The island lies north of Koh Samui and has become famous for its Full Moon Party, held monthly, and once the prerogative of travelers who wanted to get away from the more populated ‘tourist’ islands and enjoy the simple life - along with a raving beach party every month, that is.

From Koh Samui - By Air to Koh Samui, and boat to Phangan

The island has no airport, so any air travel has to be by way of Koh Samui which in turn means Bangkok Airways from either Bangkok Suvunarbhumi Airport, Phuket or Pattaya (U-Tapao ). Thai International have 2 flights a day, and the island qualifies as international with its Berjaya Airlines connection to Kuala Lumpur. (see Getting to Koh Samui)

There are flights to Surrathani on Thai International from both Don Muang and Suvunarbhumi airports, offering an alternative to Samui, with a van service from the airport to the ferry across to Phangan.

Whichever air route you choose it still needs a sea trip either from the mainland at Surrathani or from Samui . The ferries and speed boats leave from Big Buddha Pier, Maenam Pier and Nathon Pier. There is a choice of ordinary ferry, catamaran or speed boat, all of which have a different price. The ferries from Samui arrive at Thong Sala Pier, on the west coast of the island.

Sea to Phangan from Samui

There are five departures from Samui to Phangnan, the first at 8am and the last at 5.30pm

From Suratthani

Departures start at 6am for the 4 hour journey over to Phangan. There is a late night departure which takes longer and arrives on the island at 5.30 am after a 6 hour journey. This route is very popular for those coming from Bangkok, using the bus or train and ferry to go straight to Phangan

By Bus and Sea

Buses leave Bangkok’s Southern terminal for Suratthani, and will take some 11 hours to make the overnight journey. Some agents in Bangkok can offer a combined ticket of bus and ferry. From Phuket and Krabi there are good regular services to Surrathani.

Rail and Sea

The third alternative is to take the train from Bangkok, and while this is not the quickest way, maybe it’s a more leisurely trip. Trains leave the main station in Bangkok and take 9 -12 hours on the overnight trip to Surrathani, depending on the type of service. The departure at 11pm arrives at 8.10 in the morning. For a daytime journey the 8.05am will get you to Surrathani at 4.30pm, which is a much shorter 8 hour journey . There is bus shuttle service from the railway station to the ferry pier. Again, combined tickets can be bought for the rail and sea journey from Bangkok or coming from Malaysia in the south. For information on rail travel in Thailand: www.railway.co.th