Updated: 02/04/20 | February 4th, 2020

When my friends began planning their trip to Thailand, they had one requirement: that we attend a full Moon Party. They didn’t know a lot about the party, but they’d heard so much about it over the years, they knew they had to go. After all, the full Moon party is infamous. The mere mention of it conjures up images of a wild, alcohol-fueled beach party where people from around the world have a great time and dance until sunrise.

But what is the full Moon Party? how did it come about? Why is it so popular? And, how can you experience it for yourself?

I’ve been to close to a dozen full Moon parties over the years, and I can tell you that there’s a certain way to experience this party so you avoid overpaying for accommodation, getting injured, not spending a lot of money, and having the time of your life!

So, as you plan your party experience, here’s my thorough guide to the full Moon Party:

Sisällysluettelo

What is the full Moon Party?

When is the full Moon Party?

Suggested Accommodation

Miten sinne pääsee

The party Itself

Full Moon party Survival Tips

What is the full Moon Party?

Legend has it that in 1987 (or maybe ’86? or ’88?) a group of backpackers threw a birthday party for their friend on the night of the full moon. They had such a good time that they came back the following year to do it again and then the following month and then the month after that. Word got out, and a lot more people started coming each month.

At first, it was like a small house party on the beach: a few hippies and backpackers playing guitars, smoking weed, and having a few beers. but as word spread and a lot more people showed up, it changed. The 1990s brought the rave scene and all the drugs that went along with it. By 2000, this party was squarely on the travel map, and hordes of young people inspired by the motion picture The beach flocked to Koh Phangan, where the party is held. The full Moon party has only gotten bigger considering that then.

Now the full Moon party is a gigantic festival-like party with a lot of drinking, dancing, drugs, and sex. Each bar has its own sound system, so you’ll hear different music loudly blasting onto the beach every few feet. The beach itself is lined with people selling alcohol, fire dancers putting on shows, and little booths selling glow-in-the-dark face paint. By the end of the night, you’ll see people passed out on the beach, the odd couple having sex, and lost flip-flops littering the beach trying to find new owners.

Despite the party’s evident commercialization, it’s still a lot of fun. It’s rare to see any of the problems (i.e., fights) you might usually associate with 30,000 young, drunk people. people here are just trying to find a good time, and the energy is very positive.

When Is the full Moon Party?

As the name would suggest, the party happens when there is a full moon. However, be aware that the dates often shift around local holidays so it might not be exactly on the full-moon (check the schedule below for details). Don’t worry if you miss it as there’s always the half-moon party, quarter-moon party, and black-moon party. Really, every night is a party here on Koh Phangan. expect anywhere from 5,000-30,000 people, depending on the time of year.

Here is a list of times for 2019 and 2020:

November 11, 2019

March 8, 2020

August 3, 2020

December 25, 2020

December 11, 2019

April 7, 2020

September 1, 2020

December 28, 2020

December 25, 2019

May 7, 2020

October 1, 2020

December 31, 2020

December 31, 2019

June 5, 2020

October 29, 2020

February 9, 2020

July 6, 2020

November 28, 2020

Suggested Accommodation

There’s accommodation all over the island, but you’ll want to stay in Haat Rin (where the actual party is) so you can be close to the action. If you want to find cheap accommodation, you’ll need to come here at least four days before the party in buy to find a cheap (and nice) place to stay. The closer you get to the actual night of the party, the a lot more you’ll need a miracle to find something — at any price range.

I’ll never understand the travelers who just show up the day of or the night before and think they’ll find a place. They never do. I’ve sat at restaurants and enjoyed the same people wander up and down the street lots of times in fruitless attempts to find something.

Don’t be those people. Come early, get a room, take pleasure in the party, and say no to stress.

How much does a room cost?
Here’s what you can expect to pay for your bed per night ($1 USD = 32 THB):

Dorm room: 200 THB (will triple during the high season)

Regular room with A/C and hot water: 600–800 THB

Really great room: 1,500-2,000 THB

Basic bungalow: 950 THB

Really great bungalow: 2,000–4,000 THB

The closer you get to the full moon, the a lot more the prices go up. The day of or the day before the party, any accommodation left is going to be double the price listed.And, if you come here for new Year’s, you can expect the price to triple, with lots of places also including an expensive, mandatory holiday dinner. (Just another way to get a lot more money from you!)

To help you make the most out of the party, here are my suggested places to stay:

The Sanctuary – The Sanctuary is a Ko Phangan institution, and guests come from all over the world specifically for its yoga and detox programs. It’s a place for you to rebalance and attend to your well-being. even if you don’t want to do a detox, you can still rent a room or bed here and take pleasure in the secluded beach and view. Beds from 350 THB, cheap private bungalows from 950 THB.

Goodtime beach Backpackers – If you’re trying to find a lively hostel with tons of social activities going on, stay here. This is the quintessential “hostel” – with pub crawls, beach volleyball, a swimming pool, a huge bar/lounge area, and events nearly every night. Beds from 350 THB, rooms from 800 THB; treehouse room from 1,800 THB in a tree ideal on the beach.

Na-Tub Hostel – This is a funky motel-like hostel that’s constructed out of shipping containers. considering that it just opened in 2018, everything is new and clean. The major draw is the central swimming pool. Beds from 300 THB, rooms from 1,800 THB.

Should you book your room online in advance?
I wouldn’t recommend it, unless going there for new Year’s or you can’t get there early. The accommodation you’ll find online will be the most expensive and require long minimum stays (sometimes as lots of as 10 nights). There are a lot of accommodation options in Haat Rin, and a lot of aren’t on online booking services like Agoda.

A good alternative to Haat Rin is ban Tai beach. It’s the beach over from Haat Rin and is where a lot of people stay when rooms start to fill up. It’s a short and inexpensive taxi from Haat Rin. If you stay on the northern part of the island, you’ll be very, very far away from the party. though boat taxis and normal taxis run frequently, they are expensive.

How to get to Ko Phangan

Getting to Ko Phangan is pretty straightfoward no matter where in the region you’re traveling from. here are your main options for getting to the full Moon Party:

Air
If you decide to fly from Bangkok, one hour and 15 minute flights to Surat Thani’s airport (URT) cost around 900–2,500 THB on AirAsia, Nok Air, or Thai Lion Air. From the Surat Thani airport, you can take a one-hour bus to Donsak Pier and catch a ferry from there.

Flights from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK) to Ko Samui (USM) are at least 4,500 THB considering that Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways keep a monopoly on the airport and see no reason to lower prices with demand so high. during the high season and around new Year’s Eve, ticket prices can get as high as 5,800 THB!

Kouluttaa
Nine-hour trains from Bangkok to Surat Thani leave three times a day and cost between 519–1,200 THB per person.

In Bangkok, you can leave from the Hua Lamphong or Thon Buri train stations and head to Chumphon on a Thai Railways (thairailways.com) route. book a combo train and boat ticket because you’ll normally get a complimentary transfer from the train station to the pier this way. You must plan for the whole trip to Ko Tao to take 14–15 hours (train, transfer, boat, waiting in between).

Tickets cost 500–2,000 THB depending on booking class, route and season (with discounts for children).

Trains leave daily from Hua Lamphong in Bangkok to Chumphon (and then to Surat Thani). The journey normally takes between 8-11 hours. There is only one train that leaves daily from Thon Buri in Bangkok to Chumphon and it takes around 8.5 hours.

Bus
Travel agencies from Khao San road in Bangkok offer bus and ferry combinations to the island. They will normally offer a bus and boat combo ticket. I recommend getting one of these for comfort (the one that includes the Songserm ferry is normally the cheapest).

In Bangkok, you’ll leave from the southern (Sai Tai Mai) Bus terminal and Morchit (Northern) terminal (VIP buses only), it’ll take around 14 hours to get to Ko Phangan (8 hours on the bus) and cost about 700–1,000 THB (350–720 THB for the bus ticket only). Buses leave daily.

Vene
There are a few ferry companies that operate routes to Ko Phangan: Lomprayah High speed Ferries Co., Ltd (the fastest and a lot of expensive), Seatran Discovery, and Songserm, Raja, and Phantip (the slowest and cheapest). here are some popular ways to get to Ko Phangan:

Boat from Chumphon (mainland):

Matapon Pier: leaves daily, takes 5 hours, and is operated by Songserm. 850 THB.

Tung Makham: leaves daily, takes 3–4 hours, and is operated by Lomprayah. 1,000 THB.

Boat from Surat Thani (mainland):

Tapee Pier Lomprayah: leaves daily , takes 2.5 hours, and is operated by Lomprayah. 700 THB.

Surat Thani Seatran (van+boat): leaves daily, takes 4.5 hours, and is operated by Seatran Discovery. 550 THB.

Surat Thani train station (van+boat): leaves daily, takes4 tuntia ja 45 minuuttia, ja sitä ylläpitää Songnerm. ja Lomprayah -vene lähtee päivittäin ja kestää 3 tuntia ja 45 minuuttia. 400–700 THB.

Surat Thanin lentokenttä (van+-vene): lähtee useita kertoja tunnissa päivässä, kestää 3,5 tuntia 6 tuntiin. Tätä reittiä ylläpitää jokainen alueen lauttayhtiö. 500–800 THB.

Donsak Pier: Lehdet useita kertoja päivässä, kestää noin 2,5 tuntia, ja sitä ylläpitävät joko Songorder, Seatran Discovery tai Raja. 210–450 THB.

Vene Ko Taolta:

Mae Haad Pier: lähtee päivittäin. Tätä reittiä ylläpitävät Lomprayah (kestää 1 tunti ja 10 minuuttia), Seatran Discovery (kestää 1,5 tuntia) ja Sonderserm (kestää 2 tuntia). 450–850 THB.

Vene Ko Samuista

Bangrak Seatran Pier: lähtee päivittäin, kestää 30 minuuttia, ja sitä ylläpitää Seatran Discovery. 300 THB.

Lipa Noi: lähtee päivittäin, kestää 1,5 tuntia ja sitä ylläpitää Raja Ferry. 150 THB.

Na Thon Ko Samui: lähtee päivittäin, kestää 30 minuuttia – 1 tunti ja 15 minuuttia, ja sitä ylläpitää joko Lomprayah tai Songgalm. 200–300 THB.

Samuin lentokenttä (Van+-vene): lähtee päivittäin, kestää yhden tunnin, ja sitä ylläpitää Seatran Discovery. 450 THB.

Itse täysikuun juhla

Juhlat alkavat päiviä aiemmin, kun ihmiset tippuvat saarelle. Juhlapäivänä näet ihmisiä naapurimaiden Koh Samuin ja Koh Taon ja muusta saaren osista, jotka lisäävät väkijoukkoa. Näet, että ihmiset alkavat juoda iltapäivällä, ja monet ihmiset alkavat mennä rannalle noin klo 21.00.

Yleisö yleensä huiputtaa keskiyöllä kello 2. Uudenvuodenaattona ranta on täynnä klo 20 mennessä.

Kustannukset
Tässä on mitä tavaraa maksaa Haat Rinille:

Keskimääräinen thaimaalainen ateria: 100-200 THB

Keskimääräinen länsimainen ateria: 200 THB

Banaanin pannukakut: 30-40 THB

Halvat ruoat, jotka myydään rannalla: 50 THB

Olut: 80–100 THB (50% vähemmän 7-11-myymälässä)

Savukkeet: 80 THB

Kauhat: 200–300 THB, millaisesta alkoholista riippuen. Ne voivat olla jopa 400 THB uudenvuodenaattona.

Wc: 10–15 THB

Puolueiden selviytymisvinkit

Älä tee huumeita: Täällä on paljon huumeita, etenkin täysikuun aikana. Kaikki huumeet ovat laittomia Thaimaassa ja rangaistaan ​​ajankohtana joihinkin melko huonoihin vankiloihin. Salaisen poliisi yrittää myydä sinulle huumeita vain pidättääksesi sinut. Paikalliset ryöstävät sinut palkkiota varten. Thais rakastaa torjua ulkomaalaisia, jotka ovat tarpeeksi tyhmiä tehdäkseen huumeita avoimessa.

Monilla poliisilla ei kuitenkaan ole todellista halua lukita sinua nivelen tupakoinnista tai pillerin tekemisestä. Se on liikaa vaivaa ja paperityötä. Heillä on kuitenkin todellinen halu ottaa lahjus. Odottaa maksavan 1000 dollaria USD: n vankeudenvastaisesta kortistasi. (Varsinainen lahjus vaihtelee poliisin ja kykysi sopia lahjuksen alaisena.)

Ohita hyppyköysi: Kuva tämä. Olemme baarissa. Käännyn luoksesi ja sanon: “Hei ystävä, mennään ulos. Aion liottaa köyden bensiinissä, sytyttää sen tulessa, ja sitten sinä ja jotkut humalassa olevat muukalaiset ohittavat köyden. ” Katsoisit minua kuin olisin hullu ja käsken minun eksyä.

Mutta tämän saaren ihmiset tekevät juuri sen – he hyppäävät tulen köyden yli.

Se on tyhmää.

Saatat olla maailman paras hyppykehys, mutta humalassa, joka tekee päätöksen liittyä sinuun, ei ehkä ole. Viimeisessä täysikuujuhlissani näin paljon ihmisiä palavan. Köysi kääritty yhden kaverin käsivarren ympärille ja poltti kaiken ihon pois. Hänet oli kiirehdyttävä sairaalaan. Se ei ollut kaunis kohtaus. Se ei ole tapa, jolla haluat muistaa lomasi. Tässä on pieni esimerkki:

Varo kauhoja – mikä f $%^$ on ämpäri? Muistatko, kun olit lapsi ja rakensit hiekkalistalla pienellä astialla? picture that pail filled with a can of Coke, Thai Red Bull, and 375 ml of alcohol. now you have a Thai bucket. A few of these, and you’ll be having a really interesting night.

They’re deadly! One, two, three, passed out on the beach! Every full moon while I eat dinner, I see newbies drinking buckets before the sun has even gone down. They’re the same people I see passed out on the beach by midnight. A few buckets will get you very, very drunk, so I have a hard-and-fast policy that I and other experie