Haad Rin Nok is the very beach where the monthly Full Moon Parties take place, events that have long made waves beyond Phangan, Samui and the entire Kingdom of Thailand. Essentially, the Full Moon Party, developed infrastructure and sunrises are the only things that distinguish this ordinary beach, without any special natural splendours, from dozens of similar ones on Phangan.
It’s average in length, width and depth as beaches go. Located at the southernmost point of the island and facing east, which means the night party-goers’ festivities always conclude magnificently with the rising sun.
Beach Overview
In this part of Phangan there’s a long cape that stretches from north to south, towards Samui. The very tip of this cape consists of high hills with rocky steep shores. Between it and the main island, a distinctive flat surface has formed, an isthmus, on either side of which are two beaches: Haad Rin Nok and Haad Rin Nai.
Haad Rin Nok is the eastern beach, shorter at about 2,000 feet (600 metres) in length. It’s bordered by steep rocky shores at both ends and can only be accessed from the sea or via the road from Tong Sala.
Swimming
The entire beach is covered with greyish-yellow sand, as fine as flour. On the flanks of the beach and in the surf line, the sea has washed up large fragments of shells and corals, pebbles and simply very coarse sand, but these are isolated areas of Haad Rin.
Overall, it’s precisely this fine, fluffy sand that, when wet, compresses into a perfectly even, dense surface on which it can sometimes even be painful to walk barefoot, with heels hitting as if on asphalt.
Combined with the barely noticeable slope of the shore, during low tide the beach transforms into an excellent walking track about 150 feet (fifty metres) wide. In places, the bottom is so flat that puddles of seawater remain on the shore. The shallows are such that to reach shoulder-deep water you’ll need to walk (even at high tide) about 100 feet (30 metres) from shore, and waves only occur during high tide and with a tailwind.
You can also catch waves closer to the edges of the beach where it gets slightly deeper. The bottom at Haad Rin is perfectly clean, without stones or other hard unpleasantries. And it’s worth noting that at high water and at noon, the colour of the sea at Haad Rin deserves special attention from amateur photographers.
Not far from Haad Rin Nok, in a cosy bay under Cape Lam Ta To, hides a small beach called Haad Khontee. I’d actually like to do a separate post about it, but I’ve only seen it in passing by sea and only through a camera lens.
So at the end of the Haad Rin photos, you can look at a couple of images of this lost world. The sea there isn’t swimmable with many stones on the bottom. The beach is also such that it’s more for atmosphere than for carefree holidaying, but some people prefer exactly this wild type.
Sunbeds and Shade
There are many trees on the beach, especially in its left part. The centre of Haad Rin Nok is wider and more open, and shade here can only be obtained from solitary enormous trees or palms that grow on the private territories of resorts. But, as I’ve already mentioned, Haad Rin is a beach on the eastern side of the island.
Therefore, until noon the sun beats down here, but then it begins to move westward and the shadow from private trees creeps onto the public beach, so closer to lunchtime you’ll have more than enough shady spots for shelter. I didn’t notice any sunbeds on Haad Rin.
Beach Photos
Near Moon House Seafood And Steak restaurant
Near Tommy Resort
Haad Khontee
Amenities
The beach infrastructure matches its status – the number one party spot on Phangan. Therefore, the entire isthmus represents a labyrinth of buildings of various heights where you can find absolutely all types of services, from rentals to medical assistance.
There are chain mini-markets, bank branches, ATMs, massage parlours and travel agencies, guesthouses, fruit stalls, cafeterias from different countries and of different price categories. The first line is occupied by resorts and hotels of various calibres.
Accommodation
There are indeed many accommodation options, from the cheapest variants with rooms for groups, to hotels with not-so-budget rooms. Based on personal experience and reviews from people I know, it makes sense to book accommodation for a long term in one of these hotels/resorts:
- Tommy Resort 3
- Palita Lodge 3
- Phangan Bayshore Resort 3
- Dancing Elephant No.1 Party Hostel
How to find the beach
On the map below I’ve marked with a special brown marker the corner mini-market, near which you need to turn left to get to Haad Rin Nok beach. The main road in this part of Phangan looks like an ordinary secondary concrete road, so the turn will be not obvious and it’s better to remember the landmark.
Then drive until the end until a car park appears packed with motorbikes. The place is popular, so the closer to the sea, the less free parking space, especially for cars. Keep this in mind.
