how to get to koh phangan from phuket
 

hi,
does anyone have any idea on this? i would be arriving in phuket at 10am on 16 oct 2005 and wanna go to the full moon party on 18th. i have done some online search. the bus and ferry schedules seem very tight. any recommendation on the accommodation in koh phangan? maybe around US$50. btw, anyone planning to go to the full moon party on oct? ;p thanks heaps

From Phuket Town ( East Coast side ) take the bus/ferry combination to Koh Samui and from there take the boat to Koh Phangan, note that over the FMP on Koh Phangan many places want a minimum number of nights, try this and watch for places requiring a minimum number of nights, there are lots of cheap places plus also nice accommodations.

Most buses would leave quite early, there are also mini-vans operated by travel agents but these are 9/12 seaters and wow can be cramped and uncomfortable, from the Phuket Town Bus station you get the nice air-con blue and white buses all the way. Just prioer to the FMP there are lots and lots of boats from Samui and it is only a short journey.

Are you arriving into Phuket from Singapore or KL?, if you were arriving from Bangkok pointless going to Phuket first as is much easier to go there straight from Bangkok. Take care of yourself at the FMP.


www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/kohphangan/hotels/


here are some up to date Aug/Sep reviews of places to stay there

http://www.res24.com/review/posts.ht...=beachsiam.com

Just to add to JamesA's excellent info. BEWARE of pickpockets at these parties. Don't take any credit cards, travellers cheques, I.D. etc. and take little cash. Pickpocketing is rife! And make sure you can swim as the boats from and to Samui are often overloaded! Good luck! Sorry if I sound like your Mom!

Recommendations for accommodation:

http://www.haadladresort.com/index.htm#07150045res - nice bungalows on low key beach, fan only, lovely owners and food, few other nice restaurants on the beach, they run a songthaew to the party on the night and you will certainly meet up with some other people from the resort who are going.

Baan Panburi on Thong Nai Pan Noi - I think they run boats from this beach to the full moon. Again, fan only but beautiful bungalows. This is the best beach on the island. There is a resort on here with air con and a pool as well for 1200B per night or perhaps a little less as it is offpeak now.

If you are looking for air con, there are now quite a few places with air con on Phangnan - the links JamesA gave you will list them. Some are on Haad Rin - where the FMP party is - but the noise from the party will go on all night and beyond...

I'll second Lyndie's advice re. safety - if you can, stay on Ko Phangnan rather than on Samui thereby avoiding the over loaded boats.

thanks heaps to jamesa (are those full moon parties dodgy?) and lyndie (i'm not a good swimmer, thanks very much for the ferries being overloaded) for the useful info. they help a lot in my planning for this coming holiday.

my initial plan was flying from sing to phuket. the full moon party was included in the itinerary on the last minute.

just wanna clarify some more doubts. from the websites i found, the buses going from phuket to surat are rather early. could anyone help me with some other bus schedules of later times since i would be arriving at 10am? i really wanna do all the traveling within a day and chill :)

another thing is that some websites provide info on going from surat to koh phangan, would this be lesser hassle to bypass koh samui?
thanks again :)

geok

yes sorry, from Surat Thani you can get a boat to KPG, plenty of buses from Phuket Town, not so clear about your routing but there are direct flights from Singapore to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways but the fares are real expensive.
I think I am often 'too soft'( and cuddly too ) but Lyndie has been more straighforward, DO take care and you actually do need to keep some ID with you, these are beach 'raves' and that is not 'Sentosa island' style 'rave', I would never deter someone from doing what they want to enjoy but do keep common sense on full power and hopefully you are going with friends, it's a long long way to go for a beach 'rave' but sure, for a fun thing once, just be sure in your own min it's 'your thing'.

I can't help with your question re. later buses but I'd recommend you get a through ticket to Phangnan. The boat to Phangnan will stop at Samui and will then go onto Phangnan. You might want to check the weather on Samui before you head over that way as the weather can be wet at that time of year and if so, the boats can be pretty rocky in rough weather to put it mildly! If you are on a boat in rough weather, I'd recommend staying on deck to avoid getting seasick. You will be wet :( but not sick :). Some of the boats over to Samui/Phangnan are big ferries (like car ferries), then there are catamarans and fishing style boats as well. The boats running between Samui and Phangnan that get overloaded during the FMP in particular are the speedboats.

hello pple, thanks so much for all the info you have provided. this has made my trip much easier. Bella_Bluebell, my boyfriend and i would take up your recommendation to stay at baan panburi. JamesA, thanks for your concern and advice on the FMP. we would be careful there :)

Fantastic - please let us know how you found Baan Panburi and the beach that it is on - I think it is beautiful.

hey ppl, thanks for all the advices for my trip to phuket again. my boyfriend and i enjoyed it very much. the full moon party was awesome. bella_bluebell, thanks for your recommendation. we love baan panburi. the staff are very friendly and the food there is very good. the beach is nice and not crowded. Very nice place to chill. it's in a remote location which is the beauty of it. it would be more convenient to stay somewhere near for the full moon party and then chill in baan panburi. we really enjoyed our stay in baan panburi. thanks guys :)

Hi Geok - glad you enjoyed Baan Panburi! Did you travel there by boat or road? Last time I went to that beach, the road was a bit of a rollercoaster
B

hi bella_bluebell, we went there by road. you're so totally right abt the rollercoaster ride ;p it was raining on our way there, you could imagine how fun it was ;p