Ko Phangan Travel Guide

Koh Phangan is so much more than the full moon party. Good thing not everybody knows it and stays in Haad Rin, otherwise the rest of the island would look a giant rave party !! If you want nice beach, cool people and decent reefs, go to the north west  (Haad Yao, Mae Had, Ko Ma). If you like bathing, waterfalls and relaxing, go to the north est, Hat Sadet and Tong Nai Pan, probably the 2 most beautiful beach on the island. Honestly I would keep away from Haad Rin except if your looking for pure getting blind drunk off your face party kind of vacation.
That's what I love about Koh Phangan, there is a bit of everything for everyone. You can eat wonderful cheap meals from Thai to western foods in Thong Sala or Ban Tai, go for a herbal sauna at Wat Pho, party all night and finish all day at Ban Sabai, go for a trek or a day diving at Sail Rock, try yoga (if you're into that), get a massage or just relax in front a red sun set in Amsterdam Bar.
Try exploring the island, it has a lot to offer and many beautiful people to meet. If you never did a full moon party, for sure do one, but you will see that there is much more to Koh Phangan and like many others, you won't want to go and you will probably come back...

Ko phangan is a great island just a short boat trip from Ko samui, you can take speedboat or ferry it takes about 1 hour, and 20mins by speedboat buts its dearer, if you take speedboat make sure u get recipt as u may not get back on without it, ive being twince for full moon party which is on once a month. be very carefull at party as many theives are about and lots of drugs and if u get caught with drugs in Thailand ur screwed big time so keep ur head about u and travel light. easy 2 access money or exchange as its a small island and everything within walkin distance its a beautifull island and a great night (mourning) out so enjoy but please be carefull ive heard some stories and they cant all be wrong!!

When arriving in Had Rin ask around for a local driver (not a 'taxi') to take you to Had Salad beach, this should not cost more than 70 baht. Had Salad is approximately 20-30 mins from the port area and possibly the most beautiful place on the island with a small beach the shape of a crescent moon and a gorgeous resort that is so cheap (approx 20 Australian dollars per night for a 5 star room or a little more for a beach front bungalow) and with minimal tourists. This place was a paradise for us, we hired a motorbike and spent days cruising around the island or just lounging around on the pristine beach.