Ko Pha Ngan (Thailand)

Advantages: Full Moon, amazing sunrise, beach, relaxing times
Disadvantages: Not much to do, the aftermath of the party

Yet again, I’m back with more gushing reviews of what I consider to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. Thailand was by far my overall favourite country in South East Asia, combining lovely people, excellent food, fantastic places, peaceful religious beliefs and a wonderful way of life that we westerners can only aspire to. Last year we took a break from work and the UK weather to languish on sunny beaches, climb volcanoes, eat ...
...well and relax – and experienced all of these. The reviews I have written around SEA are all from January – May which we found was an excellent time to travel there. WHY VISIT KHO PHA NGAN? Undoubtedly one of the main reasons people come to this island is the world-renowned ‘Full Moon’ Party, and this was certainly why we came here. We just wanted to see what it was all about as people kept raving about it (pun intended) - we enjoyed the experience ... Read review

Advantages: The scenery, nightlife, weather... need I go on?
Disadvantages: The inevitable hangovers

Thailand is probably most famous, in terms of tourism, for the beautiful islands that adorn both the east and west coastlines of the southern part of the country. To the west lies the massive tourist resort of Phuket, the dramatic scenery of Koh Phi Phi (where The Beach was filmed) as well as several smaller less developed islands. To the east Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao are potential destinations each offering different attractions with ...
...three, Koh Pha Ngan smaller but lively and Koh Tao a more tranquil island surrounded by great dive sites. Our choice of Koh Pha Ngan was based partly on educated judgement and partly on blind luck. We travelled south through Thailand in July, the wet season, a time in which the Western islands suffer far more from the seasonal monsoons than their more sheltered eastern counterparts, hence an eastern island seemed a sensible choice. The options of ... Read review

Advantages: An Affordable Paradise For Everyone.
Disadvantages: The Sometimes Questionable Waste Disposal Techniques.

Ko Pha-Ngan is one of the 3 islands that makes up the Ko Samui Archipelago and is home to over 10,000 people. This population is, however, enhanced almost year round by budget travellers. The fact that there is no airport means that mass tourism has not fully arrived and there is a distinct lack of top end hotels. With a youthful clientele this means that the islands main centres are throbbing with life 24 hours a day. Ko Pha-Ngan lies in the gulf ...
...The most common perception of Ko Pha-Ngan is that of the infamous party destination and to a large extent a visit there will doubtless include many a wild night. But Ko Pha-Ngan has a lot more to offer. Some of the beaches are amongst Thailand's finest and if you venture beyond Hat Rin in the south east there is many a quiet oasis in which to set up your hammock. Once considered much cheaper than its bigger neighbour Ko Samui, prices on the island ... Read review

Advantages: Best spirit of partying I've seen
Disadvantages: Slowly becoming commercialised

You look down the paradise beach, there’s about 6000 travellers all cooped in clusters around low tables as they perch on rush mats in the sand. Music of all sorts is blaring out from several uniquely constructed wooden night-clubs. They are all drinking from straws of communal buckets on the tables that contain Sang Som a Thai amphetamine whisky, coke and proper red bull that’s more like rocket fuel in syrup form not the rubbish placebo ...
...on that glow magnificently when hit by the UV lights that are littered all along the beach. It’s like a little city with nightlights everywhere and fireworks exploding. The odd skilful person is surrounded by a crowd as they spin chains or poles of fire in a display. Others are in the clubs of their choice dancing to their favourite tunes and boats are streaming in from surrounding islands overcrowded with party goers. It’s a full moon ... Read review

Advantages: Fab beaches, deserted resorts, full on parties and cheap everything
Disadvantages: Mosquitoes, funny belly and wasted time travelling

...A friend of ours recommended Ko Pha Ngan and I have to say we had the time of our lives. We flew Thai Air over to Thailand and the service and the flight in general was excellent. We stayed the night in a youth hostel in Bangkok (to be avoided at all cost no matter how cheap the prices) and flew down to Ko Samui the next day. The flight was around 100 dollars each way but was so much shorter than going by bus which would have cut into our two week ...
...has a wooden sign saying 'airport' and serves bananas instead of drinks, but it just adds to the spirit of 'getting away from it all'. From the airport we went over to the other side of the island and stayed the night ready for our boat trip over to the island the following morning. You will find your way easily as everyone seems to know when the boats leave and where you need to stay to be close to the port for the morning. The boat ride itself ... Read review

Advantages: Chilled out, cheap, sunsets, great food
Disadvantages: Too quiet for some

...Hopefully the title will get your interest on this one – and believe me, frogs were weirdly abundant during our stay on the island of Koh Tao! The weather was great and we had a chance to relax (after months of, well, relaxing & travels in South East Asia!). We visited Tao after a stay in Kho Pha Ngan, where we went to the Full Moon Party. WHERE IS KOH TAO? ************************** Koh Tao is a small island in a group of 3, on the south-eastern ‘leg’ of Thailand. It’s the first on your way down, followed by Kho Pha Ngan, then Ko Samui (Ko Samui is the biggest of the three). WHY VISIT? *************** Koh Tao is renowned for it’s diving, and this is indeed the main reason we came here, choosing to dive in the crystal waters of Tao, over Pha Ngan or Samui. It is by far the best of the 3 as there are many different sites you... Read review

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