Sand Between Your Toes at 3 AM
The bass hits you before you see it. Walking down the hill toward Haad Rin, somewhere around 10 PM, the music reaches you in layers — a deep thump from the main stage, something more melodic drifting from further down the beach, and the occasional whistle cutting through everything. The crescent bay below is already glowing in patches of neon green and UV purple.
The Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan has been running since 1985, when a small group of travelers threw a party on the beach under the full moon. That origin story gets repeated a lot, and honestly the details vary depending on who’s telling it. What’s less debatable: the thing grew. Now it pulls anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 people per month, depending on the season. Peak months — December through February, plus July and August — pack the beach wall to wall.
The Beach at Night
The party officially runs from sunset until 6 AM. In practice, people start drifting in around 9 or 10 PM and the real energy doesn’t build until midnight.
The setup is roughly the same each month: a string of sound stages along the beach, each playing a different genre. House and techno dominate the biggest stages, but you’ll also find drum and bass, reggae, hip-hop, and the inevitable stage playing 2010s pop remixes that somehow always has the biggest crowd. Fire dancers work the spaces between stages — some genuinely skilled, others clearly learning on the job.
Neon body paint is the thing. UV paint stations line the road leading down to the beach, and by midnight most people are covered in it. Under the blacklights near the stages, the effect is genuinely impressive. The paint washes off in the ocean, which is both convenient and slightly concerning from an environmental standpoint.
Then there are the buckets. Thailand’s signature party drink: a small plastic bucket filled with a spirit (usually Thai whiskey or vodka), a mixer, and a Red Bull. They’re cheap — maybe 200-300 baht — and stronger than they taste. This is where most first-timers get into trouble. Pace yourself.
Getting There Without the Headache
Koh Phangan is in the Gulf of Thailand, and there’s no airport on the island. Two options:
Via Koh Samui (faster, pricier): Fly into Samui airport (USM), then take a ferry from either Big Buddha Pier or Nathon Pier. The crossing takes 30-45 minutes. Bangkok Airways has a near-monopoly on Samui flights, so prices run higher than you’d expect.
Via Surat Thani (cheaper, longer): Fly into Surat Thani (URT) on a budget carrier — AirAsia and Nok Air both cover this route. From there, it’s a bus to Donsak Pier and then a ferry, roughly 2-3 hours total. Combined tickets are available but the timing can be tight.
Either way, book ferries for the day before the party. The morning-of ferries are packed and sometimes oversold. Coming back the day after is equally chaotic.
For booking flights and the bus-ferry combo, I’ve found Trip.com useful for comparing prices across carriers. Not always the cheapest, but the interface shows most of the regional options in one place.
Where You Sleep Matters More Than You Think
Accommodation strategy is probably the most underrated part of Full Moon Party planning.
Haad Rin is the obvious choice — you’re right on the beach and can stumble back to your room at any point. The downside: it’s loud, it’s expensive around party dates, and the guesthouses closest to the beach are basic at best. Some of them charge three or four times their normal rate for Full Moon nights.
Baan Tai is about 20 minutes by songthaew (shared pickup truck) from Haad Rin. Much quieter, better value, and you can still get transport to and from the party. This is what most repeat visitors do.
Thong Sala is the island’s main town, with the most dining options and the main pier. Further from the party — maybe 30 minutes — but if you’re spending several days on the island, it’s the most practical base.
Whatever you choose, book early. Like, weeks early. Agoda has the widest selection of Koh Phangan listings I’ve seen, including the smaller guesthouses that don’t show up on every platform. During peak season some places require a minimum two or three night stay.
The Stuff Nobody Mentions in the Brochure
The entry fee is 200 baht (about $6 USD). You pay at a checkpoint on the way down to the beach. The money goes toward cleanup — and the beach genuinely needs it the morning after.
Shoes: wear closed-toe shoes you’re willing to throw away. Not sneakers you care about. The beach gets littered with broken glass by the early hours. I’ve seen people in flip-flops step on something and that’s a hospital trip that ruins the rest of the vacation.
Phone signal dies around midnight. Thirty thousand people in one bay, all on their phones — the cell towers can’t handle it. Agree on a meeting point with your group before you go in. The 7-Eleven at the top of the hill works because everyone knows where it is.
Pickpocketing happens. Not more than any other crowded event, but it happens. Waterproof pouch, minimal cash, leave your passport at the hotel. Some people bring a cheap burner phone instead of their main one.
The buckets are genuinely dangerous if you’re not careful. It’s easy to lose track of how much you’ve had because they taste like fruit punch. Drink water between rounds. The street food stalls along the road to Haad Rin are great — pad thai, grilled chicken skewers, mango sticky rice — and eating something substantial makes a real difference.
Recovery Days
Nobody does anything productive the day after Full Moon. That’s fine. Koh Phangan has enough to fill three or four recovery days easily.
Bottle Beach is the one everyone recommends and it deserves it. Getting there requires either a longtail boat from Chaloklum (about 15 minutes, 100-200 baht per person) or a jungle hike that takes 45 minutes and is marked with bottles tied to trees — hence the name. The beach itself is gorgeous: clear water, almost no development, a couple of basic restaurants.
Than Sadet Waterfall is worth the drive if it’s been raining recently. During dry season the falls shrink to a trickle, so manage your expectations. The national park entrance is 100 baht for foreigners.
Wat Phu Khao Noi is a small temple on a hill with views across the island. Quiet, uncrowded, and a nice counterpoint to the chaos of Haad Rin.
For organized day trips — Ang Thong Marine Park snorkeling, kayaking tours, that kind of thing — KLOOK has most of the options. Not the cheapest if you book through them versus haggling at a travel agent in Thong Sala, but you get confirmed bookings and cancellation policies, which is worth something when your plans are still recovering from the night before.
2026 Dates
The Full Moon Party runs monthly, scheduled on the night of the full moon. For 2026, confirmed dates include February 2, March 3, April 2, May 1, May 31, June 29, July 29, and so on through the year. If a Buddhist holiday falls on the full moon, the party shifts by a day — it’s happened before. There’s also the big New Year’s Eve countdown party on December 31.
Double-check the exact date before booking flights. The schedule occasionally shifts by a day or two and the various websites don’t always agree with each other.
The morning after, walking back up the hill from Haad Rin, the road is covered in glow paint and spilled drinks and the occasional abandoned bucket. The 7-Eleven at the top is inexplicably still open, selling instant coffee to people who look like they’ve been through something. It’s 7 AM and already hot. That about sums it up.
