Full Moon Party 2026–27: Official Dates, What It Costs, How to Survive It, and Whether to Bother

The Full Moon Party is forty years old, which makes it older than most of the people at it. It started, the story goes, as a birthday on Haad Rin beach in the mid-1980s for a handful of travellers who thought the moon over the Gulf was worth a party; it is now a monthly event of ten to thirty thousand people, a ฿200 wristband, a beach lined with sound systems from bar to bar, fire-rope skipping, plastic buckets of Thai whisky and Red Bull, and a clean-up crew that starts work before the last people leave. It is also the single most opinion-generating thing on Koh Phangan — an island that has quietly become one of the best in Thailand for everything that isn’t this. Here’s the honest version: the official 2026 dates, what it costs, how to get there and back, how not to be one of the night’s casualties, and a straight answer to the question of whether it’s worth your full moon at all.

The short version: if you’re in your twenties, you like a big loud beach party and you go in sober enough to make decisions, it’s a genuinely great night — one of the world’s big ones, and the sunrise at the end is the best bit. If you’re on Phangan for the yoga, the snorkelling or the quiet north coast, plan to be anywhere but Haad Rin that night, and arrive or leave on a different day from the ferry crush. Either way, book the bed weeks ahead: Haad Rin’s guesthouses double their prices and demand minimum stays, and the rest of the island fills behind them. Our Koh Phangan area guide covers where to sleep by type of traveller, party or not.

Full Moon Party dates 2026 (official)

As published by the organisers in Haad Rin. Parties now fall on the night of the actual full moon; if that night is a major Buddhist holy day (Wan Phra Yai), the party moves to the following night — which is why October’s is the 27th, not the 26th. The New Year party is fixed on 31 December regardless of the moon. Always re-check the official schedule before you book ferries.

2027 dates are released by the organisers once confirmed; expect one party a month on the full moon (around the 20th–22nd from January to March 2027), shifted a night when a Buddhist holy day lands on it — February’s usually does, for Makha Bucha. We’ll update this table when they’re published. Between full moons, Haad Rin runs Half Moon, Black Moon and Jungle parties at venues inland with paid tickets (฿600–1,000); they’re smaller, better-organised and, many regulars say, better.

What it costs, honestly

Entry is ฿200 at the gates onto Haad Rin beach, paid in cash on the night for a wristband that funds the clean-up. There are no online tickets; any website selling “Full Moon Party tickets” in advance is selling you nothing. Buckets — a small plastic pail with a quarter-bottle of Thai whisky or vodka, a Red Bull and a mixer — are ฿250–400 depending on how far from the water you buy them; bottled beer ฿100–150; water ฿20–40 (buy it, repeatedly). Getting to Haad Rin from elsewhere on the island by shared songthaew is ฿100–150 a head in daylight and ฿150–200 or more on the night, when the road from Thong Sala jams solid; a private taxi back at 4am can be ฿300–500 and worth every baht. Beds: Haad Rin’s hostels and guesthouses charge double or triple for the nights either side of the party and often insist on three to five-night minimums; ฿800–1,500 for a fan room that’s ฿400 the rest of the month, more for anything with a pool. Everywhere else on the island goes up less but fills early. Budget the night at ฿1,500–2,500 a head with transport, entry, a few drinks and food, before the hotel.

Getting there — and, harder, getting back

From Koh Samui, which is where most people come from: ferries run all day from Bangrak (Big Buddha) and Maenam to Thong Sala on Phangan, ฿200–300 (every boat and pier compared), and on party nights the Haad Rin Queen from Bangrak lands straight on Haad Rin — 45 minutes, about ฿250–300 — with extra “party boats” sailing over in the evening and back through the small hours (the return trips leave from around 1am until dawn; expect to queue, and expect a rough and loud crossing). Samui to Phangan ferries on 12Go show the piers and times; book the return in advance on party dates. From Koh Tao: 60–90 minutes by catamaran to Thong Sala, ฿450–600 — Tao–Phangan on 12Go. From the mainland: the joint bus-and-boat or train-and-boat tickets from Bangkok via Surat Thani or Chumphon arrive at Thong Sala, 12–16 hours all in — Bangkok to Koh Phangan on 12Go, or fly to Samui and ferry across (our Bangkok to Koh Samui route guide has the fares; the Surat Thani base guide explains the piers). The trap is the day before and the day after: ferries, vans and the Samui airport all run full, so arrive two days early if you can, and don’t book a flight out of Samui on the morning after the party unless you enjoy stress.

How the night actually goes

Haad Rin Nok — Sunrise Beach — is an 800-metre crescent lined with bars, and each bar runs its own sound system onto the sand, so walking the beach is walking through a dozen genres in ten minutes: trance at one end, hip-hop at the next, a reggae bar in the middle, EDM where the crowd is thickest. People arrive from about 9pm painted in UV body paint sold on the walk-in (฿50–100), the beach fills by midnight, peaks between 1am and 3am, and thins through to a sunrise that lights the whole bay pink with several thousand people still dancing, which is the image that keeps the party alive. Fire shows run all night — the fire-rope skipping and the flaming limbo are the two activities that put people in the Haad Rin clinic, so watch them and don’t join them. Food carts and the 7-Eleven are open throughout; the sea is right there, and going in it drunk at 3am is how the night’s worst stories start. Shoes: broken glass on sand is the most common injury of all. Go in flip-flops you don’t mind losing, not barefoot.

The survival list, from people who’ve done the morning after

Go as a group and agree a meeting point — phones die, signal drops, and the beach at 2am is a sea of identical painted strangers. Drink water, and buy your own drinks: buckets are poured in front of you, which is the point of buying them that way; drink spiking happens, so don’t leave one unattended and don’t take one from a stranger. Drugs: plain-clothes police work the beach and the Thong Sala pier on party nights, a positive test or a possession charge here ends very badly, and the bait is sometimes the dealer. Don’t. Leave the passport in the hotel safe and carry a copy, a phone in a waterproof pouch (฿50 at any shop that day), and only the cash you intend to spend — the scams guide‘s rules about bags on beaches apply doubly here. Lockers at the bars and hostels on the walk-in are ฿100–200 and better than your pocket. Know your way home before you’re in a state to need it — the name of your hotel written on your arm is a cliché because it works — and accept that the taxi back will cost what it costs. Do not rent a scooter for the night. The road into Haad Rin has a notoriously steep hill, it’s dark, and everyone on it has been drinking; the island’s accident statistics around full-moon nights are grim and entirely predictable. The sea: look, don’t swim. Insurance: check it covers what you plan to do, because it usually doesn’t cover what it calls “intoxication”.

Where to stay: in Haad Rin, or deliberately not

In Haad Rin if the party is the trip: you walk home, you skip the taxi scrum, and you pay for it in noise and price. Tommy Resort (from around ฿2,500 on party weeks) is on the beach itself; Cocohut Beach Resort (from around ฿3,000) sits on Leela Beach ten minutes’ walk over the headland — close enough to walk, far enough to sleep. Deliberately not: Baan Tai and Ban Khai, the coast road between Thong Sala and Haad Rin, put you fifteen minutes from the party and out of earshot, with far more choice and saner prices; Srithanu on the west coast is the yoga-and-sunset village where many people spend the full moon in a different way entirely (Loyfa Natural Resort, from around ฿1,800); and the north-east coves — Thong Nai Pan, Haad Salad, Bottle Beach — are the other island altogether, where Anantara Rasananda (from around ฿8,000) is the kind of place that books out on party weeks for the opposite reason. Whichever you pick, book early: the whole island knows the dates.

So, is it worth it?

Yes, once, for the people it’s for: it is enormous, cheap to enter, good-natured far more often than not, and the sunrise is the kind of thing you remember. It is not a secret, it is not “authentic” in any sense anyone would defend, and the island’s own residents have a complicated relationship with it. No if crowds, noise or being around very drunk people ruins your night — and note that the smaller moon parties and the Jungle Experience inland are better-run versions of the same idea. Sidestep it if Koh Phangan is on your itinerary for any other reason: arrive after the full moon rather than before, when prices drop and the beaches empty. Our month-by-month guide covers when the Gulf’s weather is actually on your side, and the Price Index has what the island should cost the other 29 days of the month.

Full Moon Party: your questions, answered

When is the next Full Moon Party?

The official 2026 dates are 28 August, 26 September, 27 October, 24 November and 24 December, plus the New Year’s Countdown Party on 31 December. Parties fall on the night of the full moon unless it’s a major Buddhist holy day, when they move to the following night.

How much is the Full Moon Party?

฿200 in cash at the gates onto Haad Rin beach for a wristband. There are no advance tickets — any site selling them is a scam. Budget ฿1,500–2,500 for the night with transport, drinks and food, before your accommodation, which roughly doubles around the date.

Is the Full Moon Party safe?

Mostly, with obvious exceptions: fire-rope burns, broken glass underfoot, drunk swimming, spiked drinks, scooter crashes on the Haad Rin hill and drug stings by plain-clothes police are the recurring problems. Go in a group, wear shoes, watch your drink, don’t swim, don’t ride, don’t buy anything illegal.

Can you do the Full Moon Party from Koh Samui?

Yes — the Haad Rin Queen and extra party boats run from Bangrak pier on Samui straight to the party beach (about ฿250–300 each way) and return through the night until dawn. Book the return in advance and expect queues and a rough crossing. Staying on Phangan is calmer.

Where should I stay for the Full Moon Party?

In Haad Rin or on Leela Beach if you want to walk home; in Baan Tai or Ban Khai for a short taxi and a quieter night; in Srithanu or the north-east coves if you’re on the island for anything else. Book weeks ahead — everywhere fills and Haad Rin insists on minimum stays.

Related guides

• Where to Stay in Koh Phangan: Best Areas for Every Type of Traveller
• Bangkok to Koh Samui: Every Route Costed (Fly, Train, Bus and Ferry)
• Koh Tao Diving: The Cheapest Open Water on Earth, Explained

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Ferries: Samui, Tao and the mainland connections with the party-night sailings — book Koh Phangan ferries on 12Go. Beds: pick Haad Rin, Baan Tai or the quiet coasts first, then compare Koh Phangan hotels on Agoda — and do it early. The rest of the island: snorkelling at Koh Ma, the Than Sadet waterfall walk, a dive day to Sail Rock — browse Koh Phangan trips on GetYourGuide for the other 29 days. Not sure the Gulf is your coast? Our Where to Go in Thailand matcher scores all 77 provinces against your month, your crowd tolerance and what you actually want from the trip.