In Ao Hin Kong, Lipstick Cabana has seven rooms, 3 are new and all are mid priced and very clean. It has a nice private piece of beach and although the bay is not a great swimming spot in low tidal season (April to October) due to the wide sand flats, it is a secluded resort great for getting away from it all. Nantakarn is about 200 metres further up Ao Hin Kong and is a new resort that has relocated from around the corner. The ten rooms all have fan and bathroom for 150 - 200 Baht, and the restaurant is in a nice position on the beach to catch sunset.
On the point of Laem Sri Thanu there are four resorts that are all popular as the reef is near (thus swimming is relatively easy), they each have a private secluded section of beach, sunset views and are near to the village of Sri Thanu. Moon Beach is the newest with 10 good bungalows with great views across Ao Hin Kong available at a bargain 300 Baht per night. Chai Country is possibly the best of the three with ten rooms, five with fan and bathroom for 150 Baht and five new rooms at 250 Baht. Chai and his team are always "very pleased to meet you" and are so hospitable you'll never want to leave. Banana Beach is a small but neat operation with four rooms and excellent European and Thai food knocked up by the Thai / German owners. Loy Fa has forty rooms and a big plot of land with its own small beach and a full variety of different bungalows, mostly on the hillside, some on the beach, all with great views. You can rent 150 Baht fair-sized rooms with fans, bigger concrete ones for 200 and there are some larger bungalows on the beach for 500 Baht.
In the village of Sri Thanu, Ladda Shop has some small clean 150 Baht bungalows and a reasonably priced menu. Monthly prices can be negotiated on the rooms and the shop has the best Internet facilities in the area. The Beach is a new ten room resort that has been done out very nicely, it is smaller than its neighbour Seaview Rainbow, that has over 30 rooms. Both are split by a picturesque river and have bungalows for 150 to 250 Baht, Seaview also has some luxury 500 Baht rooms with fan.
Near Laem Son lake and shaded by tall pine trees, Laemson and Laemson 2 are both family operations that have a nice secluded stretch of coastline and clean gardens. Laemson 2 is the smallest of the pair with eight bungalows with fan, most with beach frontage for 100 to 250 Baht. Its sister resort has 18 rooms similarly priced, and also has three 500 Baht luxury bungalows with fan.
Further up the winding beach, Bovy Resort has never really recovered from the hurricane that hit the island in 1998. It is well secluded and used to be an old favourite for those seeking isolation, it opens in high season with cheap rooms and a weathered look.
On beautifully scenic Ao Chao Phao there are twelve resorts offering a great variety of accommodation. Nakorn Palm Beach is slowly but surely refurbishing the resort after a long closure. A lot of the fourteen rooms are too shabby to stay in and it is only open in the high season. It has great food and the five or six good rooms all have fan and bathroom, are reasonably priced and right on the beach.
See Thanu Bungalows has a good level of service in attractive surroundings making this long runner a favourite with many returning Koh Pha Ngan devotees. It has a variety of rooms, eighteen in all, with large wooden bungalows on the beach for 250 Baht next to 1000 Baht luxury pads. It also has some bungalows with double and single beds for families etc. set back off the beach in the lush gardens.
Seaflower retains the old skool Pha Ngan vibe with 22 quaint thatched bungalows for 100 to 150 Baht set in immaculate gardens, and a few new and bigger rooms for 350 Baht. Most of the rooms are a bit weathered, but it is still very popular and has a cheap restaurant with a great bohemian atmosphere. The acclaimed Village Green is a newly opened restaurant and bar serving hearty portions of tasty Thai and European specialities, located on the main road behind Seaflower. At present it only has one traditional Thai style cottage at 350 Baht, with more in the making. The Village Green also provides fishing and snorkelling trips around the island.
Phangan Cabana is vying for a more upmarket crowd, it has a swimming pool and twenty of its forty rooms have air conditioning at 1000 Baht and up, fan rooms are 500 Baht. Jungle Hut, Had Chao Phao and Hut Sun are neat, small family run operations each with around ten rooms with fan and bathroom, priced between 150 to 300 Baht.
Great Bay has a fair sized plot at the rockier end of Ao Chao Phao, with a range of new and old rooms; all with fan and bathroom priced between 200 to 400 Baht. There are 25 rooms in total and it has a lively restaurant and a small, friendly beach bar.
Further up the hill that flanks the Ao Chao Phao, Sunview has ten newish rooms for 350 to 500 Baht, is close to the beach and has great sunset views over the islands of Anthong Marine Park. Greenview (formerly Rock Garden) has the same views, and 11 reasonably priced rooms, at 100 to 150 Baht, with fan and bathroom. The new Rock Garden has a small piece of beach at the bottom of the steep rocky cliffs that its five new 300 Baht bungalows look over; all have fan and bathroom. Starden has ten rooms with a view, fan and bathroom on the top of the first hill.
The next beach on the golden stretch is Had Son, previously privately owned, it only has one well-run and neat operation on it at present, Haad Son Bungalows - they have a hilltop swimming pool spectacular sunset views! There are 20 new and 9 older well-kept rooms, some with fan and bathroom and most with A/C, prices range between 400 to 1700 Baht. Up on the hill is Tantawan; it has French and Thai owners, a small dipping pool and 12 rooms with hillside vistas.
The next hillside operation is the friendly family run Over Bay Restaurant and Bungalows. The seafood is renowned across the island and the rooms are new and spacious, with the best views over Had Yao. Immediately below is the infamous Sandy Bay Bungalows, occupying the entire southern end of the beach with over thirty rooms. It was here at the beginning and has grown with the beaches popularity. They have every type of room, from 150 Baht old style huts on the beach to 1000 Baht super pads. They also have their own TV room, great food and the Sandy Bar for a beer on the beach. Next is Seaboard, with excellent seafood and 13 bath and fan rooms for 300 - 500 Baht. Ibiza have spacious bungalows and a big plot, with 15 rooms at 200 to 300 Baht.
Had Yao Bungalows have 30 good rooms, all with bathroom and fan, for 150 to 800 Baht. It was another of the first operations on this side of the island, and is a long-time favourite with many returning visitors. Long Beach also has 30 decent rooms priced between 300 - 800 Baht and Silver Beach still has a few 50 Baht shacks with no bathroom and bungalows with a fan and bathroom are 150 - 200 Baht. Long Bay is a new resort with a vast site; they have 40 rooms at present, all aiming at a luxury market. Bay View is the last resort up the north end of the beach; it is another well-established resort and has over 60 rooms priced between 60 to 1000 Baht. They also have their own beach bar, no less than two supermarkets and have cars and motorbikes for rent.
Up on the hill are some cheaper rooms with great sunset views. Benjawan and Blue Coral both have 10 rooms for 60 Baht with no bathroom and 120 Baht with bathroom and fan. Dream Hill has six nice new rooms and some cheaper ones, all with fan and bathroom for 100 to 250 Baht. Graceland and Sun Moon Star also have reasonably priced new rooms with fan and bathroom for 100 to 150 Baht; Sun Moon Star also cook the best chicken pies this near the equator.
Up and then down a rugged and steep dirt road lies Had Thian (west), a secluded beach with just one bungalow operation, Haad Thian with twenty rooms, 70 - 100 Baht without a bathroom, and 200 - 300 Baht with. High Life is a top place, with 18 clean and well-kept rooms nestled into the smooth rocks that surround Had Kruad. It's the ideal hillside retreat with a chilled vibe and sunset views over the Marine Park; all rooms have fan and bathroom and are 150 Baht.
The next beach is Had Salad that has undergone a bit of development recently due to its better transport connections and beautiful scenic vistas. Most of the development has been tasteful and has raised the standard of accommodation available on the beach. Salad Hut is an old favourite, with a good level of service and well-kept rooms, there are ten all together, all with fan and bathroom and are priced between 200 to 300 Baht. Coral Beach has eight beach facing rooms and a cool relaxed atmosphere. Asia Resort has 4 nice-sized new rooms with fan and bathroom, priced between 350 - 500 Baht. My way is another long-runner with a good reputation; they do deals on long term stay and have a large piece of beach frontage with 50 Baht bungalows with no bathroom and 100 - 150 Baht with fan and bathroom. Green Papaya is a new place with a commitment to quality, they have 17 rooms priced between 100 Baht for a fan and bathroom up to 1000 Baht for Air conditioning. Had Lad Resort have 24 spacious rooms with fan and bathroom priced at 200 to 500 Baht.
Had Mae Had is the beach that is linked to Koh Ma by a sandbar that is hidden in high tides. The waters are designated as National Marine Park due to the rich sea life and corals, and it is the best site on the island for snorkelling and diving.
Mae Had View resort is on the track to Wang Sai waterfall a little before Mae Had itself. It has scenic views over Koh Ma with hillside bungalows with fan and bathroom at 200 to 300 Baht. Wang Sai resort is at the southern end of Mae Had beach. They have 18 rooms and are building some big new ones. Prices start at 100 to 150 Baht, more for the new rooms. Island View Cabana has a good reputation and 25 rooms at 150 Baht with fan and bathroom.
Mae Had Bay has some cheap rooms for 50 Baht without bathroom and 300 Baht with fan and bathroom. Royal Orchid has 200 to 500 Baht rooms, all with fan and bathroom and Mae Had Resort also has 50 Baht rooms and some 150 Baht bungalows with fan and bathroom. Crystal island Garden is a little on the weathered side, but has a great atmosphere and isolated rooms on the hills surrounding it or near the beach looking over Koh Ma; prices start at 40 Baht without a bathroom then 100 - 150 with fan and bathroom.
Pha-Ngan Utopia Resort is a new place, very well done out with some of the best views on the island. It overlooks Mae Had and Koh Ma on one of the highest peaks in the area, there are 15 rooms, all with fan and bathroom priced between 300 to 500 Baht.
The island of Koh Ma has one bungalow operation, Koh Ma Dive Resort, with six spacious bungalows, all have bathroom and fan for 300 Baht on your own desert island, what more could you want!
|