Why to go Island Hopping in Thailand?
Hey, it’s Anja! 🙂
When searching for an escape from the German winter, some rest after our Kilimanjaro climb and with not much time (12 days) at hand, I decided to travel to Thailand for some Island Hopping. 🙂 During this period of time it has warm temperatures, the food is delicious and you can travel at a reasonable price. And as Maggy wasn’t able to come with, I made the plan to join some friends already booked on Koh Thao and Koh Phangan!
I decided to visit only two islands to avoid traveling around restless the whole time and to skip spending most of the time in buses and on farries. I choose Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, which was absolutely the right decision!
Half Moon Party on Koh Phangan 🙂
With a flight to Koh Samui the ferry straight away to Koh Phangan, it is easy and to reach. It takes around 30-45 minutes, depending on which ferry company you choose and which pier you’re departing from.
Koh Phangan is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in southeast Thailand in Surat Thani Province. It’s famous for its Full Moon Party and as a backpacker destination. Koh Tao to the north (about 2hrs further by ferry) is a bit smaller and famous for diving (especially in search of relatively inexpensive scuba diving certification)!
Fortunately there was a Half Moon Party during my stay. 🙂 Half Moon Party is the “little sister” of the Full Moon Party and quite famous for Thailand and especially the island of Koh Phangan. A lot of travelers and backpackers visit the island just for the party. The event is highly invested and professionally executed, giving attention to every detail great or small. The location of the event is covered with UV decorations and deco with massive visual projections. It’s known for the extraordinary selection of electronic music as well. I liked it and had a lot of fun dancing through the night… 😉
Finding peace on Koh Thao
After about one week of island life in Koh Phangan, I took a fairy straight to Koh Tao (takes around 2 hours) to find some serenity and peace apart from the party on Koh Phangan. I stayed at the Wind Beach Resort which is located on the northern part of Sairee Beach with great views of the sunset and the beach from their restaurant.
The resorts location is excellent as it is right in the heart of Sairee beach and only a minutes’ walk away from the main village with all the shops, bars and restaurants. They can also organize boat trips, motor bike and car rental, and they have a good travel agency to get you where you need to go after Koh Tao. They also have their own diving school, where you can book dive excursions or get your diving license. I thought that would be a nice combination of enjoying island life, relaxing, diving, fun, sports and a bit of party.
All in all, I did have a brilliant all-round vacation (except Maggy was missing, but at least I found a temporary friend ⇓, she actually climbed some mountains in the German Alps at that time) and successfully skipped 2 weeks of German winter! I came back full of energy and ready to take-off to another great adventure, which will be coming soon, for sure –> stay tuned! 🙂
