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Night crowd on the beach at Haad Rin under a glowing Welcome to Thailand sign at a Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan

Photo: joestump https://www.flickr.com/photos/joestump/ (CC BY 2.0)

Full Moon Party draws over 30,000 for the last party of 2018

Source
  • December 2018
  • Haad Rin beach, Haad Rin
  • Parties Koh Phangan

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More than 30,000 foreign tourists reportedly gathered on Haad Rin beach for the last Full Moon Party of 2018, in December.

About this event

Bangkok Post covered the last Full Moon Party of 2018 as a news story about tourism numbers on Koh Phangan. Haad Rin Nok, the beach where it happens, is about 800 metres long, and guides put a typical full moon night at 30,000 to 40,000 people. The December reports sit at the upper end of that range.

The party has run since the 1980s, with the first gatherings at Paradise Bungalows, and it became a global name after the 2000 film The Beach. Today it is a sound-system night with bars all along the sand, famous for drinks sold by the 'bucket' of spirit, soft drink and ice. The Bangkok Post headline for its follow-up said the party packed them in. For the record, the 2018 night is a marker of what a normal peak-season party looked like before the pandemic break that began in 2020.

The facts

  1. Bangkok Post reported that more than 30,000 foreign tourists gathered on Haad Rin beach on a Saturday night for the last Full Moon Party of 2018.
  2. The party ran from about 1am to 7am on Sunday under tight security, with some visitors arriving by speedboat from Koh Samui.
  3. No unseemly incidents were reported.

Why it matters

One of the largest crowds reported for a regular Full Moon Party in the pre-pandemic years.

More nights like this

Parties on Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan is where Thailand's party reputation comes from. The Full Moon Party fills Haad Rin's Sunrise Beach once a month, with bars playing different music along the sand, fire shows and a start around 21:00. Dates sometimes move a day when the full moon falls on a Buddhist holy day, as with 27 October 2026. Smaller Half Moon and Jungle parties run in forest clearings inland from Ban Tai, and a weekly Friday jungle party runs there too. Haad Rin is reached from Thong Sala pier by shared taxi, tuk-tuk or minibus, and an entry ticket is sold at the beach alleys on the night.

Around Haad Rin

Haad Rin is the peninsula at Phangan's southern tip, with Sunrise Beach (Haad Rin Nok) on the east and quieter Sunset Beach (Haad Rin Nai) on the west. Sunrise Beach has hosted the monthly Full Moon Party since the late 1980s, and bars line its roughly one-kilometre length, each with its own sound system. Sunset Beach sees far less foot traffic outside party nights. From Thong Sala pier, shared taxis, tuk-tuks and minibuses go to Haad Rin, and boats leave from here for Haad Yuan.

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