Gulf of Thailand
Getting here is part of the plan. The island has no working airport — the project was abandoned years ago — so everyone arrives by boat, usually from Samui in half an hour to an hour, landing at Thong Sala on the south-west coast or at Haad Rin. For a guest staying on Samui, the last public boats back leave in the early evening, so a sunset session on Phangan means a night on the island or a private speedboat. Inside the island, distance is measured in hills: the road to Thong Nai Pan is steep and winding, Bottle Beach is easiest by long-tail boat, and the frames worth having are often at the end of a track that is no place for a scooter in a dress. We plan the route in a car, and allow for it in the hours. The island has two coasts and two crowds. The west — Srithanu, Haad Yao, Haad Salad, Mae Haad — faces the sunset and is where the yoga schools, cafés and long-stay creators live; this is where content, solo and portrait sessions are booked. The east and north — Thong Nai Pan, Haad Rin's Sunrise beach — face the morning. Haad Rin itself is two beaches on a narrow neck of land: Sunrise beach, where the Full Moon Party happens, and Sunset beach a few minutes' walk away on the other side. Between them, the north coast — Chaloklum, Malibu, Bottle Beach — is the island at its quietest, and its shallow, clear water is the reason many couples come over from Samui for the day rather than shooting at home.
Phangan shares Samui's calendar. January to April is dry, clear and calm; May to August is mostly dry with short showers and is a good alternative when the Andaman coast is in its monsoon. October to December brings the north-east monsoon, with November usually the wettest: rain can last days, the east-coast bays get heavy surf, and boat crossings are rougher or occasionally cancelled. Beyond the weather, check the moon: in the days around each Full Moon Party, Haad Rin and the boats from Samui are full, and the rest of the island is noticeably busier.
Here is where to shoot in Koh Phangan, with ideal times and permit notes.
A spit of sand that links Mae Haad on the north-west coast to the small island of Koh Ma, with water on both sides. It is only a walkway at low tide, so the tide table is checked when you book, not on the day. Facing west-north-west, it catches the late light across the bay.
Two beaches back to back on the southern tip. Sunrise beach faces east and, outside party week, is a wide bay of pale sand with the headland at its end; Sunset beach, a few minutes' walk across the neck, faces west. On the morning after a Full Moon Party, Sunrise beach is no backdrop at all.
The prettier of the twin bays on the north-east coast: a crescent of sand between green headlands, quiet and largely resort-backed. The road from Thong Sala is steep and winding and is driven in a car, not on a scooter. The view over both bays is from the hill road between them.
A small rocky beach on the west coast at the heart of the island's yoga community, and the sunset gathering point for it. The light and the setting suit solo portraits and creator content; the evening crowd is part of the atmosphere, and not everyone in it wants to be photographed.
Inside Than Sadet–Koh Phangan National Park: a short walk to the falls, then a steep trail of about half an hour up to a rock outcrop overlooking the island's west coast. Proper shoes for the climb; the outfit goes up in a backpack. In the dry months the waterfall itself is little more than a trickle.
These beaches and areas come under the Koh Phangan rate: the photographer comes to you at no extra charge, and the session costs exactly the same.
It is held on Haad Rin Sunrise beach once a month, on or around the full moon; the date is occasionally moved when it falls on a Buddhist holiday, so check the current calendar. It only affects a session if you want Haad Rin or are crossing from Samui that week. The west and north coasts are fine; the beach at Haad Rin the morning after is not.
Yes, as a day trip. Boats from Samui take thirty minutes to an hour, and the last public crossings back leave in the early evening, so a day-trip session is a morning or midday one. If you want a Phangan sunset, plan a night on the island or a private speedboat back.
The west: Srithanu, Haad Yao, Haad Salad and the Koh Ma sandbar at Mae Haad, plus Haad Rin's Sunset beach in the south. The east-coast bays — Thong Nai Pan, Haad Rin Sunrise — are morning locations, and the hills behind them put them in shade early in the evening.
