There are not many travel vlogs or reviews for Koh Pha Ngan & Koh Samui islands of Thailand as most of the tourists prefer to go to Phuket and Krabi but it also helps as Koh Pha Ngan & Koh Samui are less crowded and you can enjoy your vacation better. Koh Samui has an international airport so it is quite easy to reach this island and then a ferry can take you to nearby islands like Koh Pha Ngan. In case you are not in a hurry, there are other methods to reach these islands as well. We took an international flight to Bangkok, followed by a domestic flight to another city called Surat Thani and then finally a ferry ride to reach Koh Pha Ngan (ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Tao are also available). Although the entire route took more than half a day but surprisingly the cost was lesser than a direct flight to Koh Samui.

Stay: Hotels facing the beaches are ideal places to stay in Koh Phangan and Koh Samui so that you can have a good view of the island.

Food: Noodles, fried Rice and grilled meat are the most common and tasty dishes here so you can find them at all restaurants and street stalls but there are very few vegetarian options available (thankfully wasn’t a problem for me!).

Exploring Koh Pha Ngan

Island beaches: Koh Phangan is a relatively less popular island in Thailand among tourists which also makes it less crowded so you can enjoy the natural beauty of the island better. Just a hire a two-wheeler to explore the island on your own as beach hopping is one of the main attractions of this place. Shared taxis are also available but in case you know how to drive then two-wheelers on hire are a much cheaper method to go around this island. Koh Phangan is part of the trio island group that also includes Koh Samui and Koh Tao so the ferries are the best option to explore all these locations.

Ang Thong National Marine Park: There are many full day tours from Koh Phangan to Marine Park which includes multiple islands hopping, snorkelling, kayaking and hiking to island viewpoints so you can choose a speed boat or any other full day tour boats and customize your visit to these islands.

Night Market: Phantip night market is one of the busiest local market which is known for its street food. You can find most of the shops here serve traditional Thai food, especially assortment of grilled meat at nominal prices. The vegetarian options are hard to find but there are restaurants around the market place which can be visited in case you are not a fan of non-veg food. Phantip market is also called Thong Sala market which mostly opens in the evening and the stalls continue till late night. In case you are good at bargaining, then you can also explore few shopping bazaars and souvenir shops surrounding the area.

The best way to explore this island is riding a bike as most of the beaches and waterfalls of Koh Phangan are at the far edges of the island with limited options of public transport. Koh Phangan is known for water sports and its beach night parties like Full Moon party so in case you want to explore the nearby islands then you should plan the tour by the day so that you can return to Koh Phangan by the sunset and enjoy one of these parties.

Exploring Koh Samui

Like Koh Phangan, ideal mode of transport here are rented bikes or scooters but in case you are not good at driving then taxis are your best option. There are few day tours which are organized for tourists that take you around the island so you can visit all the popular tourists stops and need not worry about directions with your bike.

Big Buddha Temple:  In case you want a break from the beach crowds, then this temple is the ideal place to go where you can enjoy the peace and serenity of the ambience. The Big Buddha Temple is situated on a small hill and is surrounded by small souvenir and local shops.  Once you climb up to reach the temple, the view of both inside and outside of the temple, are worth a thousand pictures as you can get a good panoramic view of the island from on top of the hill.

Wat Plai Laem:  There are several temples on this island which have become popular among tourists due to their beautiful architecture. Wat Plai Laem is one of the temples which surely should not be missed. It is quite close to Big Buddha temple and although Koh Samui mainly has Buddhist temples, Wat Plai Laem covers a large number of temples which in turn encompasses many deities so you can easily spend more than an hour here to explore this place. Temples are surrounded by ponds full of quite a huge number of fish so feeding the fish is pretty common by the visitors wherein you can pay a small amount and buy feed for the fish.

Chaweng beach:  Apart from temple visit, beaches and waterfalls are the most common site seeing places on this island. You can start your beach tour with Chaweng beach which is surrounded by the most popular restaurants, local markets, and hotels. Since we were lucky to get our hotel in Chaweng, we could explore the entire area on foot.

A few more places that were on our agenda but we couldn’t explore due to lack of time on our trip: Grandfather& Grandmother rocks, Mummified monk and countless waterfalls on the island. Local markets across the islands are best for the souvenir shopping and especially for the street food.  

Koh Samui and Koh Phangan are the places where you should not run around to cover the popular tourist stops. The best way to enjoy these islands is to enjoy the sunrise and sunset views at their innumerable beaches!