Koh Phangan’s Full Moon Party is one of the most famous parties in Asia. With its origins in the 1980s, thousands of travelers from around the world flock to the shores of Haad Rin Beach, for a night of wild drinking and dancing. I attended this party in August 2023. Thailand’s Full Moon Party fully lived up to my high expectations- I spent the night dancing and went to sleep as the sun went up!
As with many unforgettable nights out, the full moon party can quickly rack up expenses. With transportation, drinks, food, and body painting, this single night can easily cost thousands of baht if you are not careful. Below, I share how I kept my night out under 1000 baht ($30 USD), ensuring a fantastic experience without breaking the bank!
Note: As of 2023, there is a 200 baht entrance fee ($6 USD) to get into the party. This fee goes to cleaning up the beach and security. It is well worth the small fee.
Transportation to the Full Moon Party (Round Trip: 200 Baht, $6 USD)
Unless you are lucky enough to be within walking distance of Haad Rin Beach, you will need to catch a ride to the party. Catching a ride isn’t difficult- I walked out of my hotel and immediately flagged down a group taxi. These taxis are found everywhere on the island and you will pretty much always be in sight of one.
Here’s the trick: Tell the driver your destination and he will quote you a price. Always say no to this price and counter with a lower number. He will likely tell you no, so begin to walk away. From my experience, the driver will always stop you and accept your lower offer (within reason). For example, the driver quoted my trip at 150 baht. I countered with 100 baht, which he said no to. But as I began to walk away, he quickly agreed to 100 baht!
The other option for transportation is renting a motorbike. I don’t recommend this option as many drunk partygoers drive their motorbikes to the party, which can create dangerous driving conditions. Renting a motorbike for a day will cost around ~200-300 baht anyways, so you are better off taking a group taxi.
Note: During Full Moon, accommodations get fully booked. I highly recommend booking early to get a good location and price. I use Agoda to get the lowest prices.
DIY UV Body Paint (50 baht, $1.50 USD)
At the Full Moon Party, everyone paints their bodies with UV paint, so they glow underneath the black lights at the clubs. I wanted to get my body painted by professionals, but I was shocked by the prices. To get small flowers on my face, I was quoted 250 baht (~$8 USD). A full torso+ arms can add up to 1000 baht (~$30 USD). (Don’t try to negotiate or shop around, I tried and it was pretty fruitless).
So, if you trust your creative instincts enough, I highly recommend opting for the DIY body paint option. Once you enter the Full Moon Party area, you will find numerous DIY stations where you can paint yourself for a far smaller fee. I paid 50 baht and was given unlimited time to apply the paint to my face and body. The stations have many colors, desk mirrors, and small paintbrushes. I opted for simple pink flowers along my face and arm. By painting myself, I saved hundreds of baht. My boyfriend got his torso painted by a professional, but he DIY-ed the stripes along his arms.
Drinks at the Full Moon Party (200 baht, $6 USD)
In my opinion, this drink hack is one of the best ways you can save money at the Full Moon Party. Along the beach, there are countless vendors that sell buckets, which are filled with alcohol, a mixer, and an energy drink. Brand-name alcohol buckets will cost you around 300 baht. The expenses of these buckets can quickly add up, especially if you are there for 8+ hours like me.
Here’s the hack. There is a 7-11 right next to the entrance of the full moon party. Here, you can not only buy the ingredients for a bucket, but the bucket itself! They sell a bucket with a lid for ~20 baht and you can buy the rest of the ingredients for less than 150 baht. Energy drinks and sodas cost ~20 baht each. Although you can buy a smaller bottle of alcohol (around 100 baht) for just yourself, I recommend trying to split a larger bottle of alcohol with your party or other partygoers.
This method will not only save you money, but you can customize your bucket to your liking! I had no issues bringing the bucket inside the party. One bucket was enough for me, but you can always bring your bucket back to 7-11 and fill up!
Food at the Full Moon Party (150 baht, ~$4.50 USD)
After dancing for six hours, I was starving. Vendors sell food all along the streets leading to the beach. You can get a large variety of food, including pizzas, wraps, and burgers. However, the food is usually double the price of normal street food. I attempted to walk further away from the party, but prices stayed high throughout the Haad Rin beach area.
To stay on a budget, I bought our food and water at 7-11. There are two fully stocked 7-11’s right outside of the Full Moon Party entrance. Here, I purchased snacks such as toasties (IYKYK), chips, and water throughout the night.
I hope this post was helpful! If you follow this guide, the Full Moon Party can be one of the best and most inexpensive nights out. Send me a message or leave a comment if you have any questions or other ideas!