Visited in February 2019 by Jon & Marieke

If you tell anyone you are going to the island of Koh Phayam travellers and locals will likely respond by saying “ its pronounced Ko Phanang”.  It’s not. Ko Phayam and Ko Phanang are two completely different islands on opposite coasts of Thailand. They also offer completely different vibes.  Ko Phanang offers the world’s most famous full moon party and Koh Phayam offers a level of chill solitude that is difficult to find elsewhere in Thailand. 

People’s confusion was understandable since we were spending a week in Koh Tao and Koh Phanang is the island next door.  Getting to Koh Phayam from Koa Tao, on the other hand, requires an overnight ferry trip to the mainland, 3 different auto transfers (with lots of hurry up and wait in between) to Ranong plus one more boat ride to the island.

When we realized what a pain the route would be, we questioned if it was even worth the visit. There were other more easily reached islands to pick from.  In the end, we had no regrets.

This island is not for everyone.  With very limited internet and few tourists, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as a solo tourist.  In fact, one of the main blogs about the island I had come across was by Adventurous Kate talking about how she disliked her experience there compared to other islands. I could definitely see where she struggled, although we did not experience any jellyfish or an abundance of garbage on the beaches like she did, so maybe things have changed somewhat since her visit. Ironically I got to discuss this with her in person a few months later when she stayed at our inn during a press trip through Newfoundland. (sorry shameless plug)

Getting Around Ko Phayam

Being able to ride a motorbike is almost essential if you are going to really enjoy the island.  Some accommodations can arrange a driver to take you from place to place, but that gets tough when you don’t want to be on a schedule or have someone waiting around while you read on the beach.  We also noticed that no one wears helmets when driving a bike on the island. Jon and I were the only ones using them and we had to request them at the rental shop. Luckily we did not care too much about looking cool. At that point, I was wearing one sock with Chacos to protect a cut on my foot, so I was already a lost cause for appearances.

We brought up the no helmet observation with a Canadian couple who agreed it was dangerous, adding that their daughter’s friend had just died after falling off the back of a motorbike in Bangkok.  They then drove off helmetless down the road.  

The Island’s Vibe

With the exception of one very strange couple from Scandinavia obsessed with organizing beach cleanups, the Canadians were the only people we talked to during our stay.   For us, it meant a super romantic island getaway, talking about life under the stars with a beach to ourselves.

The island’s vibe leans heavily on Rastafarian versus some other islands that have transformed into Flashpacker havens.  Bob Marley plays everywhere. You won’t be getting a wifi code at the restaurants and the wifi in your room will likely suck too. The beaches are the kind where you don’t mess with lounging chairs, just throw a sarong wherever and no one comes up to sell you anything.  The best part of the island was that my view of the horizon was never blocked by a girl forcing her boyfriend to take the perfect Instagram shot. 

The restaurants were almost as much of a highlight as the beaches.  The Hippie Bar, located in Buffalo Bay (Aow Kao Kwai) was made entirely from driftwood collected over years and resembled something found on the set of the movie Hook.  I personally appreciated the excessive No Babies and No Children Allowed signs.    

Chai Chai was another favourite.  While not cheap it was nice to have some super healthy breakfast options and it was a walkable distance from our place.

There was a reggae bar at the end of Long Beach (Ao Yai) called Stoned Beach Restaurant advertising a free bbq on our second night.  The free bbq was pretty much rice and fruit, but they lit a nice fire for us as we watched a spectacular sunset.

For our last day, we motorbiked to the northern part of the island and walked down to Monkey Beach. This was a much shorter beach than the others, and the tide was quite high, but I found some great shade to read a book while Jon went for a swim. After, we went to the rockier part of Buffalo Bay to witness the low tide during sunset and watch locals harvest food from the sand.  We ate dinner at Krug Khun Kao which offered up amazing local food. We regretted not finding it early and taking a cooking class there.

We were sad to leave the following day, but 3 nights was enough to get us fully relaxed before heading to Khao Sok National Park for a totally different experience.