Full Moon Party Thailand in 2025! Maybe the biggest party event in Asia: Around 20,000 visitors from all over the world celebrate on the beach, every month when the moon is full.
Check out the upcoming parties' schedules, travel tips, and accommodation options.
Find out all about the world's biggest monthly party. Hundreds of thousands of Asia travelers have had Koh Phangan Full Moon Party on their bucket list for decades. It's a classic party experience you don't want to miss!
Every full moon, ten thousand visitors gather on the beaches of Koh Phangan to indulge in the moonlight and celebrate life.
Our website has been servicing travelers and party visitors for twenty years:
What is the Full Moon Party schedule?
Transportation options: How to get to the party (flights, trains, ferries, buses, taxis)
Activities after the party: Enjoy Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, and Koh Tao.
Best accommodation options – All hotels near the party fill up – we help you find last-minute accommodation
There are many legends about the origins of the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. Nobody knows exactly when the first full moon party took place, although many people claim that they were at the first party.
Sometime in the 1980s, a group of tourists started enjoying the full moon nights in Koh Phangan. Since the 1970s, Koh Phangan has been attracting a colorful crowd of travelers, often backpacking hippies (Source: TIME). On their way to or from India, they stumbled upon remote Koh Phangan and discovered Haad Rin, which was a tiny village difficult to access without paved roads.
Slowly, the insider tip became an open secret and started attracting larger and larger crowds. Today, the Koh Phangan Full Moon Party is on the bucket list of millions of travelers. Once in your life, you should experience a full moon party.
And now, there are 20,000–30,000 people at the party each month, depending on the season.
So, 40 years later, is the full moon party still any good? While the party has changed over the years, it certainly deserves a spot on your bucket list.
🌙 Origins: Started in the 1980s by tourists enjoying full moon nights
🏝️ Location: Haad Rin, a tiny village that was difficult to access
🧘 Early Crowd: Backpacking hippies traveling to/from India
📈 Growth: From insider tip to open secret, now attracts 20,000-30,000 people monthly
⏰ Legacy: 40+ years later, still a bucket list experience for millions
The Full Moon Party is a unique event you won't experience anywhere else.
What makes it so special?
Full Moon Nights have a special light and atmosphere. Join this magic once a month
Koh Phangan is one of the most beautiful islands in a country full of beautiful islands. Haad Rin Beach was just made to host such a special party.
The international atmosphere – when's the last time you had a party with people from all over the world? Koh Phangan has become a hot spot for digital nomads in recent years, so you can find yourself partying with tourists, travelers, and remote workers from diverse places such as Thailand, the United States, India, Australia, Denmark, Germany, China, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom and many more.
The atmosphere of freedom: The Full Moon parties are known for their atmosphere of freedom. Everyone comes to have fun and enjoy themselves, which makes the atmosphere one of pure joy.
🌍 Atmosphere: International crowd with people from all over the world, atmosphere of freedom and pure joy
👥 Who Goes: Everyone - posh, hippie, punk, rocker, and all types of people
🍕 Food & Drinks: Many food stalls and mobile vendors, bucket drinks (250-500 Baht)
🎫 Tickets: 200 Baht wristband for access to all party locations
🚕 Transportation: Group taxis (100 Baht) or scooters, but taxis are safer
🛡️ Safety: Wear proper shoes, carry only essentials, avoid drugs, stick with friends
The simple answer is: everyone.
You'd find at these parties people from diverse groups: Posh, hippie, punk, rocker, and really any kind of person you can think of. The atmosphere is joyful and open to everyone. Since the beach is around one kilometer long, even on the most crowded nights with 30.000 visitors, there is enough room to move around.
If there's one thing you don't need to worry about, it's going hungry during the Full Moon Party. There are many food stalls everywhere, so you can grab a snack.
You can buy drinks on every corner; there are a lot of mobile vendors, stalls, and bars. In general, it is safest if you buy at the main party venues; if you buy the drinks somewhere else, make sure it is on the beach and not in some obscure back alley.
Many come to the Full Moon Party Thailand to tick off things on their bucket list – and part of this is buying drinks in buckets. These buckets contain a strong local energy drink, a small bottle of liquor, soda, and ice. Bucket prices range from 250-500 Baht (7-14 USD).
Tickets are sold in the main alleys that lead to the beach area. As proof of purchase, you get a wristband. The ticket gives you access to all the party locations along the beach.
Tickets are 200 Thai Baht (around 6 USD).
If your accommodation is right on the beach and you do not plan to leave the party area that night, you might not need a ticket.
Currently, there is no possibility to buy a ticket in advance, unless you book a tour package that includes the ticket.
No, you don't need to worry about this. There is an unlimited number of tickets. You don't need to worry about missing out or not getting in.
🎫 Price: 200 Baht (around 6 USD)
🏷️ Format: Wristband as proof of purchase
🏖️ Access: All party locations along the beach
📍 Where: Sold in main alleys leading to beach area
⏰ Timing: No advance purchase (except tour packages)
Beware your feet. While you can spend your entire vacation with Flip Flops only or even barefoot, this is not recommended at the Full Moon Party Thailand. There is a lot of trash on the beach, and you may not be safe walking barefoot. If you have only Flip Flops, you will likely lose them in the crowd.
Everybody wears UV paint at the party, Be careful, because the paint may not only stain your clothes, but it is going to leave stains in the hotel, especially on towels and sheets. Make sure you wash all the paint off before you go to bed, otherwise, the hotel may charge a fine.
For a complete guide on what to wear, check out our Full Moon Party dress code guide.
👟 Footwear: Wear sneakers or closed sandals, avoid flip-flops
🎨 UV Paint: Everyone wears it, but wash off completely before bed
🧽 Clean Up: Paint stains clothes and hotel items (towels, sheets)
💰 Cost: Hotel may charge fine if paint stains remain
🚫 Avoid: Walking barefoot due to beach trash
The full moon party happens on Haad Rin beach on Koh Phangan island.
To get to Koh Phangan you have to take a ferry or speed boat from Koh Samui or from Surat Thani.
Check out our travel info page to learn more about the different routes.
Taxi – Group taxis go along the western coastline, from Thong Sala to Haad Rin. While you can normally hail down group taxis in the streets, on the day of the party, you may want to book a taxi in advance to be on the safe side. Group taxi rides start at 100 Baht (3 USD) per person
Scooter – It´s very easy to rent a scooter on Haad Rin, but there are some pitfalls. During the full moon party, you may be safer using a taxi. There are a lot of accidents, police control extensively, and in Haad Rin you may have difficulties finding a parking spot for a scooter.
For a complete guide to how to get to Koh Phangan's Full Moon party, click here, for our guide on how to get around on Koh Phangan itself, click here.
Full Moon Party Thailand is a perfectly safe place if you apply common sense and stick to a few simple rules. For comprehensive safety information, see our complete safety guide.
Protect your feet: Wear sneakers, closed sandals or water shoes instead of flip-flops; this way, you´ll be safe from broken glass and other sharp objects
Valuables: Make sure you only carry essentials with you to the party: Cash for transport, drinks, food, and toilet usage. Bring a passport copy. Avoid taking your phone and keep your valuables hidden away.
Drugs: Drugs seem to be readily available at the Full Moon Party. However, Thailand´s drug legislation is clear and rigidly enforced (Source: UK Foreign Office). Allegedly undercover police are actively looking for drug buyers at the party, and there are many stories of tourists getting trapped. When caught, you may end up being forced to pay 3.000 USD to the authorities. (Source: US State Department)
Safe driving: Haad Rin is surrounded by steep hills. If you stay outside of Haad Rin, you must ride curvy roads and risk getting into accidents. Also, there are many police controls around Haad Rin. Police control helmet-wearing, driving licenses, and whether you carry drugs with you. At night it is certainly safer to take a taxi.
Stick close to your friends because it can be easy to get lost in the crowd. Have a plan B to find yourselves in case you get lost.
Don´t go swimming: Even though it may get hot and it´s tempting to play around in the beach water: Avoid going in, the sea serves as an improvised toilet.
Drinking: There are bars, stalls, and ambulant vendors offering alcohol in all shapes and sizes, including the infamous buckets. Make sure you buy only closed bottles from trustworthy vendors. Eat enough and make sure you drink enough water.
Hygiene: During the party, garbage can get out of control, and the beach is littered with garbage. However, the clean-up happens right in the morning and in the afternoon the beach looks like there never was a crowd of 20.000 people.
Fire: There are all kinds of fire shows on the beach. If you are inexperienced or drunk, don't try jumping the fire rope, burn accidents happen quite frequently.
👟 Foot Protection: Wear sneakers or closed sandals, avoid flip-flops due to broken glass
💼 Valuables: Carry only essentials, bring passport copy, avoid phones
🚫 Drugs: Strictly illegal (Source: UK Foreign Office), undercover police present, fines up to 3,000 USD (Source: US State Department)
🚕 Transportation: Take taxis at night, avoid scooters due to accidents and police checks
👥 Safety: Stick with friends, don't swim in the sea, buy closed bottles only
🔥 Fire Shows: Don't attempt fire rope jumping if inexperienced or drunk
One reason that the Full Moon Party Thailand became so popular is that it is taking place on one of Thailand's most beautiful islands. So it´s worth your time to stay longer on Koh Phangan.
There are plenty of activities to enjoy:
Click here to check out our full guide to what you can do on the island while there. You can also check out other parties on Koh Phangan beyond the Full Moon Party.
First of all, rest assured that Koh Phangan is not that big of an island. With a scooter, you can pretty much get from one side of the island to the other in an hour. So almost any hotel would let you get to the party easily.
However, after a night of partying, it could be nicer to stay at a hotel close to the party's beaches. To help you pick these out, we've compiled a list of the best and closest hotels to the Full Moon Party.