stay teachers, local families and people wandering up from the beach. It is small enough to walk end to end in ten minutes and good enough to eat at twice a week.
Daily from around 17:00 to 21:30. Fewer stalls and a quieter feel in the low season, roughly June to October.
Nightly street food market · Thong Sala, south-west port town · About 5 km from Hin Kong, 12 minutes by scooter
The island's main food market, a block back from the ferry pier, where the grills and woks come alive in the late afternoon. Pad thai cooked to order, grilled squid, som tam, roti and mango sticky rice sit alongside stalls of fruit shakes, clothes and jewellery. Locals and long-stayers outnumber holidaymakers here, and the queues are shortest before seven.
Food stalls run daily from around 16:00 until 22:00, busiest between 19:00 and 21:00. On Saturdays the market expands into the Walking Street along Talad Kao, the old Chinese Street, from about 16:00 to 22:00, with craft, art and clothing vendors added.
Hillside meditation temple · Forested hills above Ban Tai, south coast · About 9 km from Hin Kong, 20 minutes by scooter
A short, steep walk up from the parking area brings you to a reclining Buddha, scattered chedis, a Buddha footprint and a terrace that looks clear across the south coast to Koh Samui. It is a working monastery that has run ten-day silent retreats since the 1980s rather than a ticketed attraction, so the mood is unhurried and the grounds are meant to stay quiet. Late afternoon gives you the best light and a cooler climb.
Free, daylight hours. Cover shoulders and knees. Silent retreats occupy much of each month, commonly around the 10th to the 20th and again late in the month, and during a course parts of the grounds are closed and visitors should keep silent.
Temple herbal steam sauna · Ban Tai, south coast · About 11 km from Hin Kong, 22 minutes by scooter
The abbot of this village temple built a herbal steam sauna in the grounds in the early 2000s and it has run ever since: lemongrass and other herbs boiled over a wood fire, the steam piped into two tiled rooms, one for men and one for women. You sit, sweat, cool off in the garden, and go back in. Thai massage is available afterwards under the trees, and it costs very little.
Usually open Monday to Saturday from around midday, roughly 120 baht. Hours shift with the season and it can close on Sundays and temple holidays, so check before riding over. Cover shoulders and knees while in the temple grounds.
Island's oldest temple · Inland hills east of Thong Sala · About 3.5 km from Hin Kong, 10 minutes by scooter
Phangan's oldest temple, on a wooded rise above Thong Sala, where a whitewashed chedi stands ringed by eight smaller ones on a twelve-sided base. Look for the upturned ceramic bowls set into the old walls, a detail none of the island's other temples share. Monks still live and meditate here, so mornings are quiet and the whole visit takes about twenty minutes.
Open during daylight hours, free entry. Cover shoulders and knees, take off shoes and hat before entering the buildings, and keep your voice down near anyone meditating.
Every recommendation here is one we make to guests in person. Please kindly ask reception for any booking or special request.