Mae Haad beach (sometimes called MaeHad) is a fairly well-known spot on Koh Phangan. It’s located on the northwest edge of the island where, just 350 feet (100 metres) from the shore, sits the small satellite island of Ko Ma that you can easily reach by walking across a sandbar.
This place is considered Koh Phangan’s calling card and is easily recognisable from those photos where a snow-white sandbar with azure sea and strolling people stretches between two green shores. You’ll find something similar but on a much larger scale on the neighbouring island of Ko Nangyang, near Ko Tao.
Beach Overview
To simplify greatly, it’s shaped like a three-pointed Mercedes star. For ease of understanding, I’d suggest mentally standing at the point where all three parts connect – at the beginning of the sandbar.
Right in front of you will be a 650 feet (200 metres) strip of sand that’s only exposed during low tide and is perfectly suitable for walks and beach activities. The sandbar stretches from south to north and offers an excellent view in any direction except north – where the horizon is blocked by Ko Ma islet.
The downside of the sandbar is that it’s catastrophically dependent on water levels and seasons – during storms, it gets heavily battered by waves.
To your left and behind you will be the longest coastal section of Mae Haad – 2,000 feet (600 metres) of pleasant yellowish sand with a wide beach. This part of Koh Phangan faces west and offers a beautiful view of the clear sea horizon with sprinklings of islands to the left.
Roughly in the middle, there’s the mouth of a seasonal stream – after the monsoon ends, it dries up, leaving behind a couple of greenish pools and a ditch in the middle of the beach, but the Thais quickly fill in the water-eroded sand, restoring the beach until the next rainy season.
To the right of Mae Haad centre stretches about 650 feet (200 metres) of slightly less attractive beach – here the shore is partially reinforced against erosion with concrete rings. The sea is also shallower here, which doesn’t stop guests of the local resorts from enjoying their beach holiday.
This part of the beach faces north with Ko Ma islet blocking the entire horizon, so you won’t be able to watch sunsets without leaving your bungalows.
Swimming
The beach width varies from 15 feet to 80 feet (5 to 25 metres), and thanks to the classic Koh Phangan shallows, all parts of Mae Haad get heavily flooded during high tide. For example, when I was on the beach during high tide, the sandbar wasn’t visible at all.
Consequently, at high water, you won’t be carelessly strolling to Ko Ma but rather wading through chest-deep water. That’s why I didn’t make it to Ko Ma, but as far as I understand, there’s not much to see there anyway, just a small beach and several bungalows.
Mae Haad is very beautiful during low tide, while high tide eats up almost the entire beach. Due to the sea depth, there are typically no high waves during calm seasons, making it an excellent place for holidays with children. The sand is light yellow, fine, with many pebbles and shells; you’ll often come across larger stones both on the shore and underwater.
The entry into the sea is comfortable and gradual, and you’ll only be able to hang in the water at full height about 65 feet (twenty metres) from shore, provided it’s high tide.
Sunbeds and Shade
Mae Haad is an exceptionally beautiful beach with many trees growing on the shore, so there is shade, but on the western half of the beach – only until noon. However, in the area where the path leads to the sandbar, there’s quite a dense grove on the shore with shade at any time of day, though cafes and restaurants occupy most of the space there.
On the right half of Mae Haad (northern), there’s no problem with shade throughout the day; this little nook has its own advantages.
Beach Photos
Access to the sea is on the left near Wang Sai Resort
The central area is around the island of Koh Ma
The right side is near Maehaad Bay Resort.
Amenities
Mae Haad has two organised car parks, one closer to the right edge of the beach, the other closer to the left. The right one is covered with asphalt, bikes are parked in rows and the car park extends almost to the shore, while the one on the left is a parking area on sand. On the right part of Mae Haad, in the bay of the same name, there’s a boat parking area, and there are a couple of beachfront resorts if you want to stay here.
Just a reminder – you’ll be looking at stones and boats on the shore, a rather gloomy landscape. That’s why everyone hangs out near where the sandbar begins and the western part of Mae Haad. The most serious concentration of people is right here.
The place as a whole is very pleasant, the area is small with only a few hotels located right by the beach, some small resorts, there’s little infrastructure and it all boils down to tourist services – resort cafes and massage salas. Salas are Thai pavilions, in case you didn’t know. I didn’t notice any shops within a 650 feet (200 metres) radius, neither chain stores nor Thai private shops.
Attractions include: Wang Sai Waterfall Wang Sai Waterfall and the park recreation area next to it, plus Bar “420”. The waterfall and recreation area are deep in the island, while Bar 420 is the roof of an abandoned hotel which (rumour has it) belongs to the police.
It used to be just a wild abandoned construction site and an object of adoration for urban exploration enthusiasts. Now everything is properly set up with a panoramic view of almost 360 degrees.
Near Bar on the same mountain is the popular Utopia Resort hotel and restaurant. The establishment has a high rating but tired interior and exterior. However, due to its viewpoint restaurant, it constantly has a flow of people, even though all the recent reviews about it are not so great.
You could consider it as an accommodation option, but – remember the mountain? It’s located on a mountain, and if you stay there, you’ll either have to get to the beach by bike to avoid dying on the climb back, or walk on foot risking a heart attack.
Accommodation
The resorts in the area are very different – there are wooden houses, large ones, and there are very simple ones. Plus construction sites. This used to be a quiet peaceful place, but now large-scale development has begun; perhaps there will soon be fancy resorts here, but for now, everything is noisy and dusty. I definitely wouldn’t stay here at the moment with all those clattering excavators… it’s better to come, sunbathe and go back to a quiet place.
As options for a couple of holiday weeks, I would recommend these two resorts:
- Maehaad Bay Resort
- Mae Haad Beach View Resort
The first is on the left part of the beach, the second on the right. Given that all beaches are within walking distance, there’s no need to meticulously analyse the pros and cons of each.
How to find the beach
Drive to Wang Sai Resort, it’s easy to find as it’s marked in big letters on the signs. There’s a passage through this resort, or rather through the café belonging to the resort and a bridge. And if you don’t aim for Wang Sai but turn right a bit earlier, you’ll end up practically at the sandbar.
But going through the bridge is more interesting, although the café administrator constantly gets cross and makes you take off your shoes so she doesn’t have to clean up the sand after you.
