God I’ve been to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui for full moon parties and general partying a few times and to be honest its always been a bit of a blur! So this is a very short entry!
My overriding memory though is that the whole experience, whilst getting now very commercialised, is great fun and, if you’re travelling through this part of the world, it is a must. The islands are surrounded by beautiful beaches, food is great, you have endless variety of accommodation options and its is the easiest country to travel in in SE Asia. Main tips:
#1 Full moon party and half moon parties – the famous Ko Pha Ngan full moon party obvious happens roughly every month, but you do also have the half moon party which can give you an option if your timings don’t work
#2 Ko Pha Ngan or Ko Samui – I’ve stayed on both Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui for the full moon parties. Whilst Ko Pha Ngan is obviously more convenient, there are heaps of regular boats back to Ko Samui throughout the night and the morning. They only take 30-40mins and leave from any of Bangrak Pier (Big Buddha Pier), Maenam Pier (Pralarn Pier), or Nathon Pier (main town port).
3. Mopeds / taxis – getting around both islands is very easy with the taxis and ubers available, but its also par for the course to drive around on one of the mopeds. Its great fun, just be careful – many of us have the scars from falls from mopeds on these islands!
4. The bars and clubs on both islands have the full range from all-above-board to about as sleazy as it gets, so you’re kind of going to have to roll the dice to see what you get . . . and you can usually tell within he first 2 seconds of walking in. The most famous on is Suzie Wong’s (there are now 3 of them right next to each other), which gets a bit of a bad reputation, but I’d say give it a go because, whilst it is a strip joint, you’ll find it quite a tame one and you’ll see many couples in there checking it out for pure curiosity (and staying for several drinks). A good fun place and you can always leave if you don’t like it.
