Inspired Travels

To get to the full moon party (FMP) from Koh Samui was my research task for the group. So i’ll tell you all how to get there just in case you decide to go. Check it:

1. From Koh Samui airport go to the desks selling taxi/bus rides. The easiest way is to go to Big Buddha pier. Its the closest one to the airport and has a direct boat to Haad Rin. The taxi ride cost 70-90 baht per person. There’s a set price at the desk. They packed all 13 of us into one van designed for 11 people. There’s also other vans going there and they’ll wait til they are full of people before they leave.

2. Try to avoid buying the combined option (taxi van + boat). This is because the boat may leave before you get there, plus they try to charge you more. In our case, they offered us 300 baht per person. The actual price was 200 baht at the pier.

3. When you get to the pier, go to the office and buy a ticket for 200 baht. The boat leaves every few hours. there’s 4 boats daily. The last one is at 5.30pm. We got there at 4pm, so we had to wait.

4. We chilled out in this public common area, had some food, use the internet. You can line up, but you can wait til the boat arrives. but don’t be the last to get on the boat. Because its an old ferry and the sea was really choppy at night, a few people got seasick. Generally on boats, if you can, sit on the top deck, not the lower deck. As there is less motion and fresh air. Trust – I know this from experience after getting really sick on a boat in Belize. Try to grab a seat, its more comfortable. The bags are piled in this common area in the middle, so take out any valuables.

5. The other option is to get speedboats from Big Buddha to Haad Rin. It cost more say 500 – 650 baht. The ferry takes 45 mins, the speed boat takes like 15 mins. Speed boats leave more frequently.

6. There’s also boats (speedboats, ferry?, and catamarans) leaving from Thongsala on Koh Phangnan. As this is further from Haad Rin (100 baht ride), we decided not to do it. The easiest for us and for most people going to FMP is Haad Rin to Big Buddha. There’s only one ferry company that does the ride called “The Queenie” or something to that effect.

7. From Haad Rin Pier, there are tuk tuks waiting. Now, that was one thing I hadn’t prepared for. I read on the website that the hotel was 5 mins walk from the pier. But I didn’t know in what direction, and I didn’t have enough time to check it out. Google Maps and their website had no directions from the pier. However, there were tuk tuks waiting nearby that was willing to take everyone for 50 baht per person (like $2 AUD).

8. If possible and if you have time, stay on Koh Phangnan. Many of the hotels/  bungalows have minimum stay of 5 days. The other option is to take the boat from Koh Samui on the day of the FMP, and leave the next morning. However you could be really partied out the next day, and the last thing you want to do is go on a boat ride for 45 mins. There are plenty of speed boats waiting on the beach to take people back. I read that one of the accidents happened on the speedboats, as it was packed with too many people (the operators try to pack on 40 ppl on a 30 person speedboat). I went on a speedboat tour on the island, and it fit 15 people comfortably. Now, 40 ppl is a different story!!

I’m out like the full moon party,

Matt.