Yoga Destination: Koh Phangan, Thailand

Koh Phangan, Thailand is my yoga paradise.
 
If you’re looking for warm waves, white sand beaches and more yoga classes to chose from than you could possibly attend, this is the place for you.

For a high end experience, The Sanctuary, on Haad Thian, offers many daily yoga, pilates, and meditation classes. They offer fasting and cleanse options in addition to their stylish accommodations and restaurant.

On Haad Thian, and its neighboring beaches, Haad Yuan and Haad Why Nam, there are a number of yoga spots set up, including The Blooming Lotus (occasional teacher’s trainings), Love Lips, and Mysore Led Ashtanga classes. Classes range between 250-300 Baht/ class (US$8-10) with deals for multiple classes. We settled into a routine going to daily classes at the Sanctuary because we really enjoyed the teachers, but it would all depend on your yoga preferences and the instructors in the area. We wrote a little about the Sanctuary’s Vinyasa and Yin Yoga classes, the Blooming Lotus and the Mysore Ashtanga. It’s about a 10-20 minute walk between the beaches.

There are many bungalows along the beaches ranging between super basic to higher end.  We really liked Big Blue (089-871-6214 or 086-470-2625) on Haad Yuan that offer basic bungalows with private bathroom and fan for 400 baht. We wrote about it here. They also have a restaurant with good prices, an ocean view, and daily movies. There are so many bungalow options between the beaches, it’s not hard to find something for a reasonable price, although I hear high season from Dec-Mar gets more expensive. Plates of Thai food range from 60-120 Baht ($2-4). Internet is pricey on the island, starting at 30-45 baht ($1) for 15 min.

If you’re in search of yoga elsewhere on the island, you can try tantric yoga at Agama Yoga or sign up for a retreat or classes at Yoga Retreat, and I’m sure there are other places as well.

From Bangkok it’s a 10-12 hour bus ride, or shorter train ride to Surat Thani, the largest city on the mainland. Take another bus to the ferry terminal. From there its a 90 minute boat ride to Koh Samui, and continue 45 minutes to the port Thong Sala on Koh Phangan. It sounds a little complicated, but Songserm and other travel companies in Bangkok offer a direct transport option for the bus, bus, boat to Koh Phangan. We paid 950 baht/person. When you get to Thong Sala, take a pick-up truck or sawngthaew (100 baht) to Haad Rin. From Haat Rin, take a 5 minute boat ride to Haad Yaan. It’s 200 baht/person for the boat ride, despite our best attempts at bargaining. It’s a multi-step journey to get here - but it’s worth it!

If your budget is larger or you’re short on time, you can fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui in less than an hour and take boats to Koh Phangan from there.

It’s yoga paradise!

- Bessie