Travel to Asia

GENERAL INFORMATION

The main cluster of accommodation on Ko Pha-Ngan is on the south east coast of the island in or around the Hat Rin peninsula. The peninsula is made up of the noisy east coast, Hat Rin Nok (where the best beach, Sunrise Beach is located), and the much quieter west coast, Hat Rin Nai (Sunset Beach). Both resorts offer beach huts and bungalows but there are no hotels or guesthouses to be found. The huts are generally made of wood and are much cheaper than the more modern bungalows. Prices for huts start at about 100 baht and rarely go above 200. Bungalows start around 200 and can go as high as 800 baht during the high season (December to February) or at full moon party time.
We found the beach huts to be generally a little pongy, stuffy and lacking a little in security measures but they are certainly liveable in. They also add a bit of authenticity to island living, if you want that sort of thing. Being a little bit wossy we plumped for a bungalow structure with tile floors, spacious bathroom and round the clock electricity.

Bongo bungalows are located in the centre of Hat Rin Nok. We managed to scoop at deal because we paid a week in advance. For 350 baht it was a steal, we didn’t have a hammock but we missed out on getting wood lice in our hair. The promised cold shower turned out to be hot and the double bed was fit for a king. Most bungalow operations have a restaurant and offer bike rental and laundry services. We liked Bongo Bungalows a lot and the staff there were amongst the friendliest we met.
Hat Rin is without doubt the most expensive area to stay at on the Ko Pha-Ngan. We heard about some beautifully laid out bungalows going for 200 baht further up the coast but the drawback is that you are away from all the action and the best beach.

Accommodation on Koh Pha Ngan is available at a wide range of levels, with something to suit virtually every taste. The island has modernised from the days when all the huts were made from bamboo and grass, and the only western food on the menu was banana pancake. Koh Pha Ngan’s growing popularity is bringing a wider range of tourists to its shores, with travellers rubbing backs with package tourists from Samui.

To cater for this wider range of tastes, the resorts are modernising their rooms, increasing their facilities and offering a greater variety of dishes on their menus; all at cheaper Pha Ngan prices. The resorts have adapted to incorporate A/C, hot water and other things previous visitors dreamed about but couldn’t have. Accommodation standards on the island have risen dramatically over the last couple of years and most of the old skool 80 to 100 Baht huts have been replaced with 150 to 300 Baht fan rooms; and A/C rooms can be found at most resorts for 500 Baht and up.

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ACCOMMODATION INFO
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NORTH
WEST
SOUTH WEST
SOUTH EAST
EAST
CENTRAL

It is worth noting is that the resorts are only able to keep their prices low by relying on their guests to eat in their restaurant at least twice a day, try to respect this, or come to an arrangement with the family before they have to kick you out for a better earner!

Koh Pha Ngan still retains its chilled out vibe and rustic desert island living, and virtually all the accommodation in still in friendly, family run bungalow operations. The locals love the place even more than its guests, thus most of the modernisation has been done tastefully, blending in with the wonderful natural surroundings.

One of the great things about this island is the great variety of different places to stay, with beachfront bungalows, chalets in the rainforest, deserted beaches to camp on and luxury hilltop resorts, every taste is catered for. That counts for the vibe your looking for to; you can party yourself to pieces in Had Rin, watch coral grow from your hammock or you can stay at Than Sadet National Park and check out the giant monitor lizards. Due to the great geographical diversity that the island has to offer, each beach has its own individual characteristics and attributes, leading to a different vibe on every beach with each one having its own identity.

BEACHES

EAST

HAD NAM TOK, HAD YAO & HAD YANG
HAD SADET & HAD THONG RENG
THONG NAI PAN & BOTTLE BEACH

NORTH

CHALOKLUM & HAD KHOM

SOUTH EAST

BAN TAI & BAN KHAI
HAD RIN
HAD RIN PINNACLE - HAD LEELA
HAD YUAN, HAD THIAN & HAD WAI NAM
WEST OF HAD RIN

SOUTH WEST

AO BANG CHARU
AO NAI WOK
AO WOK TUM
THONGSALA

WEST

HAD MAE HAD & AO THONG LANG
HAD SALAD, HAD KRUAD & HAD THIAN
HAD YAO, HAD SON & AO CHAO PHAO
SRI THANU & HIN KONG