Haad Rin Beach Koh Phangan.
The original backpacker beach on Koh Phangan, and the monthly venue for the world famous Full Moon Party, Haad Rin Beach is one of the best known beaches in Thailand. The beach itself is split into two parts by a peninsula. The larger portion of the beach is generally named “Sunset Beach” and this is the primary location of the each month. The smaller “Sunrise Beach” is to the north, more laid back and chilled.
Whatever your tastes in entertainment from Jet Skis to Drum ‘n’ Bass then Haad Rin Beach can provide it all. An extremely lively beach, inhabited by a mixture of backpackers, sun worshipers and ageing hippies. The streets behind the beach are equally entertaining and packed full of bars, restaurants and gift shops.
During and around the weekend of the Full Moon Party the beach can become a little dirty. The local Thai population, encouraged by business owners, do take measures to clean the beach after the Full Moon Party, but during this weekend the beach is not really suitable for swimming. In recent months the beach has been given a facelift, and is now looking much nicer.
One of the nicer things about Haad Rin beach is the fact that everything is on hand to make sure you have a great day on the sand, with food vendors, bars and convenience shops right on the beach, this is the only beach on Koh Phangan that is served in this manner.
Although there used to be quite a lot of cheap accommodation available very close to the beach, the success of the Full Moon Party has seen much of the budget Haad Rin Beach accommodation being redeveloped into classier boutique resorts or new bars. There is still some cheap accommodation to be found quite close to Haad Rin Beach, although this is always fully booked over Full Moon Party weekend. All in all, Haad Rin Beach is as close as things get to a proper tourist beach on Koh Phangan, a firm favourite with many visitors to Thailand each year.