The Full Moon Party is a beach party that takes place all night at Sunrise Beach on Haad Rin, Koh Phangan, and is celebrated approximately thirteen times a year. During the remainder of 2026, there are parties on October 27, November 24, and December 24, as well as a New Year's Eve countdown on December 31. The year 2027 begins on Friday, January 22. The party takes place on the night of the full moon, unless that night is a Buddhist holiday. In that case, the party is postponed to the following night. Therefore, the Full Moon Party on October 27, 2026, takes place immediately after the end of the Buddhist Lent.
Entry costs 200 baht at the door; no pre-registration is necessary. The party can last until sunrise at 6:00 AM, and 1,500–4,000 baht is enough for most visitors to get in for the whole night. The organization is a reward for good planning. Rooms on Haad Rin are booked weeks in advance, and there are minimum stay requirements. Since the island has no airport, everyone arrives by boat. Below you'll find the dates, information about the party night, accommodation tips, boat schedules for the party nights, dress code recommendations, and safety rules for an unforgettable experience.
Accommodation in Koh Phangan
Search for hotels on Koh Phangan for your travel dates or narrow your search to the region recommended in this guide. Filter for hotels with free cancellation if you'd like to book a room and decide later.
Open Booking.com with your travel dates · also on Expedia · Trip.com
My recommendations for every price category on Koh Phangan
When does the Full Moon Party take place? All dates for 2026 and 2027.
The calendar published by the organizers (including 2027) shows the dates. The festivities take place on the night of the full moon or, if it is a Buddhist holiday, on the following night. As dates may change due to local announcements, you should check with your hotel a few days beforehand, especially around Songkran and other holidays.
Key facts
It happens in exactly one place
Haad Rin Nok, the Sunrise Beach, is a horseshoe-shaped stretch of sand on the southeastern tip of Koh Phangan, lined with a dozen bars featuring sound systems that play everything from commercial EDM to drum & bass. The "full moon parties" advertised elsewhere in Thailand are nothing more than cheap imitations.
What the night costs
Entry costs 200 baht and is only available at the entrance. According to the organizers, the money is used to fund beach cleaning. Buckets cost around 300–500 baht, street food is available all night, and those not staying overnight in Haad Rin will need a songthaew or boat for the return trip. Most visitors can get by with 1,500–4,000 baht for the entire night.
Haad Rin publishes books, but with restrictions.
Rooms in the immediate vicinity are booked weeks before each party, and most hotels require a minimum stay of 3–5 nights. Ban Tai and Thongsala are budget-friendly starting points with convenient songthaew rides. Srithanu is a quiet retreat on the opposite coast.
Only ferries, as there is no airport.
From Koh Samui, the crossing takes 20–50 minutes (with Lomprayah, Seatran, Songserm, or the Haad Rin Queen directly to Haad Rin). From the mainland, boats and overnight ferries from Surat Thani connect to buses and trains. During the day, boats are often fully booked on public holidays, so it is advisable to book the crossing 3–7 days in advance, and even further ahead over Christmas and New Year.
Do you miss the moon? The island never stands still.
The Half Moon Festival holds its two-day editions about a week before and after each full moon, the Black Moon Party takes place around the new moon, Jungle Experience and OXA have their own event calendars, and the bars in Haad Rin are open almost every night during peak season anyway. On a week-long trip, you're almost guaranteed to experience something amazing.
The rules that really matter
Wear shoes (glass shards in the sand are the most common cause of injury), avoid the sea after dark, be mindful of your hygiene, keep valuables in your room safe instead of on the beach, and refrain from jumping rope around the bonfire. Riding a scooter and partying at night is the worst combination on the island, so take a songthaew instead.
What happens at a full moon party?
The party has been going strong since the mid-1980s (Wikipedia dates the first event to 1985, and legend has it it started as a small gathering on the beach) and has grown into nights that draw a few thousand visitors in the off-season, but over 20,000 in peak season. There's no headliner and no main stage. There's a beach. Every bar on Sunrise Beach has its own sound system, commercial dance music in the older clubs like Cactus and Drop In in the center, heavier music by the rocks, and the crowd wanders between bars all night, painted with UV light, buckets in hand, and sometimes even in mid-air. Fire shows fill the gaps, with limbo lines, burning jump ropes (careful, don't jump, as burns are a known issue at Haad Rin Hospital), and performers who are truly excellent within the safety of the spectacle.
Patience pays off. Sunset is part of the warm-up, and the hillside terraces of the Amsterdam Bar on the west side of the island provide the traditional, relaxed start. Haad Rin fills up from around 10:00 PM, reaches its peak between 1:00 and 3:00 AM, and the party is officially allowed to continue until sunrise at 6:00 AM, when the intrepid can witness a truly beautiful sunrise over the same sand. The street stalls behind the beach stay open all night, and the Pad Kra Pao at 2:00 AM is simply a must. Pace yourself, because it's a marathon disguised as a sprint.
Do you need tickets for the Full Moon Party?
No. There are no advance tickets for the Full Moon Party. Entry costs 200 baht in cash and is only available at the party entrance. The money is collected by the organizers from the Haad Rin Business Association and goes towards funding beach cleanup and village infrastructure. It is the cheapest item in the party's budget.
The "Full Moon Party Tickets" sold online are something special. They are transfer packages from Koh Samui (round trip by boat or minibus, sometimes including the 200 Baht entrance fee), party hostel deals, or tickets for the Half Moon Festival, for which you actually need separate tickets. Such a package can be useful if you're already on Samui and want to arrange your return boat trip, but you don't need one to get to the beach.
Where to stay overnight during the full moon party
It's about proximity to your holiday destination and peace and quiet, and on holidays, about booking time and price. Rooms across the island become increasingly scarce and expensive in December and around New Year's Eve, so you should book as soon as your travel dates are confirmed for these periods.
Haad Rin, if the party is the point
Haad Rin itself is the ideal option for those seeking a quieter experience: guesthouses and small hotels are just a five-minute walk from the beach and are booked weeks in advance, as stays of at least three to five nights are the norm. If partying is the main reason for your trip, pay the higher price, book the minimum stay, and enjoy the extra days relaxing on a truly beautiful beach. Haad Rin Nai, the bay on the other side of the peninsula, faces west, is within walking distance of the party scene, and is considerably quieter. The neighboring Leela Beach offers another option for staying close to the beach without being disturbed by the noise.
Ban Tai and Thong Sala, for value
Ban Tai and Thong Sala on the south coast between Haad Rin and the main pier (Thong Sala is a 20-30 minute songthaew ride away) offer good value for money: normal prices, no minimum spend on most days, and songthaews that run all night along the party strip for a few hundred baht per person (negotiate the price beforehand, as it increases with the moon). Ban Tai is also home to the Half Moon and Jungle parties, making it ideal for a full week of partying.
Srithanu and the West Coast, for peace
Srithanu and the west coast serve as a refuge. The yoga village barely notices the festivities, and many travelers deliberately stay there, experiencing the chaos only once.
Koh Samui, for a successful evening and a better hotel
A stay on Koh Samui is worthwhile if you consider the party night a one-off excursion. On party nights, speedboats depart from Haad Rin Queen Pier at the Big Buddha in Bangrak to Haad Rin and back until dawn. The journey takes about 18 minutes and costs approximately 500 baht each way. This allows you to go in the evening and be back in a Chaweng bed around 4:30 am without paying the high prices of Haad Rin's party week. It's best to leave before the last boats around 4:00 am, when the queue at the pier is at its longest, and be sure to put your mobile phone away on the return trip.
Bookable departures · updated daily
Koh Samui → Koh Phangan: Departure times you can book now
All flights currently bookable via 12Go on this route, sorted by booking class. The prices shown are distributed across the different booking classes; the exact price for a seat and a specific date can be found on the booking page.
Ferry & Speedboat
12Go timetables and fares are updated daily. Services that operate only locally—regular trains, weekend trips, and ferry terminal tickets—are not listed; these can be found in the table above. Sponsored link: We may receive a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.
How to get to the full moon party
There is no airport, so everyone arrives by boat. From Koh Samui, the crossing takes 20–50 minutes. From the mainland, ferries and night boats depart from Surat Thani, connecting to buses and trains. On party days, the boats are often fully booked, so early booking is recommended.
Sponsored link – We may receive a small commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Boats during party nights and the return
Most visitors fly to Koh Samui and take a 20- to 50-minute boat ride from there. Almost all boats dock in Thong Sala, from where you can reach Haad Rin in 20 to 30 minutes by songthaew (shared taxi). The exception is the "Haad Rin Queen" from Big Buddha Pier in Bangrak. It's the only boat that docks directly in Haad Rin. Additionally, a wooden ferry runs at 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. for 200 baht. From Koh Tao, you can reach Thong Sala by speedboat in about an hour. From Bangkok, you usually fly to Samui or Surat Thani and take a boat from there.
Book your crossing 3-7 days in advance for party dates and even further over Christmas and New Year's, as morning and midday departures fill up quickly despite operators adding extra boats. Book your return trip before you arrive as well. The morning after a Full Moon Party is the only morning when everyone departs at the same time, and it's the most sought-after boat of the month.
What to wear to the full moon party
Wear clothes you can throw away without worry, as UV paint and splashes from buckets are nearly impossible to wash out. Shorts or a swimsuit with a tank top are ideal. Neon-colored party clothes and paint stalls line the Haad Rin festival grounds, so you don't need to pack anything extra. Shoes are essential. Closed sneakers or water shoes are preferable to flip-flops, as these tend to fall off in the sand and expose your feet to shards of glass.
Bring a money belt or a waterproof phone case containing enough cash for the night, your room key, and a photo of your passport. Leave your passport, any unnecessary cards, and jewelry in the room safe. Wash off any dye before going to bed, as some guesthouses charge for stained bedding.
Half moon, new moon and the jungle parties
Koh Phangan's real secret is that the full moon is merely the culmination of an entire month. A week on the island offers at least one night of particularly intense moonlight at almost any time of year, and many seasoned travelers secretly prefer the jungle nights to those spent on the beach.
The Crescent Moon Festival
Halfmoon is the professional alternative (laser projections through the trees, a festival stage, tickets – and therefore all the better). The festival takes place roughly every two weeks over two evenings, one week before and one week after the full moon. The first evening is at the Harmony Beach Club in Ban Tai, the second at the Magical Forest inland. Tickets are available exclusively on the festival website.
The Black Moon Party
The Black Moon Party takes place around the new moon, about two weeks after each Full Moon Party, on a beach near Ban Tai. It's smaller and less exclusive than the Full Moon Party, and the entrance fee is significantly higher than the 200 baht charged at Haad Rin. The organizers set the dates monthly, so it's best to check the website for the week in question rather than relying on an annual calendar.
Jungle Experience, OXA and the rest
Jungle Experience near Ban Tai offers a unique experience: a forest dance floor strewn with boulders, featuring more alternative lineups. OXA's jungle parties exude the biggest club atmosphere on the island, and smaller traditions like the waterfall parties take place regularly during the high season.
Is the Full Moon Party safe?
The dangers of the party are commonplace and almost entirely avoidable. Broken glass in the sand is a typical hazard, so be sure to wear shoes all night – no exceptions. The sea is not a swimming pool after dark, and most serious accidents at the party happen during nighttime swimming amidst buckets, currents, and boat traffic. Be careful with the buckets! They are shared, sweet, and stronger than they taste. Organizers warn that some buckets contain methanol, so get your own, be careful when pouring, and count the buckets. Leave valuables in your room's safe and carry a photo of your passport and some cash. The beach at 2 a.m. is a playground for pickpockets. Avoid the fire jump rope (the performers are professionals, you're not), don't ride a scooter to or from the party, and be aware that Thailand's drug laws are strict and rigorously enforced. Plainclothes police officers are on duty at the party, penalties range from heavy fines to prison sentences, and the buckets are legal and fun.
The winners' unassuming habits: First, enjoy a proper dinner, take turns drinking water, agree on a meeting point with the group (the burger stands behind the beach are a classic), and keep the rest day free. Travel insurance that actually covers accommodation (see our insurance guide) costs less than a round of beers.
Save two numbers before your trip: You can reach the tourist police at 1155 and the Koh Phangan hospital at +66 77 377 034. Clinics and first aid stations are open 24/7 during party nights, but they are extremely busy at night. Therefore, it's best to plan ahead so you don't need to use them at all.
Haad Rin Beach & its anchors
Haad Rin
Cactus Bar
Drop-in bar
The jungle parties
OXA - Jungle Party
Crescent Moon Festival
Jungle experience
Warm-up exercises at sunset and the morning after
Amsterdam Bar
Orion Healing
Wonderland Healing House
The best hotels in Koh Phangan
My hotel selection in Koh Phangan, in every price category, is based on Google's hotel classification. My top 10 hotels are displayed first, followed by the highest-rated ones. Each button takes you directly to the hotel's page on Booking.com, where your travel dates are already entered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan.
The remaining dates for 2026 are October 27, November 24, and December 24, as well as the countdown to the New Year on December 31. In 2027, the first celebration will take place on January 22. The parties will be held on the night of the full moon or the following night if that is a Buddhist holiday.
January 22, February 22, March 22, April 21, May 21, June 19, July 20, August 17, September 15, October 16, November 13, and December 13, 2027, as well as a countdown to the New Year on December 31. Four of these dates fall on the night after a Buddhist holiday and not on the full moon itself. Date changes are possible due to local announcements, so we recommend checking a few days in advance.
Yes, once a month at Sunrise Beach on Haad Rin, plus a New Year's Eve countdown on December 31st, so about thirteen times a year. The party takes place on the night of the full moon, the following night (if it's a Buddhist holiday), and occasionally the night before if there's a full moon the next morning, such as on September 15th and November 13th, 2027.
No. Entry costs 200 baht and must be paid in cash on site in the evening. The organizers do not sell tickets anywhere else. The "tickets" offered online are transfer packages from Koh Samui, accommodation offers for parties, or tickets for the Half Moon Festival – none of these grant beach access.
The beach starts to fill up after sunset, but not until around 10:00 PM, reaching its peak between 1:00 and 3:00 AM, and is officially allowed to remain open until sunrise at 6:00 AM. It's recommended to arrive around 10:00 or 11:00 PM after a leisurely dinner.
On a quiet evening in the off-season, there are a few thousand visitors, while at the biggest events, the number can reach 20,000 or more. The entire Sunrise Beach serves as the event venue, so even during a large event, the action spreads across the whole beach.
Yes. On party nights, speedboats depart from Haad Rin Queen Pier at the Big Buddha in Bangrak to Haad Rin and back until dawn. The journey takes about 18 minutes and costs approximately 500 baht each way. It's best to leave before the last boats around 4:00 AM, as the queue is longest then. However, if partying is the main reason for your trip, staying overnight in Haad Rin is the more relaxing option.
The Halfmoon Festival is a two-day, ticketed party held roughly every two weeks, one week before and one week after each full moon. The first night takes place at the Harmony Beach Club in Ban Tai, and the second at Magical Forest inland. It's professionally organized, with stages, and many regular attendees rate it higher than a typical beach party.
The Full Moon Party takes place about two weeks after the new moon on a beach near Ban Tai. It's smaller and more intimate, and the entrance fee is higher than for Haad Rin's party (200 baht). The organizers set the dates monthly, so it's best to check their website each week.
Entry costs 200 baht and is paid at the door in the evening. Reservations are not necessary. Additional expenses include approximately 300–500 baht for drinks, street food available all night at street prices, and transportation home if you are not staying overnight in Haad Rin. Most people spend between 1,500 and 4,000 baht for an evening. The biggest expense is the higher accommodation prices on party nights, not the parties themselves.
Haad Rin Nok (Sunrise Beach) on the southeastern tip of Koh Phangan. The entire beach transforms into a party location, with each bar boasting its own sound system. Parties advertised elsewhere in Thailand under this name are imitations of this event.
If partying is your top priority, then yes. The fact that you're only five minutes from your bed justifies the higher price and the usual minimum stay of three to five nights. It's best to book weeks in advance. Budget-friendly alternatives are Ban Tai or Thongsala with their songthaew shuttles that run all night. The quietest option is Srithanu on the opposite coast, where you'll hardly notice the party scene.
The only way to reach the island is by boat; there is no airport. From Koh Samui, the ferry crossing takes 20–50 minutes (the classic route is to fly to Samui and then take a boat). From the mainland, ferries and overnight boats depart from Surat Thani, where connections to buses and trains from Bangkok are available. Boats are often fully booked on public holidays, so it is advisable to book your crossing 3–7 days in advance.
For sensible people: Yes. The dangers are commonplace: broken glass in the sand (wear shoes!), the sea after dark (don't swim!), people carrying buckets, petty theft (use your room safe!), and skipping rope over fire (watch!). Avoid scooters on party nights, observe the strict and consistently enforced drug laws, and the party will be an unforgettable experience, not a cautionary tale.
Wear clothes you don't mind losing: shorts and a top that can withstand UV paint and splashes from buckets, along with closed shoes or at least sturdy sandals. Walking barefoot is the most common cause of party injuries. UV paint, glow-in-the-dark accessories, and party clothes will be sold all over Haad Rin on the day of the event. Leave jewelry and valuables in your room.
If you want a huge, wild night on the beach with thousands of other travelers, then yes, and it's reasonably priced for what it offers. If you prefer good music and a professionally organized event, the jungle parties on the same island are usually a better choice. Either way, give Koh Phangan more than just one night, because the island's tranquil shores are the more beautiful part of the trip.
The rainy season in the Gulf lasts from October to December, peaking in November when the sea can be rough. The best time to visit is from January to April. If you prefer a quiet stay, avoid booking Haad Rin around the time of a party, as rooms are often fully booked and minimum stay requirements apply.
You're almost guaranteed to have a great night anyway. The Halfmoon Festival hosts jungle editions for about a week before and after each full moon, Jungle Experience and OXA organize their own parties throughout the month, and the bars in Haad Rin are almost always packed during peak season. Many regulars prefer the jungle parties to the beach parties.
Compare prices on the major booking portals and filter for rooms with free cancellation if you want to book now and decide later.
Compare prices on Booking.com
Compare prices on Trip.com
We may receive a commission for bookings made through these links – this will not incur any additional costs for you. Learn more.
Discover more in this guide
You might also like this
Muay Thai training in Thailand (camps, costs and destinations)
Two training sessions per day, with a beach or mountain excursion in between – the training trip that ruins the normal holiday.
The 14 most beautiful islands in Thailand, ranked
Fourteen islands worth the ferry crossing, ranked by their coastline, which is dry when you go there.
Thailand Honeymoon Guide and 10-Day Itinerary
Villas with private pools, sunsets in a longtail boat, and evenings perfect for two.
The 15 best beaches in Thailand, ranked
Fifteen beaches worth flying to, ranked, including the coastline that's dry when you go.
Best time to travel to Thailand
The best time to travel is from November to February; the rest of the year is best on the east coast.
I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled throughout the country from there. The guidebooks reflect my personal opinion and are written as I would explain things to a friend planning a trip.
Ready to create your travel itinerary?
Use our free trip planner to save places, organize days, and share your trip.
Community
Comments 0
Start the conversation.