Haad Yao Beach – Koh Phangan Beach
Haad Yao means ‘The long beach’ in Thai and this beach is one of the longest on the Island, about 1 kilometer to be exact. This beach is a beautiful white sandy beach that curves towards the North West of the land. The beach is fairly wide when the tide is low and rather shallow in places for swimming, although you can find some deep spots a little further out which is good for swimming, when the tide comes in the sea is good for decent swimming. About 400m out there is a coral reef which is great for snorkeling and diving. This beach is one of the most popular beaches on the West side of the Island and because of this the accommodation options have grown and grown over the years to give a complete range of high and low budgets.
The North end of the beach you will find a large hotel resort called Haad Yao Bayview Resort with shops, motorbike hire, restaurant, ATM’s and a parking area for the hotel and from the car park a road back to the main road. Heading south along the beach you will pass many nice fish restaurants which are mainly restaurants from the bungalows and resorts that are located on the beach.