Koh Phangan Activities
Options in Ko Phangan, Thailand
As one of the premier tourist destinations in Thailand, Koh Phangan has innumerable activities for visitors to participate in, ensuring that visitors with any interest will find something to keep them entertained on their Koh Phangan holiday. The following are some of the most popular activities on Koh Phangan.
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- Archery can be attempted at the “First Bow and Arrow Archery” close to Chalok Lam on the road to Thong Sala. Four archers can have a go at the same time. People are very friendly (German spoken during high-season) and helpful; 15 min for 150 baht.
- Explore the beauty of Pha Ngan Island, through exciting day, evening and adventure tours. Experience, diving, snorkelling, kayaking, speed boat excursions to Ang Thong National Marine Park, muay Thai, fishing trips, cultural tours, elephant riding. Enjoy the beauty of nature that the Ko Maa area has to offer and have a relaxing boat trip. With so many things to see and do your time on Ko Pha Ngan will be truly memorable.
- Full Moon Party – if you’re after party heaven you can’t do better than Haad Rin, an expanded village of beach bars, cheap chicken burgers, and low cut figure-hugging outfits. It is most popular one night a month, the night of the Full Moon Party. Every bar is hopping, the beaches packed with trance, dance, buckets, and various other suspicious substances. However, if the sight of thousands of bottles and other trash repulses you, make sure you leave the beach area before the sun comes up, or grab a garbage bag and help tidy up a little. If you’re not on Ko Pha Ngan during the full moon, don’t worry: there are other parties to be had, including Half Moon (2 times a month), Black Moon, Jungle Experience (1 & 9 days before every full moon party) as well as the Shiva Moon party. Haad Rin offers a variety of entertainment venues just steps away from the famous ‘Full Moon Party beach’, where travellers and locals come to get away from the repetitiveness of the beach party scene.
- Jungle Experience, Ban Tai. 21:00 to 08:00. In the jungle near Baan Tai, Jungle Experience features the best of underground electronic beats – house, tech & progressive. Site incorporates a magical flower garden criss-crossing a river, plenty of areas to sit down and chill-out complete with UV decorations and laser lighting, dancers & performance artists. Professional world-class DJs. 2012 Schedule: 1 day before and 9 days before every Full Moon Party. 300 baht per person, free entry before 23:00.. edit
- Hiking can be done all around the island. There is a trail that leads between Haad Rin and Haad Tien, which many enjoy. The route can become difficult to discern, and bringing enough water is necessary. If you are feeling adventurous, ride a motorbike to the end of the concrete road at Haad Khom from where you can hike through steep terrain and jungle on the coast to isolated Bottle Beach. The overgrown and difficult trail is occasionally marked with bottles and the hike takes 2-3 hours. Ride back to Chalok Lam with a taxi boat (150 baht/person) from where it’s 30 min walk uphill to the Haad Khom main road where you parked your motorbike (or you can hike all the way from Chalok Lam). Another good trail is to the best viewpoint on the island (in good weather), Khao Ra Viewpoint, on the highest hill on the island.
- Muay Thai gyms such as “Jungle Gym” in Haad Rin and Thong Sala Thai offering training and workout facilities, as well as camps such as “Horizon” located in Haad Tien (east) which is an intensive training camp. There are also frequent bouts in Thong Sala and Haad Rin for spectators who don’t want to learn the sport.
- Scuba Diving Ko Pha Ngan has lovely sites around the island which are perfect for both beginners and trained divers. From easy dives off the beach to longer trips by boat you can experience the world of tropical diving. The waters around Ko Pha Ngan are much nicer than most people know: fine hard corals with a good range of reefs and tropical/pelagic fish. Sailrock, undoubtedly the most famous dive site in the Gulf of Thailand. Located between Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao all the wonders of this exciting site can be explored by all levels of divers. This spectacular rock rises out of the water creating the best wall dive with a maximum depth of 40 m. Providing a great range of marine life, spectacular underwater scenery, rock formations. There are several PADI dive-schools on the island, including: Haad Yao Divers a PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Resort located on Haad Yao and Haad Chao Phao; Reefers Dive Resort located on Haad Yao Beach; Sail Rock Divers; Lotus Dive Resort, both located in Chalok Lam; and Phangang Divers, located in Haad Rin. You will, however, find many more dive schools throughout the island.
Under Thai law, dive operators must be registered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to improve quality of service, safety and help protect the customer from fraud. Please check to make sure you are booking through a TAT registered dive centre.
- Watersports Rent or take courses in sailing, windsurfing, kite-surfing or paddle boarding. All are available in only few locations such as, Sl2k Adventure located at Baan Manali Resort in Ao Nai Wok or “Cookie Salad” at “Haad Salad”.
- Yoga is offered at multiple locations including Agama Yoga, which is located in the northwest of the island and has month-long intensive courses.
