Epic Guide on Koh Phangan Black Moon Party

Full Moon Party

A Full Moon Party typically takes place on Haad Rin beach where roughly 10,000+ party goers are free to drink as much whisky and red bull as they please, paint each other with flour paint, lose their flip flops, dance to a mix of dubstep, electro and techno, piss in the sea and then later swim in the sea … that last bit is probably more likely to be lads than chicks though. The vibe is generally ‘get wasted and do stupid shit’.

Black Moon Parties

A Black Moon Party also takes place on a beach, but 8km away from Haad Rin, on a beach called Baan Tai.  The beach is much smaller and caters for a more hippy, psychedelic techno crowd.  Whilst you may hear some mainstream beats at the full moon party from a variety of DJs, the black moon party is an all our techno fest with just a single DJ stand smothered with fluorescent art and design.

You could probably expect up to 1000 people at a modern-day Black Moon Party, they are getting bigger in size, but are still some way behind the other moon themed parties on Koh Phangan.

Looking for something more organized? Check out the Koh Phangan Half Moon Party

The Blackmoon Culture takes place every month. A night filled with the latest and freshest progressive and psychedelic trance brought by Thai and International residents and guest DJ’s. Please note that party dates may vary without further notice. 

Check out the Blackmoon Culture event page on Facebook for current dates.

Tickets for Blackmoon Culture Koh Phangan are available at the door.

GENERAL TICKET

• Pre-sale: US$ 18.00 / THB 690
• At the door: US$ 18.00 / THB 690

Getting to Ko Phangan is pretty straightfoward no matter where in the region you’re traveling from. Here are your main options for getting to the Black Moon Party:

Air

If you decide to fly from Bangkok, one hour and 15 minute flights to Surat Thani’s airport (URT) cost around 900–2,500 THB on AirAsia, Nok Air, or Thai Lion Air. From the Surat Thani airport, you can take a one-hour bus to Donsak Pier and catch a ferry from there.

Flights from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Ko Samui (USM) are at least 4,500 THB since Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways keep a monopoly on the airport and see no reason to lower prices with demand so high. During the high season and around New Year’s Eve, ticket prices can get as high as 5,800 THB!

Train

Nine-hour trains from Bangkok to Surat Thani leave three times a day and cost between 519–1,200 THB per person.

In Bangkok, you can leave from the Hua Lamphong or Thon Buri train stations and head to Chumphon on a Thai Railways (thairailways.com) route. Book a combo train and boat ticket because you will usually get a free transfer from the train station to the pier this way. You should plan for the whole trip to Ko Tao to take 14–15 hours (train, transfer, boat, waiting in between).

Tickets cost 500–2,000 THB depending on booking class, route, and season (with discounts for children).

Trains leave daily from Hua Lamphong in Bangkok to Chumphon (and then to Surat Thani). The journey usually takes between 8-11 hours. There is only one train that leaves daily from Thon Buri in Bangkok to Chumphon and it takes around 8.5 hours.

Bus

Travel agencies from Khao San Road in Bangkok offer bus and ferry combinations to the island. They will usually offer a bus and boat combo ticket. I recommend getting one of these for convenience (the one that includes the Songserm ferry is usually the cheapest).

In Bangkok, you’ll leave from the Southern (Sai Tai Mai) Bus Terminal and Morchit (Northern) Terminal (VIP buses only), it’ll take around 14 hours to get to Ko Phangan (8 hours on the bus) and cost about 700–1,000 THB (350–720 THB for the bus ticket only). Buses leave daily.

Boat

There are a few ferry companies that operate routes to Ko Phangan: Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Co., Ltd (the fastest and most expensive), Seatran Discovery, and Songserm, Raja, and Phantip (the slowest and cheapest). Here are some popular ways to get to Ko Phangan:

Boat from Chumphon (mainland):

• Matapon Pier: Leaves daily, takes 5 hours, and is operated by Songserm. 850 THB.
• Tung Makham: Leaves daily, takes 3–4 hours, and is operated by Lomprayah. 1,000 THB.

Boat from Surat Thani (mainland):

• Tapee Pier Lomprayah: Leaves daily, takes 2.5 hours, and is operated by Lomprayah. 700 THB.
• Surat Thani Seatran (van+boat): Leaves daily, takes 4.5 hours, and is operated by Seatran Discovery. 550 THB.
• Surat Thani train station (van+boat): Leaves daily, takes 4 hours and 45 minutes, and is operated by Songserm. And a Lomprayah boat leaves daily and takes 3 hours and 45 minutes. 400–700 THB.
• Surat Thani airport (van+boat): Leaves multiple times an hour daily, takes between 3.5 hours to 6 hours. This route is operated by every ferry company in the area. 500–800 THB.
• Donsak Pier: Leaves multiple times daily, takes about 2.5 hours, and is operated by either Songserm, Seatran Discovery, or Raja. 210–450 THB.

Boat from Ko Tao:

• Mae Haad Pier: Leaves daily. This route is operated by Lomprayah (takes 1 hour and 10 minutes), Seatran Discovery (takes 1.5 hours), and Songserm (takes 2 hours). 450–850 THB.
• Boat from Ko Samui
• Bangrak Seatran Pier: Leaves daily, takes 30 minutes, and is operated by Seatran Discovery. 300 THB.
• Lipa Noi: Leaves daily, takes 1.5 hours, and is operated by Raja Ferry. 150 THB.
• Na Thon Ko Samui: Leaves daily, takes 30 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, and is operated by either Lomprayah or Songserm. 200–300 THB.
• Samui Airport (van+boat): Leaves daily, takes 1 hour, and is operated by Seatran Discovery. 450 THB.

Here is the location of the Black Moon Party

There aren’t many accommodation options for the party, and we suggest booking in advance because some hotels or resorts might be booked. However, there are options with various prices depending on where you want to stay.

You might want to stay at a resort or a fancy hotel which are mostly located in 3 places which are Ao Baan Tai, Ao Bang Charu, and Ao Ban Khai. If you stayed at Ao Bang Charu; resorts there are mostly located in Thongsala Town which is not far from the main pier, it is only 5 minutes away.

You will also find some resorts near the location of the party like Triangle Resort with a short taxi ride to the Black Moon Party, prices range from 1,500 Baht per night.

If you are looking for a fancier accommodation you can stay at Morning Start Resort which has a beach bar and a pool with huge bungalows, prices range from 1,600 Baht per night, minimum 3 nights.

If you are looking for a more simple and humble option you should seek Munchies Resort which offers great bungalows with an island hut style, also is a minimum 3 nights stay with the price ranging from 500 Baht per night.

Another accommodation option is staying at Koh Samui which offers endless possibilities of accommodation and is near the location of the party as you can take a ferry to the party’s destination.

Although this is an organized festival with security, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some precautionary acts and watch out for anything that could happen in those kinds of parties and places due to the number of people there.

It is advised that you go with a group of friends that you trust because it is more fun when you dance the night away with people you love and also you can look out for each other in case of anything happening.

Don’t accept any stranger’s offers of drinks or food as they may not have good intentions about their offers, it might be drug infused or poisonous and you do not want to end up passed out with no money or worse.

This party is full of wild people partying under the influence of heavy alcohol which may lead to dangerous situations, so take care of yourself because no one else will so you won’t end up drunk and in a bad situation.

There is security involved in the festival and it is not advised that you partake in any drugs while you are there especially illegal drugs in Thailand, no one wants to spend some time in jail because they were partying irresponsibly.

Speedboats can be overcrowded so you should carry a life jacket and be cautious.

Do not carry any valuable objects to avoid any pickpockets there, as it is not uncommon that someone will lose an object or two in a crowd like this. If you must take a valuable object with you keep an eye out for it and don’t go around showing it off.

When it is time for sunrise it can get really hot, so take some sunscreen, lotion and even some clothes and a hat.

Usually held on the night of the new moon, entry to the Blackmoon Party costs 600 baht. The party has a more chilled-out hippie vibe than the larger and more famous Full Moon events and the music is generally much less mainstream. Limited in size by the confines of the small beach, you will usually find about 1,000 other revellers there, with more of a focus on enjoying the music than getting blackout drunk.