We were hesitant to visit the nearby island Koh Phangan due to their full moon party reputation. We are talking about a Phi Phi crowd times 10! Google "full moon party haad rin" and you will find this. It's one part hoochie mamma and one part poser and together you get 100% debauchery. Our original dates we had planned landed right in the middle of full moon swing, so we delayed a day hoping the antics would be over. I also made a concerted effort to find us some lodging that was FAR from the scene of Haad Rin Beach. My efforts proved to be a success! While Haad Rin is at the south end of the island, we stayed at Thongtapan Resort on the north east side located on Thong Nai Pan Noi Beach. The 45 min drive to get there was well worth the rough roads. It was cozy, remote, and there was no full moon mayhem in sight.

Our garden bungalow was a short distance from the water and the beach was surrounded by lush, mountainous terrain.

Just south of Thong Nai Pan Noi is Thong Nai Pan Yai. I know. The verbiage gets confusing. It requires a decent walk and an uphill, sweaty battle around a hill to get there.

When we finally reach the beach, we understand why it's known as Thong Nai Pan Noi's less attractive sister. It's still quite beautiful but there is less wave action here which means the shore is dotted with anchored boats. It makes for glorious photos, but not so glorious swimming.