Ko Pha Ngan

Beautiful island. For me it hits a sweet spot combining some of Canggu and Ubud. There's good stuff like breath work and ecstatic dance close by but you don't have to scooter a whole hour to get there. It's not too hippy and you can easily avoid that vibe if you're not into it. The mountainous landscape makes for some lovely scootering - so nice that I've taken a few rides just for the pleasure of it. The bigger roads are lit at night and pretty good, not much traffic.


Compared to Bali many restaurants are bit more basic with uncomfortable bamboo chairs and the same Thai menus (but great food). There are also good modern/western restaurants but not too many.



Main downside is that there's no really good coworking space. There is Remote&Digital (several locations), High Life has one, BeachHut. None of them is conducive to a community I find. There are regular nomad meetups though and there are whatsapp groups.



The pro/con review below also sums it up quite well, but here are two updates:
- there's food delivery now (phangan-delivery dot com). Takes about 60 minutes (I got used to that) and works well
- electricity is stable, no blackouts in 3 months (except one after a powerful storm that got fixed quickly)

I also enjoy that there are Thai people coming to Phangan for what it has to offer and it's nice chatting with them.

Love this island so much! The first time I went I only stayed in Haad Rin and hated it, second time I went, I ventured west and stayed nearly 3 weeks! Lots of great yoga retreats and healthy food

Koh Phangan has potential to become an awesome nomad hotspot. It's close, but it’s not quite there yet. I’ve spent 5 months here during the 2021 COVID-lockdown.

Pros:
- Stunning nature all around you
- You can live right on the beach, or have a sick view from a hill
- Can be very affordable
- Laid back, Bali-like lifestyle
- Low amount of traffic, very chill to drive around
- Lots of yoga, gyms, muay thai, etc
- Easy to explore other parts of Thailand (when there's no lockdown)
- E-commerce is fantastic, including grocery delivery (e.g. Paleo Robbie)
- Great electronic music parties (when there's no lockdown)
- Barely any crime

Cons:
- Not too many tech nomads. Mostly hippies, party people and families with young children
- No solid co-working space - please build a Tropical Nomad here!
- No ride hailing or food delivery apps
- Shortage of high quality, nicely designed places to rent - they exist, but the demand seems higher than the supply
- Easy to get lost in all the hedonism - be careful if you're prone to indulging
- Plenty of toxic people in the "conscious" community
- Some areas are straight from a zombie apocalypse movie - e.g. Haad Rin, the area of the Full Moon Parties
- Frequent power cuts

The Thai Bali and one of the best place to be in Thailand now. I know I had preconceptions about it too, like there'd be too many hippies, and pseudo-science spiritual bs people. But it's not like that. The people we met were actually mostly really chill and friendly and not at all pushing their stuff on us. Also there seems to be an increasing group of just non-hippie general nomads who I'd say are more focused on living healthily (like in Canggu, Bali). Focusing on good food and fitness. It's a similar crowd you'd meet in Bali, or Mexico, or Portugal. The right people.

Ko Pha Ngan is MUCH more driveable with a motorbike than Samui. The roads are a bit worse, BUT there's no real fast cars traffic like in Samui. It's all jungle roads which is heaven to drive through. Then at random spots you'll find hipster cafes with great coffee and food (and aircon!). There's also lots of beautiful accommodation for very affordable prices. Think beautifully architecture designer houses in the jungle with night-lit luxury pools.

The only negative I heard about Ko Pha Ngan from people is there's no real good coworking space yet. But there's enough big cafes.

To get to Ko Pha Ngan: fly from Bangkok to Ko Samui, then take the 30 minute speedboat ferry from Samui.

I have been staying on this island for about 2 years, and would like to remind everybody something : working remotely is illegal in Thailand, and can get you in serious troubles if you do any kind of work without a work permit. There has been in the past reported cases of arrests in so called "co-working spaces". I think it is only a fair warning to people who plan to come here and hang in co-working spaces. 2 years ago koh phangan did not have a good rating on nomad list, not much as changed since, but i've seen over this time a group of european businessmen investing in many facilities for digital nomad, they are now craving for customers and massively trying to market the island as a digital nomad heaven.
That being said, for anyone aware of the risks, it is an amazing place to live, nature is beautiful and you will find wifi ranging from wacky to high speed depending on your location on the island, and mobile internet is really handy and cheap. Because of tourism, it is also one of the most expensive places in Thailand when it comes to food and housing, which makes it difficult for thais to move in, but you will find the local families who have been staying there forever and others who come for jobs in tourism. There is a big hippie/yogi community here and a lot of activities around this. And of course, it is a party island.

This island is a total gem. It has everything one desires in a paradise island! There is a huge higher consciousness/yoga/meditation/vegetarian/vegan community plus epic full moon and half moon parties, omg totally worth checking out! And the internet connectivity and speed on the island is good too. I've had no problem doing work from my laptop as a Digital Marketing Specialist either.

- Mobile internet is great, Wifi heavily depends on your place
- A scooter is needed to get around, but that's easily organized and not too expensive
- For people coming from Chiang Mai, expect things to be at least 50% more expensive
- The food is great! Not as cheap as in other places in Thailand (although cheap street food can be found), lots of vegan and health-oriented restaurants
- Cafes are of decent quality, there are definitely some in which you can get work done, although they close early (most around 6-7 pm). The coworking space situation has massively improved in the last year and although I don't want to advertise here you'll figure out what I mean by a quick Google search

Although the island is small, it heavily depends on your location and yourself what kind of lifestyle you can live here:

You could stay around Haad Rin and permanently live for the party (not recommended if you are actually a Nomad and intend to work, although it can be a lot of fun once or twice).
You could stay around Sri Thanu and live a perfectly healthy lifestyle, working out, doing Yoga and meditating, this could be a very good experience, but mind that people there are usually quite spiritual (or pretend to be), so it's up to you.
You could live in the main village in Thong Sala, but I honestly don't see the point of doing that, as it's the most polluted area, so only stay here for budget reasons.
You could stay in the very east of the island (Haad Yang) or in the very north (Chaloklum) and enjoy the laidback experience, although you might need to commute quite a while to get to any workable place.
If you stay anywhere else on the island, it's about the same experience as in other places in the South of Thailand, so I would say medium-level touristy but very convenient and doable for anybody.
Some places are not listed here and they kind of have their unique vibe, I'll let that to you to find out ;)

I personally recommend sticking with one place and one lifestyle here on the island. It's quite tempting to jump into something else, but for me, it is sometimes a huge distraction and quite bad for my overall productivity and happiness switching between those different lifestyles. That's why I developed some kind of love-hate relationship with the island. The only other place with such vast differences between spots I found so far is Bali.

Spent a lovely two weeks in Hin Kong in a guest house. Only had a car for a week. You can get around without a car on the songthaews, but they are overpriced. Scooter is better, they are cheep and easier to park. The island is mellow and very relaxed. A great place to escape. Internet is very reliable.

A really great island. One week before the full moon party it's full of tourists, and a great place to be single. After the party, it empties out completely except for locals, couples and expats. You don't need to go to the party and if it's not your thing you won't really notice. Still lots to do if you have a scooter and make some friends.

It's not as touristic as Samui or Koh Tao. A scooter is absolutely necessary. If you can't drive you'll need a friend who can. There's a small nomad community and a couple of co working spaces. Overall it's a lovely island with many different scenes.