Wai Nam Beach is a secluded cove with a 330-foot (hundred-metre) strip of sand, tucked away in the wilds of Phangan’s south-eastern corner. There’s not much to say about this beach really, because there’s literally nothing here except sand, rocks, sea and a small resort with very basic bungalows.
Beach Overview
The beach sits at the foot of a large hill and is hemmed in on both sides by steep cliffs, which make it impossible to reach the beach along the shore from neighbouring beaches Haad Tien and Haad Yuan.
Hidden in a small patch of jungle greenery near the cove are a few buildings, whilst Wai Nam itself is a 30-foot (ten-metre) strip of coarse sand with loads of little stones scattered about. It’s yellow, very loose sand with masses of bits and bobs – crushed shells and coral fragments ground up by the sea.
Usually there are very few people on the beach, but on party days at Guy’s Bar and Eden Bar, you’ll find a few more souls here. And they might be a bit odd.
Swimming
The seabed drops away quite sharply, which makes the sea at Had Wai Nam rather comfortable for those who fancy floating about vertically not far from shore. The water gets deep just 30 feet (ten metres) from the surf line, and it’s surprisingly clear because the coarse sand settles quickly on the bottom without creating that murky yellowish haze.
Sunbeds and Shade
There’s shade aplenty, but no sunbeds whatsoever. For this tiny 330-foot (hundred-metre) stretch of beach, there are several massive trees with broad canopies, so there’s no shortage of shade at Wai Nam. Until midday you’ll get properly roasted (it faces east), but from 12 o’clock the shade starts creeping across the beach. People usually bring their own beach kit, and as a rule everyone travels light.
Beach Photos
Amenities
The infrastructure at Wai Nam consists of one bar and a handful of bungalows dotted about in the jungle depths. There are no shops, walking streets or markets here – never have been. All the attractions are quite far away, given how isolated this beach is and how utterly underdeveloped the land transport links are.
As for attractions, there’s Guy’s Bar on the neighbouring Haad Tien beach, which you can reach on foot in just a few minutes. But more often it works the other way round – people come for a party at Guy’s Bar and the next morning some of them drift over to Wai Nam, where they can have a swim and carry on the festivities (after-party).
Accommodation
The little huts belong to a resort whose name escapes me, and they look only marginally better than basic. Single-layer wooden walls, shuttered windows, brick toilet extensions and septic tanks that empty straight into the cove. Further inland there are slightly larger and more substantial houses, but that “slightly” is barely noticeable.
How to Find the Beach
There are only two options: ride a scooter through the jungle and earn yourself a medal for nerves of steel, or splash out and hire a boatman like most tourists on Phangan do. I won’t describe the overland route because it’s a job for experienced folk, and with those roads, it’ll be a proper adventure for the brave-hearted.
It’s much simpler and better for your health to pay 300 baht for a boatman, arrive in one piece and wander about the shore with your camera intact.
