Lifehacks

Booking way ahead, notably for a Full Moon Party period is the ultimate life hack for this resort. Rooms sell out months ahead, and prices skyrocket. Be informed that during this critical period, the resort, like all others in Haad Rin, will enforce a minimum stay of 5 to 7 nights, so plan for that. Bring some excellent earplugs and an eye mask – not as a luxury, but as a vital survival in these parts. Your expectations need to be tempered; you’re paying for the site, not the quality of the room.

To keep that budget in line and safe, it’s best to buy your alcohol at 7-Eleven before hitting the beach bars because the pre-made buckets on the sand can be expensive and of questionable content. Always keep valuables locked in the room or hotel safe. Do not carry too much cash for the night; have only what is necessary; wear shoes or sturdy sandals to the beach at night to prevent cutting your feet from broken glass: Your feet will thank you the next morning. The resort’s swimming pool is the most salient place where one recuperates during the day and interacts with other guests.

At the steady thump’s point, it’s a brief walk up over the slope to Haad Rin’s “Sunset Beach.” Very clearly more relaxed than the “Sunrise Beach” where the party’s continuing, it’s a great place to loosen up. To really get away from it, one can rent a scooter (but only if you’re quite experienced) or take a songthaew to another part of the island. A day trip to the much quieter northern beaches Chaloklum or Thong Nai Pan can be that ‘reset button’ to again experience the beauty of the island before going once again into the madness. Leave rightly: learn your lesson from the previous month and get your ferry off the island a day or two before; getting off becomes difficult on the morning after the Full Moon Party.