Thinking of the green paradise of Koh Phayam? Good choice - but it’s not for everyone…
As two travellers who had never before set foot in Thailand, we were super selective about which islands we'd visit on this first trip.
The quarter-moon, half-moon, full-moon parties, whisky buckets, and reputation of places like Phi Phi weren't of any interest, and we wanted to avoid the detestable s*x tourism destinations which perverts (and worse) brazenly frequent.
Travelling in the January peak season, we had reconciled with the fact that crowds and some over tourism was inevitable: this was island-hopping in Thailand after all, not tobogganing in Nova Scotia.
From Bangkok, heading south seemed to be the sensible choice - saving the Gulf islands for another winter escape - but surely there would be something in between to break up the journey and avoid the need to fly or travel overland for two days.
And by God did we find it.
Perhaps the best tropical island we've ever visited - certainly top five - Koh Phayam is special.
The cliché would be to now tell you that this is ‘the Thailand of thirty years ago' or ‘before the tourists arrived’, but the truth is we just don’t know.
What we can tell you is that this place is pretty damn special.
With a pleasant balance between locally-owned and 'farang' businesses hitting all the right notes, a handful of paradise beaches that were blissfully, bizarrely empty most days, and a traveller crowd that always wanted to stay around longer than planned.
Somewhere to disconnect and leave your worries behind, at least until you finally decide to hitch your ride on the next day's ferry to the mainland.
We sincerely hope it never changes, but who really knows.
It’s no surprise that, on our second morning, we had no hesitation in extending our stay beyond the initial three days (and still regret not hanging around for longer than five).
If you’re a long-time reader of Along Dusty Roads, or you like what we do here, you will likely adore it too; if you’re someone coming to party or be the wrong sort of tourist, best to leave it alone and keep heading south.
This is our travel guide to Koh Phayam, Thailand.
the koh phayam essentials
Arrive / Take a speedboat over from Ranong
Know / Shorter dry season (November-March) than southern and eastern Thailand
Do / Very little! Expect lots of beach time. Don’t miss Long Beach, Ao Kwangpeeb or Hin Talu
Rent / A motorbike and explore the island
Drink / Grab a sundowner at the famous Hippy Bar
Stay / Frog Beach House, Little Hut, Tropical Hostel, Barefoot Project
The Best Beaches & Things To Do In Koh Phayam
laze on long beach
On the southwest of the island, Aow Yai is the longest beach on the island (commonly referred to as Long Beach), and our happy place.
We stayed in a very rustic cabin on the waterfront for 900 baht per night, rolled out of bed to swim in the sea each morning, enjoyed walks and runs from one end to the other, and caught sunset most nights from the sand or one of a couple of cool bars.
Just writing about it brings a smile to my face, so it won’t come as a surprise that we’d highly recommend most people staying in and around here.
We really couldn’t believe how ‘unbusy’ all the Koh Phayam beaches were in January, but Aow Yai’s 3 km length and lack of beachfront development means that it should always feel relatively empty, even in the high season.
Do, Drink & Eat | Go for a run, take romantic walks, play in the waves (more on that later) or just enjoy the sunset. The beach is dotted with bars and restaurants, but we recommend Rasta Baby Bar at the far side for drinks and food and Samosa (maps) for late night drinks.
Stay | Arriving on Koh Phayam without a reservation, we thought it would be a doddle to go old-school and rock up to find a room; seven 'no's' later left us quite worried.
Thankfully, an argument and an hour later, it eventually led us to Smile Cabins. A dozen or so locally-owned basic bungalows right on the beach, with nothing but the sea breeze and a rusty fan to keep us cool, it was perfect. However, when we say ‘basic’, we mean really basic, and some travellers won’t enjoy it.
These bungalows aren’t available to book online and in advance, but they should always have some available if you just turn up.
Excellent and highly-rated beachfront alternatives are: Ailay Resort, Lazy Hut, Ziggy Stardust or Rasta Baby Bar & Bungalows (more for younger travellers).
Tropical Hostel is located a couple of minutes walk from the beach, but is the pick for backpackers.
Go | Depending on where you stay or where you’re trying to go, there are a few different access/parking points for Aow Yai beach.
· For the central section, follow the tarmac main road down toward Roastman Coffee (maps); it’s best to park up on the left before the road turns to dust.
· For the quieter southern section of Aow Yai, including Green Hut Bungalows and Lazy Hut, you should take a different road to arrive here on Google Maps
· For the northern section - including Rasta Baby, Frog Beach House, Phayam Lodge - go right at the crossroads and follow the signs.
Travel Tip // There are a bunch of dogs roaming around the beach and on properties, which are chilled throughout the day, but become a bit barky and territorial the closer your are to the midnight hour. This can be slightly terrifying if you’ve’ taken a shortcut through the jungle to the road, so do be cautious.
Hit The Waves
Nope, we didn’t expect to find surfing in sothern Thailand either!
And yet on Long Beach each morning and evening proper surfers would line up along the break and catch some not insignificant waves back to shore.
Koh Phayam is never going to be able to compete with other southeast Asian surf destinations, but the consistent small waves, uncluttered waters and sandy breaks make it an ideal place to take your first lesson, or improve your skills or head out on a boogie board. SUP-boarding is also popular.
There are several surf board rental places along the beach, and a handful of companies offering lessons. Expect to pay:
· 150 - 300 baht per hour for surf board rental
· 1,400 baht for a 2-hour group lesson (surfboard included for the entire day), or private lessons for around 2,000 baht.
How much was surf rental on long beach? Phayam Surfers best place, whilst Samosa also has a variety of long and short boards for rent of varying quality.
Eat, Drink & Shop In Aow Yai
The dusty road running parallel and the tarmac one leading to the beach offers the main traveller ‘hub’ on the island, with coffeeshops, smoothie stalls, bakeries, fruit stands, and hostels/bungalows amongst the jungle.
A few of our favourites include:
Ban Nam Cha | Owned and run by a long-term English expat, Jess, this ramshackle restaurant offers hippy vibes and excellent veggie and vegan food with a focus on Thai, Burmese and international twists. The black pepper tofu was particularly excellent, but don’t come if looking for a quick meal as waits are long - instead, arrive with time for a beer and enjoy the atmosphere.
Rainbow (maps) | Located at the crossroads this Thai / Burmese fusion restaurant was always busy and so good we ate there twice. Large menu with a good number of excellent veggie options, it’s always popular and a convenient choice for lunch off the beach or in the evenings.
Irie Islands (maps) | Does jam nights of varying quality depending on who’s on the islands on Mondays/Tuesdays, and decent cocktails. It’s the best late-night bet when it’s open.
Munchies Cafe (maps) | One of our very favourite places to eat on Ko Phayam, this friendly cafe offers is excellent breakfasts, brunch and lunch options. The thai clear noodle soup that Emily had may have been the most restorative, soothing thing she’s ever eaten and Andrew’s penang curry was top notch
Bilbo's (maps) | A very popular spot for a scrummy international breakfast or brunch, their smoothie bowls are insanely good and the owner has really great principles. Lots of healthy options as well as more indulgent treats/dishes too.
Japanese Bakery (maps) and Homemade Bakery (maps) are super popular places for breakfast.
Roastman Coffee | Part of the King Paradise Resort, but does good coffee and has a nice beachfront space for food/drinks.
Nan’s | This is a new place opened by a young Thai/English couple on the main road that specialises in sourdough bread, bagels and pastry but also does seriously good Thai coffee.
Shambala (maps) | This is a wonderful shop (we guarantee you won’t be able to enter without buying at least one thing!) and plant-based restaurant on the main road, and her son is doing great things in the attached coffee shop.
Stay | We initially thought staying on the tarmac road, rather than the beach, would negatively impact our experience of the island. However, after visiting it on a daily basis, that’s not the case at all - you’ll only be a pleasant 3-5 minute walk to the sand, and have everything else on your doorstep.
There are plenty of accommodations to choose from along this road - many not available to book online - but if you’d like to book something in advance of your arrival take a look at Little Hut, Groovy Bungalows and Tropical Hostel first.
Travel Tip // Strike the balance between locally-owned and tastefully created foreign businesses and spend.
seek solitude at Ao Kwangpeeb Beach
When a dusty roads is involved to get somewhere, it’s always a good sign.
On the north of Koh Phayam, Ao Kwangpeeb is a stunning, isolated paradise beach if you want something more intimate and rustic than Aow Yai.
There’s no accommodation, and the only bar/restaurant is in a ramshackle state of abandonment, but the lack of facilities and development means it’s the sort of beach we hadn’t expected to still find in Thailand. It also offers great swimming.
We’d recommend arriving for the morning or early afternoon, as the shade begins to cover sections after that. The good news is that, rather than cutting your day short, it means you just get to go to Hippy Bar soon (see next section).
Go | Getting here is half the fun.
You can find Ao Kwangpeeb here on Google Maps, and it’s a straightforward scooter ride along the tarmac road toward it. However, when the road transforms into an uneven, dusty hill, that’s the sign for any inexperienced riders to get off the bike and walk. It’s absolutely possible in dry conditions to continue up and down to the beach BUT the way back and downhill on the dust is a surefire way for inexperienced or nervous drivers to fall off their scooter, and the risk is not worth potentially ruining the bike or trip.
Therefore, we suggest you pull up and park here on Google Maps, and then walk the 10-minutes along the dusty road and through three trees down to the beach. There are a few options to go down, and we suggest keeping right at the first fork, then take the next left down the rice sack steps.
If you opt for a tuk-tuk, please let us know in the comments if they drop you off there or continue all the way to the beach!
Bring | As mentioned, there are no facilities or bars set up here, with the only business around in a ramshackle limbo-state of abandonment; man we spoke to who stays in the gorgeous private lodge at the end of the bay said it could be open next week, next year, or never again! There’s also nothing along the dusty road or at the end of it, so you should bring along everything you think you’ll need for the day at the beach.
There were a few people camping amongst the abandoned restaurant, and we don’t know whether this was official or unoffical.
Sunsets At The Hippy Bar & Ao Khao Kwai
Turn left before Ao Kwangpeeb, and you’ll find yourself at a Koh Phayam institution.
We assumed The Hippy Bar would simply be one of the relatively cut-and-paste beachshack bars painted red, green, and yellow with a Bob Marley soundtrack, a few dreadlocks, and a fug of weed (now legal in Thailand) mixing with the sea breeze.
How wrong we were.
A labyrinthine treehouse-cum-shipwreck overlooking Ao Khao Kwai, the Hippy Bar certainly has all of those things, but is way bigger and better than we could’ve imagined.
Over a couple of storeys of higgledy-piggledy driftwood, you’ll find a bunch of hang-out areas to stretch out on those fantastic Thai pyramid cushions or enjoy lunch in between your sunbathing sessions. You may even spot a couple of rare hornbills eating watermelon and passion fruit!
If nearby Ao Kwangpeeb sounds a bit remote/rustic, then Hippy Bar offers a great alternative or next stop.
Sunsets at Hippy Bar, both for the view and the setting, are unmissable and you should go out of your way to come here an hour or two beforehand to get a good spot to make the most of it. In contrast with the sunsets on Aow Yai, here you can savour a wonderful long view out with a beam of light cast over the water.
When the tide is out, the waters in the sheltered bay feel more like a lake than the sea, and offers a lovely, gentle environment for swimming and paddling. This is a good shout to take a kayak out on.
Where + When | You can find Hippy Bar here on Google Maps. Getting there involves a few minutes driving along mostly flat dusty road, but you should go cautiously if leaving in the post-sunset darkness. Open every day from 9am-1am, it’s probably a good social late-night spot too.
Note that, wonderfully, only kids aged 10+ are permitted.
Stay | Our top pick on Ao Khao Kwai is the stunning Barefoot Project, but if they don’t have any rooms available take a look at Chomjan Resort, Marina Resort, and Starlight Beach Resort.
Explore Koh PHayam On A Scooter
For a lot of travellers, renting a bike will be essential if staying in more isolated or removed accommodations on the island.
Though little more than 25 minutes’ drive north to south and 15 minutes east to west, Koh Phayam is too large to get around on foot, and whilst there is a surpringly efficient tuk-tuk taxi service in place, relying on them for all your travel across the island would actually work out more expensive than renting.
Even if you’re staying in one of the more built-up areas, with plenty of places to eat and a gorgeous stretch of sand nearby (hello Long Beach), we’d implore you to hire yourself a scooter and head out to explore the island’s different beaches, bars, and restaurants - it really is one of the best things to do in Koh Phayam.
Agriculture is a large part of the local economy, with the landscape characterised by arrow-straight rows of rubber trees making Koh Phayam beyond its beaches is a green paradise. Weaving along the backroads, the majority of which are asphalt and in decent condition, offers glimpses of local life and nature, and the opportunity to spread your spend beyond the usual suspects.
An utterly joyful way to spend your time in the sunshine.
Scooter Rental | You can rent scooters (110-125cc) across the island, and accommodations can arrange it for you if there’s not a business nearby. Prices are 200-350 baht depending on the business and the size/quality of the scooter.
If you don’t have many bags, consider renting from a company near the pier on arrival; we can recommend Kwanjai Motorbike rental based on our positive experience (here on Google Maps)
We had initially planned to pick up a scooter from one of the rental places in Long Beach, but on the morning we set off to do so, not a single business had any available. This was a pretty big surprise to us, so to avoid the same thing happening to you, either get up super early (we mede the mistake of leaving it until 10.30am to try and source a scooter) or put in a reservation a day or two earlier.
Alternatively, you may have to waste 200 baht on a tuk-tuk ride to rent one from the port!
We’ll be writing a full post about the realities of riding a scooter/motorbike in Thailand, and the reasons why most travellers don’t realise there actually uninsured for it, but a few quick tips to bear in mind:
· Always were a helmet; many travellers and locals here don’t but you’re really, really silly not to
· Take photos/videos of your bike for leaving the office
· Top up with the 50 baht bottles of gasoline sold in old whisky bottles on the roadside. One bottle will give your tank a couple of bars, which is usually enough for a day’s exploring. As the island is so small, and most bikes are rented close to empty, it doesn’t make sense to fill your tank up full, but rather get a bottle when you’re running low and they’ll fill it via a funnel.
· If driving at night, please do be responsible and not a drunk tit. Pedestrians are recommended to always have a torch on their phone on or bring out a headlamp.
· Know your level. Many accidents happen because people don’t have enough scooter experience so if you’re travelling for a while in South East Asia, consider taking a CBT course at home first - this will mean you’re covered by travel insurance should an accident happen.
Top Tip // Island View Cafe is a new cafe, and its upper floor offers a wonderful panoramic view over the treeline, the water, and the islands. There’s a string of viewpoint places on this stretch of road - another just before on the left, and Payam Seaview Restaurant further up (maps) that specialises in duck noodle soup.
Lunch At The Secret Beach
One of the best surprises when exploring on our scooter was the viewpoint and food by Secret Beach.
It’s a gorgeous ride there, and we were the only people on the secluded cove at bottom of forty or so broken steps down. If you want to enjoy a few hours of quiet solitude, just you and a hidden away cove, then it’s a great shout - just be aware that it’s best avoided at low tide when the sea recedes to reveal an abundance of rocks making accessing the water tricky without proper shoes (these rocks also make this beach a bit crap for snorkelling).
Frankly, there are better beaches on Koh Phayam, and the reason that we’re including it here is because of the lovely restaurant you can find at the top of Aow Ko-Kyu.
Created by the unflappable Dam cooking everything from scratch in the kitchen, it was some of the most delicious food (green curry for Emily, pad Thai for Andrew) we had on the trip with a serene setting and incredible seaview. Just be aware that if you happen to arrive after others have ordered, or if you’re part of a large group, this won’t be a quick lunch - so grab a juice, relax and enjoy the vistas.
Dam and her husband have also built a few bungalows here (Kyulom Resort), and it would offer an unhurried retreat for those looking to be away from everyone and everything.
Where | You can find the restaurant here on Google Maps. The road to get there is paved, but there’s a few potholes to avoid and a couple of bends involved. You can park up there, and simply walk down the steps to the beach, but it’s somewhere that travellers with mobility issues should avoid.
There are no no facilities or vendors on the beach or nearby except Dam’s restaurant and bungalows.
The Arches of Hin Talu Beach
If it’s not clear yet, Koh Phayam is somewhere to arrive with plans to hang out on the beach for most of your days.
On the same yawning crescent as the Hippy Bar beach, but separated from each other by impassable rocks, Hin Talu beach has similarly rustic and laid-back vibes, but with a smidge more infrastructure on and around it.
Hin Talu is best known for its photogenic arches and rock formations, and at low tide, it has an impressive sandbar to walk out upon.
On the isolated far right side, we noted that there were a few nudists, but this is an unofficial spot where tourists get theirs kecks off rather than a designated one (on a similar note, topless sunbathing is culturally frowned upon in Thailand, and we suggest not doing it).
Know | There’s one simple place to eat/drink (Gypsy Bar), and then a few attached to accommodation on the far left side, but not much else except the young guy selling delicious coconut ice-creams!
Go | When you turn of the main road, the best place to park is here on Google Maps, but if you’re based further along the coast, you should continue along the road toward the Moken Bridge.
Stay | There are a few options on the beach, but it’s important to note if staying here that you will want go out on to the main road or elsewhere for more action or options in the evening. Ta Yai is a locally-owned restaurant a little closer (maps) that we were recommended and has excellent reviews too!
With regards as to where to stay, Rabbit Bungalow is a good shout for younger travellers and has great dorms (this was a serious consideration when we were choosing where to stay in Koh Phayam), but Vijit Bungalow is another decent option on the beach.
If you’re looking for somewhere with a bit more of a mid-range family holiday vibe consider Buffalo Bay Vacation Club.
There are also a couple of decent options on the road leading to and very close to this beach including the budget friendly Rasta House and The Shadow House & Bar.
How To Get To Koh Phayam
Wherever you’re arriving from, all roads lead to the city of Ranong, from which there are regular boats - both ferries and speedboats - across to Koh Phayam.
Given the shorter travelling time (two hours vs 40 minutes), we’d recommend all but the most budget-concerned travellers to opt for the speedboat. There are nearly hourly departures, and tickets cost 350 baht per person.
You can check times, prices and make a booking here.
We’ve written a super in-depth guide explaining how to get to Koh Phayam (from several different locations in Thailand), so recommend checking it out next.
