Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan: 2027 dates, costs and staying safe

The Full Moon Party is Thailand's best-known party. Thousands of people cover themselves in neon paint, crowd onto one beach, and dance until the sun comes up over the sea. It's loud, messy, great fun for a lot of people and a bad night for some. This guide covers the dates, how the night works, where to stay, and how to look after yourself and your friends.

Full Moon Party dates for 2026 and 2027

The party is held on or near the night of the full moon. When the full moon falls on a Buddhist holy day, when alcohol sales are restricted, the party moves by a day or two. Those dates are marked below.

There's no single official organiser, so these dates come from the published party calendars, which agree with each other. Changes for Buddhist holidays are sometimes announced late, so check again about 60 days before you travel.

2028 dates haven't been published yet. The party follows the Thai lunar calendar and the Buddhist holidays rather than the exact moment of the full moon, so we'll add the 2028 dates when the calendar is out.

What the night is like

The party is on Haad Rin Sunrise Beach, at the southern tip of Koh Phangan. Bars along the beach each set up their own sound system, so you walk from house and techno to drum and bass, trance and chart music within a few hundred metres.

• Entry: a 200 baht wristband, paid in cash at the entrances to the beach. The money goes towards cleaning the beach.
• Timing: things get going from about 9pm and peak after midnight. Plenty of people are still there at sunrise.
• Neon paint and clothes: UV body paint is sold all over Haad Rin, and most people wear neon tank tops or festival gear.
• Buckets: cheap spirits mixed with a soft drink in a small plastic bucket are the classic drink. See the safety section before you buy one.
• Fire shows: fire dancers perform on the sand, and some bars run fire skipping ropes and limbo. Watch, don't join in.

Some people come for one night. Others stay on the island for the pre-parties and warm-up nights in the days before.

Where to stay for the Full Moon Party

Haad Rin itself is where the party is, and it's also the loudest, most expensive place to sleep. Around the party, hotels there often insist on a minimum stay of 3, 5 or even 7 nights and charge three to four times their normal rates.

A better plan for most people is to stay somewhere quieter and take a taxi in and out on the night:

• Thong Sala: the main town and ferry pier, with a night market, easy transport and plenty of rooms.
• Ban Tai: between Thong Sala and Haad Rin, with a lot of hostels and a social scene.
• Srithanu: on the west coast, calmer, with sunsets over the sea.

Taxis to Haad Rin get busy after the party, so agree the fare before you get in, or arrange your ride home in advance. The road from Haad Rin back to Thong Sala is steep and winding, and it's a known spot for motorbike crashes, especially on party nights.

More on the rest of the island is in our Koh Phangan guide.

Getting to Koh Phangan

There's no airport on Koh Phangan. Most people arrive by ferry:

• From Koh Samui: the quickest option. Boats from Samui take about 30 minutes to Thong Sala. Samui has the nearest airport.
• From Koh Tao: about 1 to 1.5 hours by ferry to Thong Sala.
• From the mainland: combined bus and boat or train and boat tickets from Bangkok via Surat Thani or Chumphon.

Boats around Full Moon dates fill up, so book a day or two ahead.

Full Moon Party safety tips

The UK government's travel advice for Thailand says drinks can be spiked or contain methanol, which can kill even in small amounts, and that serious assaults are most common during full moon parties. It's a good party, but take it seriously:

• Go with people and leave with them. Agree a meeting point on the beach, as phones die and signal gets patchy in the crowd.
• Buy sealed drinks, or watch them being made. Skip the buckets or at least never share a bucket with strangers, and don't leave a drink unattended.
• Stay away from drugs. Thailand has heavy penalties for drugs, including for foreigners. Cannabis is only legal with a Thai medical prescription.
• Don't ride a motorbike. Book a taxi there and back.
• Wear shoes. The sand is full of broken glass and bottle caps by the end of the night.
• Keep valuables to a minimum. Take a small amount of cash, a copy of your passport, and your phone in a zip pocket or waterproof pouch.
• Stay out of the sea. Swimming drunk at night is how people drown.
• Keep away from the fire ropes. Burns from fire skipping ropes are common.

The Thailand safety guide has more on scams, health and getting help.

Not into the big party?

Koh Phangan has other parties most of the month, such as the Half Moon Festival in the Ban Tai jungle, held about every two weeks. The rest of the island is much calmer than its reputation: quiet beaches, yoga, and bays like Bottle Beach that most people reach by boat.

The Full Moon Party with us

Two of our Thailand trips have departures timed for the Full Moon Party. On party night we go to Haad Rin together by taxi, stay together, and come home the same way. The party is optional, and we stay outside Haad Rin, so you get a quiet night's sleep the rest of the week.

• Thailand in 2 Weeks. On Full Moon departures, the party falls on the night of Day 12, with Day 13 free to recover.
• Thailand Island Hopping Tour. On Full Moon departures, the party falls on the night of Day 8, with Day 9 kept slow.
• Thailand Express spends three nights on Koh Phangan, but its dates aren't timed to the Full Moon.

If the Thai authorities move a party date after you've booked, we tell you straight away.

Keep planning

• Thailand travel guide
• Koh Phangan guide
• Things to do on Koh Phangan
• Songkran water festival
• Loy Krathong festival
• Best time to visit Thailand