Haad Kruad beach has several Latin spelling variants: Haad Gruad, Haad Kruat and Haad Kruad. I can’t judge which is correct, so I’m going with the version used by publishers of the best tourist map of Koh Phangan. It’s distributed free at the entrance to Thong Sala.
Haad Kruad beach is a 160-foot (50-metre) stretch of shore in a small bay between Haad Salad and Haad Yao (Western). Essentially it’s an unofficial private beach of Haad Gruad Beach Resort. Deep but not the most swimmable and, in my view, not particularly interesting. It’s only needed by those living nearby.
Beach Overview
This part of Koh Phangan has hilly terrain, but doesn’t consist of steep slopes and jungle – it’s more like Italian Tuscany, just with a Thai accent. Flat hills, sparse vegetation, lots of free space and, for now, very few buildings. Judging by the large number of winding paths and slopes cleared in places, everything here is ready for selling plots for development.
In principle, the location is very successful – neighbouring large beaches Haad Salad and Haad Yao (Western) are nearby. Haad Kruad beach’s minus is the beach itself – it’s really very small. This is of course better than nothing, but it’s also rather ugly.
Swimming
Almost along the entire beach line, on the border between sand and resort territory, there’s a cement pedestrian path. It ends near the Haad Gruad Beach Resort restaurant. Left and right Haad Kruad is bounded by rocks with residential bungalows and scenic restaurants.
At the beach edges underwater there are large stone deposits you can’t run over barefoot, but the centre is quite clean and level with a gentle seabed. But the depth at Haad Kruad is greater than its neighbours and this is clearly visible in high and low tide shots (I only have high tide ones).
It’ll be chest-deep just 16 feet (5 metres) from shore. Waves sometimes occur with a following wind – because of this the left shore of the beach is reinforced with stone barriers.
Sunbeds and Shade
There are sunbeds but no rental. The deck chair question is resolved at the restaurant by buying a cocktail, which they’ll bring right to the beach. So if having a sunbed is critical for you, you won’t be disappointed. Another question is whether you’ll want to come here specifically for a beach holiday, rather than just passing through as I did.
After all, there are much more attractive locations in this regard near Haad Kruad. And regarding shade, I should add that there’s plenty thanks to dense vegetation. Palms cover the beach with an almost continuous canopy, leaving only the rightmost corner of Haad Kruad unprotected.
Beach Photos
Amenities
The beach’s infrastructure within 650 feet (200 metres) of the water consists of what the two largest resorts on shore can offer.
That is, you can have a bite at a restaurant, drink cocktails and get several types of massage without leaving the till – that’s fine. They can also sell you transfers, equipment rental at reception or an excursion tour.
But that’s basically it. No shops or supermarkets have been spotted nearby, and you’ll have to look for something more serious or alternative at Haad Salad or Haad Yao. There’s nothing useful or interesting within half a mile around the beach.
Accommodation
As I wrote above, development of the area has only just begun – normal concrete roads are laid everywhere, and they didn’t make them via the shortest route but created some serpentines here that would only look logical with houses present. In short, street preparations exist but no houses yet.
Two resorts directly adjoin Haad Kruad beach, which I also mentioned:
- Haad Gruad Beach Resort
- Dragon Hut Resort
All other resorts are closer to other beaches, so I won’t write about them in this article – follow the links and read.
How to Get to the Beach
If you’re starting from Thong Sala, head west on the road that runs along the sea. Drive following signs to Haad Salad, but you’ll still need to glance at your phone’s GPS because there are no bright landmarks at the turn to Haad Kruad. On the main road you’ll encounter a fairly large non-chain grocery store with rental bikes parked beside it.
Right after it there’ll be a left turn and signs to Lucky Resort – then you should keep going straight to Dragon Hut’s car park. This is the simplest way to get to the beach without fussing about finding parking.
