Parties in Baan Tai

Half Moon Party

The Half Moon Party is the second biggest party on Koh Phangan. It is in a jungle clearing on the Baan Tai to Thong Nai Pan Road. There is usually a live act to warm up the crowd. This is followed by a series of DJs, each one bringing harder beats to a crowd very much up for it. Expect underground house, progressive house, techno and trance. The party has suddenly shot up in price.

There are plenty of food stalls and places to buy drinks.

Price: 1,000 Thai Baht - early bird (8.30 to 9.30pm); 1,200 Thai Baht - pre-sale e-tickets

Dates: 1 week before and 1 week after Full Moon Party

More info: Official Website

Jungle Experience

Jungle Experience, like the Half Moon Party, is located in Baan Tai in the Jungle. Just follow the road to Thong Nai Pan and you will soon see the sign for the Jungle Experience.

Jungle Experience has a DJ booth, chill out area and plenty of psychedelic decoration. It is a party that has steadily grown in popularity over the years, and is now nearly as well attended as the Half Moon Party.

The music is mostly deep house, tech /house and progressive house. There is also a light show as well fire dancers.

Price: 600 Thai Baht

Dates: 1 day before the Full Moon Party

More info: Official Website

Black Moon Culture

Black Moon Culture is a rave at Mac Bay on Baan Tai Beach. Unlike Jungle Experience, the Half Moon Party and Shiva Moon Family, those partying have the soft sand to dance on or chill out.

It is a small and intimate party with a small DJ booth and a central pole with various fluorescent decorations hanging over proceedings. The music is invariably psy-trance.

There are plenty of food and drink stalls catering for the all-night party.

Price: 600 Thai Baht

Dates: 2 weeks after Full Moon Party

More info: Official website

Shiva Moon Family

Shiva Moon Family is a small psy trance party in the jungle. It is a mile or so into the jungle. It is a beautiful setting with 3 natural dance floors.

You can get food and plenty of drink at the party. It is an all night psy-trance party reminiscent of Goa.

Price: Free entry before 11pm. After 400 Thai Baht

Dates: The parties are irregular. The party was stopped in 2009 and in 2014. Check social media and local people in Koh Phangan to find out if it is on.

Other Parties

Voodoo Party started in 2016. It's in the Baan Tai jungle, again on the Thong Nai Pan road. Entry is 300 Thai Baht. Who knows how long it will last. The same DJs crop up at all the parties. It's a lucrative business for the organisers, hated by the local Thai residents for the noise and the present regime in Bangkok continually threatens to regulate the parties.

Club Nights

Ku Klub and Loi Lay Floating Bar both throw regular dance parties. They are often well attended and the music is normally spot on house. Loi Lay is at Baan Tai pier hanging over the water. Ku Klub is on the white sands of Baan Tai Beach.

More info: Loi Lay Floating Bar Facebook page

Bangers and Mash is a bar that has both live band nights as well as DJs. Drinks specials. On the' entertainment strip'. Events most weekends including that perennial favourite, Ladies Night

More info: Bangers and Mash Facebook page

Amnesia Club promises 'European' style club nights. DJs spin vinyl, CDs and fiddle with their Apple computers from 8 to late. Free drink on entry before 10pm

More info: Amnesia Club Facebook page

After Parties

A party might go on all night, but for some this is not long enough. Indeed some skip the main event and just turn up for the wild and strange mornings to be had at Baan Sabaii After Party at Baan Sabaii Resort. Trance and techno on the beach with indoor and outdoor dancing. Free entry. The other afters spot is Backyard Party on the tip of Haad Rin peninsula. The after parties generally follow the FMP, Half Moon and Black Moon.

What are the parties like?

It is impossible to give you Trip Advisor ratings for the parties as they only rate the Full Moon Party. It also seems pointless choosing a few comments that people have made about the parties because opinions vary greatly on the parties. Instead I will bullet point some helpful tips for the parties:

• The Full Moon Party is different to all the other parties because it takes over all of Haad Rin. Each bar has a sound system so there are dozens of DJs playing at the same time
• The Full Moon Party is much bigger than the other parties
• Jungle Experience, Half Moon Party and Shiva Moon Family are all basically raves in the jungle. The small differences are to do with the music, lighting and things available to buy.
• Black Moon Party is a small rave hosted by Mac Bay Resort

Party Resources

Check out Mia Escobud's Tales of Koh Phangan for more information about the parties in Haad Rin and Baan Tai. It includes DJ interviews, lots of pictures, soundclip widgets and updates on the party scene. The blog also includes a sobering reminder of the plight of foreigners imprisoned in Koh Samui.

Party Tips?

Everyone will give you a list of party survival tips. While more than 99% of people complete a night partying with nothing worse happening to them than an awful hangover the next day, there are those who wished that they had heeded the following advice:

• Wear somethig on your feet to avoid cuts from glass
• Only bring spending money (2,000 Baht at the most). Leave your valuables in a safety box in your resort
• Don't go for a late night swim. The sea is used as a toilet and buckets and swimming don't go together
• Beware drugs might be available but they are illegal and the consequences of getting caught are a large fine or even a prison sentence. The police are present at all the parties.
• Avoid jumping over flaming ropes when you are drunk
• Catch taxis or walk. Don't drink and drive

Prices

Naturally the price of food and drink at the parties is more than in the bars and restaurants in Baan Tai. The cheapest place to buy a snack and drinks is the 7-11 in Baan Tai. Here are some price pointers

• The Full Moon Party is the cheapest to enter (100 Thai Baht). The others are 300 to 1,200 Thai Baht depending on the DJ line-up and time of year. You can often get in cheaper if you arrive before 11pm
• Buckets cost 200 to 300 Thai Baht. Share buckets with friends to save money and pace yourself
• Bring a bottle of water with you. Water in the 7-11 costs 10 Thai Baht, whereas at a party it can cost as much as 40 Thai Baht
• Share taxis to save money. Many hostels and resorts will often lay on taxis to the big parties. Depending where you stay in Baan Tai you can often walk back to your room if it is day light and you aren't too drunk.
• Don't burn yourself. Medical bills are high in Koh Phangan (in the medical centres, not the hospital) because doctors expect that tourists will have travel insurance
• Buy UV paint beforehand in a supermarket. It is much cheaper than paying for a UV tattoo at a party