Koh Phangan is an island in Thailand very popular for tourism because of its beautiful tropical beaches and its crystal clear sea.
Koh Phangan was my third stop in Thailand, we have arrived starting from Railay (read my post on Railay) with a ferry that brought me in Ao Nam Mao, where a van was waiting to take me to the bus station.
After about 3 hours by bus I arrived at the port of Surat Thani, from which I took the ship in an hour and a half led me to the destination ... or rather the port of Koh Phangan, then from there I had to take a taxi to the hotel.
Bus and ferry had booked direct from them using the site www.ferrysamui.com, very convenient and cheap but perhaps the end useless since at Railay I then saw that it was full of agencies that allowed you to easily book transport in many destinations Thailand.
In Koh Phangan I did mainly sea, relaxation and excursions.
The weather was better than Raily, although a bit 'of clouds and a few showers I caught here as well.
Beautiful beaches of Koh Phangan is full of them and it was certainly not easy to choose where to stay, but in the end I chose the north-west part of the island and more specifically, the beautiful Haad Yao Beach.
I was Euphoria bungalows, in a beautiful sea view room ... or perhaps I should say ... on the beach (it's the blue one in the photo above)!
I paid just over € 100 for 4 nights in a room for four people (the room cost 200 Euros, to be divided into two), good price I would say.
In Koh Phangan I visited other beaches doing more or less challenging walks.
The nearest beach from where I was I was the famous Haad Son.
Then I also saw Haad Salad and Mae Haad, with the nearby island Koh Ma, connected to the mainland by a strip of sand.
Mae Haad I then took a taxi (5 euro for two) to the village of Chaloklum fishing and I hired them a boat (15 euro for 2 round trip) to the picturesque beach of Haad Khuad, better known as Bottle Beach.
What about these beaches ... unfortunately the weather was not the best and so I have lost a lot in color, hence Bottle beach, which according to the Internet was one of the best beaches on the island, he has not excited me too much .
Koh Phangan is also suitable for snorkeling, at least the western part that I visited myself, so I could do some good swim among the fish, although because of the weather so-so visibility was not great ... but fortunately then I made up in Koh Tao.
Koh Phangan then, I went on a trip to Ang Thong National Park, one of the wonders of Thailand.
Gita a little 'expensive (about 50 Euros) but it was worth it since I've seen a bit' of islands, I went snorkeling and also visited the famous lake where was filmed part of the movie The Beach with Leonardo Di Caprio.
What else to say Koh Phangan? A already, the island is famous throughout the world for the full moon party, a celebration that takes place on a white sandy beach in the south of the island, where revelers at every full moon.
A few years ago I would not have missed it for the world, but we say that now I have passed the stage of discos and parties, they do not interest me anymore, so I have been well away :-)
Among other things, I noticed that there are many Italians in Koh Phangan, which ruined a bit 'from the exotic holiday atmosphere ... mind you, nothing against my fellow countrymen, but one you do 12,000 km and then hear about constantly Italian ... in short, seems not to be right parties: p
Below some videos shot in Koh Phangan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjdTmUJ58wc&list=PLCBrso9WwkFYs5EUd29jgPXZy2hpJWdMO
In conclusion I can say that Koh Phangan I liked and definitely worth a visit because it is an island still quite natural (compared to Koh Samui for example).
If you want you can also rent a scooter and turn it autonomy, but I did not have the heart because I do not drive in decades (if we exclude the short experience in the Philippines last year) and the streets were pretty steep.
Travel next step? Koh Tao (read my post on Koh Tao).
Here are the photos I took in Koh Phangan, not including snorkeling, you can see by clicking on this link instead.