Ko phangan - Thailand

The bay has a 3km long playground surrounded by the tallest mountains on the island, giving maximum wind protection for the flattest water in the Gulf of Thailand.jumping a wake

Learning from qualified, native English-speaking instructors you'll ride behind a custom designed wakeboard boat with wake tower and ballast that carves the monster wake you will need for big air jumps and flips!

With regularly updated top brand boards, bindings, spectra lines/handles and impact vests, you are guaranteed the best wakeboarding experience in the Gulf of Thailand. We now also have wakeskates for those wanting to use the wake like a half-pipe or bowl, and for the old school, water skis, mono skis and kneeboards are on offer. We also have inflatable towables, for those who want to be thrown around behind the boat at high speeds!

Emergency Call 191
Tourist Police (Samui) 077 421281
Tourist Police (Surat) 077 281300
Police Station (Pha-Ngan) 077 377114
TAT Office (Surat) 077 281828
Hospital (Pha-Ngan) 077 377034
Immigration (Samui) 077 421069
Bangkok Airways (Samui) 077 425011
Songserm Travel (Pha-Ngan) 077 377046
Songserm Travel (Surat) 077 285124-6
Raja Ferry (Pha-Ngan) 077 377452-3
Raja Ferry (Surat) 077 371151

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE spend a couple of minutes reading this if you are going to rent a bike on Ko Phangan.

Every day there are crashes, injuries and even deaths on Ko phangan from tourists that have rented motor bikes. If you are a very experienced rider then fine, just learn the rules of the road and off you go, but probably 8 in every 10 people is either new to riding a motorbike or very inexperienced.

The first thing I want to stress is if you are new to riding, if you are going to remember anything its this.....use the back break !

So many people in that moment of panic grab both brakes, and the first thing that happens is that the front wheel locks up and skids away underneath you - you ending up on the floor , injured.

Do you remember riding a push bike when you where young, and the kids that would skid by grabbing that back brake and sending the back end of the bike out to the side, - thats what you want to do in a moment of panic. You will remain in control and won't go over the handle bars!

The roads on ko phangan vary from brand new, really wide smooth concrete roads to dirt roads with big holes, lots of sand, rocks, coconuts, branches, snakes and dogs !

The road leading to ko phangans infamous Had Rin is only for people that are already feeling comfortable on a bike ! The hills are incredibly steep and you will struggle to get up some of them if there are two of you on the bike! This is no joke - this area is could be renamed death road as it regularly eats up tourists ! Get a TAXI if you aren't 100% comfortable.

Wear a helmet and live !
Practice in an empty area first, on a quiet road somewhere.
Ask the person you are renting the bike from in Ko Phangan to show you how to ride it.
Get off of the bike on the left side - the opposite side to the HOT exhaust pipe.
Watch out for areas of sand on the road.

There is also quite often a problem with regards to the owner of the bike saying that you have damaged it to try and get money from you. Something that is very important is that you check the bike over with the owner and point out any scratches and dents to them so they cant try and charge you for them afterwards.

Do check the contract too, sometimes people have a little accident or the bike falls over and gets scratched. When you take it back you will notice that you have signed a contract that states the prices they will charge for the damage. It is more than often very high ! ( just bare that in mind ).

I hope this doesn't make it all sound too bad. You can of course have a great time driving around the island on a motorbike and experience no problems. I am lucky enough to say that I've driven a bike on the island for 10 years , with out having one accident.

I just want to outline these factors for you so that you are prepared :)

EAST

AO THONG NAI PAN NOI
AO THONG NAI PAN YAI
AO THONG RENG
HAD SADET
NORTH

AO CHALOKLUM
HAD KHOM
HAD KHUAT
HAD THONG LANG
SOUTH EAST

AO BAN KHAI
AO BAN TAI
AO HIN LOR
HAD LEELA
HAD RIN NAI
HAD RIN NOK
HAD THIAN (EAST)
HAD WAI NAM
HAD YAO (EAST)
HAD YUAN
SOUTH WEST

AO BANG CHARU
AO NAI WOK
AO PLAAYLAEM
AO WOK TUM
WEST

AO CHAO PHAO
AO HIN KONG
AO SRI THANU
HAD DAO DEUK
HAD KRUAD
HAD MAE HAD
HAD SALAD
HAD SON
HAD THIAN (WEST)
HAD YAO (WEST)