The North of Koh Phangan — The Part Most Tourists Never See
Sunrise in Chaloklum
Most people who come to Koh Phangan never make it to the north.
They find their spot in Sri Thanu or Haad Yao, get comfortable, and stay there for the rest of the trip. The north feels too far, too unknown, not worth the extra twenty minutes on a motorbike when there is already a perfectly good beach down the road.
That is exactly the reason I keep going back.
The north of this island is a different world. Quieter roads. A fishing village that still operates exactly as it always has. Beaches that stay empty on days when every other stretch of sand is crowded. A pace that feels closer to what island life actually is when it is not performing for visitors.
Every time I drive up there something settles in me. The noise drops. The space opens. I remember why I came to this island in the first place.
This guide is for the people who want to find that feeling too.
Guide Summary
Anyone staying on Koh Phangan for more than a few days who wants to go beyond the obvious. Travelers who came for calm and have not quite found it yet. People who want to feel the island rather than just see it.
A full day if you want to experience everything. The north also works as a half day morning trip from Sri Thanu or Haad Yao and a return before the afternoon heat sets in. If you can, stay one night. The mornings up here are worth it.
฿ to ฿฿. The north is one of the most affordable parts of the island. The best things up here cost almost nothing.
- Drive the direct road from Thong Sala through the middle of the island
- Find the hidden road before Chaloklum for a morning run or a slow ride
- Spend the morning at Haad Khom for swimming and snorkeling
- Stop at the padel court above Beach Villa Phangan for a game or just the view
- Explore Ko Mah beach and the sandbar in the afternoon
Getting There
From Thong Sala the north is around 20 to 25 minutes by motorbike.
You have two options. The direct road cuts straight through the middle of the island. No traffic, fast, and it takes you through jungle and small villages that most visitors never see. The ocean road goes via Sri Thanu and up the west coast, takes roughly the same time and feels more scenic.
I always take the direct road going up. It gives you a sense of the island's interior before you arrive at the coast. Save the ocean road for the return if you want variety in the same day.
One thing worth knowing before you go. The roads in the north get narrower and steeper the further you push into certain areas. If you are new to the island or not fully comfortable on a motorbike, stick to the main routes between Thong Sala and Chaloklum. They are smooth, well traveled and easy. Do not try to navigate to more remote spots without asking someone local first.
The Hidden Road Before Chaloklum
My favorite Alley
Just before you reach Chaloklum from the south, watch for a gas station on the right side of the road.
Before the gas station, turn left onto a small road.
Most people drive straight past this turn without slowing down. That is part of what makes it special. The road winds between palm trees and small plots of land, completely flat, almost no traffic at any hour of the day. It is one of my favorite spots on the whole island for a morning or evening run. You can move at your own pace without watching for motorbikes coming around blind corners, without fighting heat bouncing off a main road, without the feeling that you are in anyone's way.
Even if you are not running, ride it slowly on your motorbike once. It takes ten minutes. It changes how you feel about the north immediately and gives you a piece of the island that almost nobody else has found.
Haad Khom
The beautiy of Haad Khom
Swimming · Snorkeling · Morning Beach
Haad Khom is my favorite beach in the north and one of my favorite beaches on the whole island.
It is tucked away enough that it stays quiet even on days when everywhere else is busy. The water is blue and calm and clear in a way that makes you want to get in the moment you see it. There is no pressure to do anything once you arrive. The beach has a natural pace and it is very easy to fall into it.
I usually spend the morning here. Swimming, floating, sitting in the shade with nothing particular in mind.
Haad Khom is also one of the best spots in the north for snorkeling. The reef close to shore has good coral and a surprising amount of marine life for somewhere so accessible. Bring your own snorkel if you have one. The visibility is best in the morning before the afternoon wind picks up and stirs the water.
On the way to Haad Khom you will pass a small hotel called Beach Villa Phangan. On the rooftop is a padel court with one of the most beautiful views you will find anywhere on this island. The court sits open to the ocean and the surrounding jungle and playing there feels completely unlike any padel you have played before. If you play, stop and book a session. If you do not play, the view from the top is still worth the brief detour.
Lunch in Chaloklum
Thai Food · Local · Main Road Chaloklum
When it is time to eat, go to Mama Pa.
It sits on the main road in Chaloklum and it is a small Thai restaurant run in the way the best Thai restaurants always are. By someone who has been cooking the same food for a long time and knows exactly what they are doing. The menu is short. Pad Kra Pao (Thai basil stir fry), curries, rice dishes. Everything made properly with fresh ingredients and without the adjustments most tourist facing restaurants make.
Eat on the terrace if there is space. Order more than you think you need. The prices are what you expect from a local restaurant in a village that does not rely on tourism to survive.
If Mama Pa is full or you want something with an ocean view, Food and Roots and Phorn Restaurant are both nearby. Phorn in particular has a nice setting looking out over the water and is worth the short ride.
Ko Mah and the Sandbar
Koh Ma
Beach · Nature · Low Tide
After lunch the afternoon opens up and the north gives you options.
Ko Mah is a small island just off the coast near Mae Haad, connected to the main island by a sandbar that appears at low tide. When the timing is right you can walk across on dry ground and explore the island on foot. The sandbar appears and disappears with the water and the exact timing shifts slightly every day.
This is one of those unexpected details about Koh Phangan that stays with you. Something about a path through the sea that exists only for a few hours and then disappears entirely. Check the tide times before you plan your visit. The difference between a walk and a swim is just a matter of showing up at the right hour.
Ko Mah itself is quiet, rocky in places, and genuinely beautiful. Take your time on the crossing and do not rush it.
More lively is Malibu Beach, you will find the entrance next to 7-Eleven.
Coral Tours and Bottle Beach
Boat Trip · Snorkeling · Hiking
If you want to go further out, Coral Tours in Chaloklum offers boat trips around the north of the island. This is one of the best ways to see this coastline, which looks completely different from the water than it does from the road. The boat reaches snorkeling spots with clear water, follows the coast toward Bottle Beach, and gives you a perspective of the island that is impossible to get any other way. Book a day in advance during high season. They are a small operation and spots go quickly.
If you prefer to hike to Bottle Beach, the trail starts from the road above and takes around 30 to 40 minutes to reach the beach. I recommend doing it one way only and taking a longtail boat back from the beach rather than hiking both directions. The trail is steep and more enjoyable going down than climbing back up on tired legs in the afternoon heat. Arrange the return boat before you start the descent so you are not waiting on the beach without a plan.
The Sunday Night Market in Chaloklum
Night Market
Local Market · Food · Every Sunday from 5pm
If your day in the north falls on a Sunday, plan your timing around this.
The Chaloklum night market opens at 5pm on the main road in the village. It is small, local, and almost entirely Thai. Grilled seafood, Som Tum (papaya salad), Guay Teow (noodle soup), Khao Niao (sticky rice), fresh fruit, things on skewers cooking over charcoal. The smell reaches you before you see the stalls.
What makes this market different from the bigger tourist facing markets near Thong Sala is who is there. Mostly locals. Families eating together after the weekend, teenagers on motorbikes, vendors who know their regulars by name and shout greetings across the road. You feel like you have arrived somewhere that was not arranged for your visit. Because it was not.
Walk the whole market twice before you decide what to eat. Arrive at 5pm. By 9pm most stalls are packing up. Pay almost nothing for something genuinely excellent.
Mae Haad at the End of the Day
Sunset · Beach · Silence
Before you drive back, stop at Mae Haad.
It is a stretch of beach in the northwest of the island, calm and mostly empty in the evenings. After the market I like to come here and sit for a while. Most of the beach restaurants have liegestuhls you can pull down to the water. You grab one, face the ocean, and let the day settle.
There is nowhere to be. Nothing left to do. The light is already gone or going and the water makes a sound that is difficult to describe but very easy to understand after a long day outside.
This is the moment the north gives you if you let it. Not a view or an activity or a restaurant. Just the feeling of being somewhere genuinely quiet at the end of a day that asked nothing difficult of you.
Drive back when you are ready. The road through the jungle at night is dark and beautiful and completely yours.Where to Stay
If you want to spend more than a day in the north, staying up here changes everything.
You wake up already there. The morning run on the hidden road takes five minutes to reach. Haad Khom is a short ride. The market is walkable on Sunday evening.
Pahili Pool Villas is my favorite place to stay in the north. The view is beautiful and the setting feels removed from the busier parts of the island in exactly the right way. If you want something even more special, the Philia Villa has a view that is genuinely hard to match anywhere on Koh Phangan.
Where to Stay
Pahili Pool Villas
If you want to experience the north properly, stay at least one night up here.
You wake up already there. The hidden road is five minutes from your door. Haad Khom is a short ride. The Sunday market is walkable in the evening. The whole rhythm of the north changes when you are not rushing back to the south at the end of the day.
Pahili Pool Villas is my favorite place to stay in this part of the island. The pool, the view over the bay, and the setting feel removed from the busier parts of Koh Phangan in exactly the right way. It is the kind of place that makes you extend your stay without planning to.
If you want something even more special, the Philia Villa just opened recently and we are proud to call it our own. The kind of the feeling that makes you sit with your coffee in the morning at the pool, enjoy the view, get inspiration and do nothing else for an hour because nothing else seems worth doing.
Final Thoughts
The north of this island surprised me the first time I spent real time up here.
Not because of one specific thing. But because of how few other visitors were around. You drive through Chaloklum on a weekday morning and the village is just going about its business. The fishermen are back from the water. The food stalls are setting up. Nobody is performing island life for an audience. It is simply happening.
That feeling is increasingly rare on Koh Phangan as the island grows and more people discover it. The north still has it. It is still quiet up there, still local, still unhurried.
Go before that changes.
Ambassador Notes
- Check tide times before planning your Ko Mah visit. A quick search for Koh Phangan tide times gives you the daily schedule. The difference between a beautiful sandbar crossing and an unplanned swim is just timing.
- Sunday market winds down fast. Arrive at 5pm, not 7pm.
- Book Coral Tours a day in advance in high season. They are a small operation and popular for good reason.
- If you are based in Sri Thanu or Haad Yao, the north is close enough for a morning trip and return before early afternoon. You do not need to stay overnight to make it worthwhile. But if you can stay one night, do it. The mornings up here are something else entirely.
Your Local Ambassador
Timo E.
Timo was born and raised in Southwest Germany and has been living in Bangkok since 2024. A passionate traveler for more than 20 years, he spends much of his time exploring places in depth, especially Koh Phangan, where he has dedicated many days to discovering the island’s hidden gems and local rhythm.
