Mae Haad

Mae Haad is quite possibly one of the most beautiful beaches on Koh Phangan. It is also a beach that can offer something for everyone.

Located about a 5 minute drive from Chaloklum Village, Mae Haad is the ideal place to spend the day, with a number of bungalow operations and their restaurants, beach-front dive shops, massage stands, snorkel, mask  fin and kayak rentals, beach bars, volley ball nets and a genuinely good vibe. Mae Haad successfully combines some of the best aspects of the island —  it is chilled, but it is never dull and it offers all the services and luxuries you could want, without losing its old-school Koh Phangan feel or being overly built up.

The beach at Mae Haad attracts a really varied cross-section of traveler,  from couples to families to flash and back packers and vacationing professionals, all of whom combine to make a pretty interesting mix. By day it is a great place to people watch. The crowd is generally a little older and more European than Haadrin’s stereotypical recently post-pubescent travelling horde of  Brits.  While Mae Haad gets busy during the Full Moon Party, it doesn’t get hectic and people who chose to stay at Mae Haad tend to venture elsewhere to really party. Likewise, while there are a few bars and restaurants on the commercial strip behind the beach on the road in,  nothing really goes over the top.

Mae Haad Sunset Koh Khangan
The Evening Show

It is also one of the best  places on the West Coast of Koh Phangan to watch a sunset, and many locals and tourists alike head down to Mae Haad just before dusk to watch the sun drop into the water and enjoy the fire show in the sky. It is a great way to wind down as the evening approaches either from the beach itself or from the not so subtly named Rolling Stoned Bar. Beware however, the local police are aware that people may be carrying small quantities of sunset enhancers and sometimes set up shop just around the first bend off the road to the beach.

Koh Ma, arguably the home of Koh Phangan’s best snorkeling, lies less than 100 metres offshore of Mae Haad’s Island View Cabanas. In addition to providing excellent snorkelling, Mae Haad with its abundant and varied marine life and shallow coral reefs is the perfect place to learn diving or just brush up  your rusty skills.  The length of Mae Haad’s coast line is fronted by a shallow coral shelf which can vary between 50 and 100 meter wide and is divided in the center by a narrow channel  cut from the coral to allow boats, divers and snorkelers out into deeper waters without disturbing the reef . Once over the reef in deeper water, coral formations dot the length of the bay, almost like a bread crumb trail to Koh Mah.  Haad Yao Divers and Dive Inn both maintain small dive and booking operations on Mae Haad because of the quality the diving can compare (on a good day) to an ocean dive without the boat trip (or expense).

There are many bungalow operations along the sand, appealing to varying budgets. A beach front bungalow with air can go for 1000-2000 (or more) baht per night, but 400 baht fan accommodation is still available a little further back from the ocean.

Mae Haad Bungalow Island View Cabana, Koh Phangan
view from bungalow 1

Bungalow and resort operations on Mae Haad include:

Island View Cabana, Royal Orchid, Wang Sai Resort, Koh Ma Dive Resort, Mae Haad Cove and Pim Bungalow.

Whatever it is you are after, Mae Haad is likely to have it. If it doesn’t Chaloklum will.

3 Replies to “Mae Haad”

  1. […] dives in Thailand’s warm waters. If diving is not your thing, the snorkeling at Koh Ma off Mae Haad is hard to […]

  2. mentoq says:

    Hi,

    We are planning to go to Mae Haad and trying to contact Mae Haad Cove to book a room. But the phone number 077 374 254 that we found on websites cannot be contacted. I was wondering whether you may have contact numbers of the bungalows on Mae Haad beach. And how do we book/pay?

    Also what would be the prices of food and renting snorkeling equipments on the beach or around?

    Thank you.

    1. ts says:

      Hello,

      Sorry, i come up with the same number you have, their website seems to be down also, but that is not unusual for these types of bungalow operations.

      As far as i know food prices at the restauraunt is pretty standard with nothing on the menu much more than 200 baht. Beers are about 60-80 baht, depending on brand

      As for snorkelling gear it is all about 150-300 baht for the day depending on the quality of the gear. There may also be a refundable deposit of around 5 or 600 baht

      There are a number of places you can rent gear, Haad Yao divers has a shack on the beach, and island view cabana’s does gear rentals as well. I am sure other places do gear as well.

      good luck, sorry i couldn’t be more help.

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