Even though I have been to Koh Phangan before, I didn’t explore the island fully, and one of the missing spots was the famous Bottle Beach.
This beach has a reputation, so I decided to see for myself what it is about.
I have been to the beach itself, and I also have seen it from one of the most iconic viewpoints in Koh Phangan: The Bottle Beach viewpoint, or the Phasawan Viewpoint. To get to the viewpoint, I rented a motorbike for 250 bh/day, and I didn’t even have to fill it with gas as it had enough.
Bottle Beach viewpoint
The street to the Bottle Beach viewpoint is easy and pretty. It has got many hills, and some steep ones, but the street is good and wide, and traffic isn’t really a thing. It feels like on this side of the island, things are way quieter. Save the tip in case you are looking to escape the crowd on Koh Phangan.
I came across many beautiful views, streets lined with coconut trees, what a nice ride.
You can’t take the motorbike to the viewpoint itself. There is a place to park it before a jungle trail starts. Don’t attempt to ride a motorbike on this dirt path, as I have heard some ugly stories about it. Just park it near Bottle Beach viewpoint as the walk isn’t long.
The viewpoint is tucked in the jungle. There is a smooth big rock that has to be climbed, and if you are scared of heights, this viewpoint might be a bit frightening. There is a little rock climbing to be done and walking on the edge, but nothing too bad. On top of the rock, the view is 360º showing how wild the surroundings look. It is beautiful up there to see Bottle Beach way down there and all the jungle with lots of coconut trees- my favorites.
I went on a very cloudy day, and for that reason the beach didn’t really impress. If there is no sun, the true colors of the water won’t be revealed, and that was the case. A pretty bland view of blue shades. What a shame! I have seen way better pictures of it, but this is what I got to see. Maybe you can plan to visit when the sun is shining, so you end up mesmerized by Bottle Beach’s beauty.
There is also a trail starting in this area to go to the beach down there. In fact, there are two different possible beach hikes to Bottle Beach. This one, starting near Bottle Beach viewpoint, is the shortest one. But this is not the one I have done. I did the longest Bottle Beach hike, which starts near Haad Khom.
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Bottle Beach Hike
You will easily see the trail on the Maps.me app, not on Google. For hikes, I always advise this app that shows walkable trails that Google doesn’t.
For this hike, I took my motorbike to Haad Khom viewpoint and parked it there. The start of the trail is near. It is not very clear, and I really had to use Maps.me to find the start, which was up a hill and not very perceptible at the time.
I started the Bottle Beach hike at 10 am, and at 12 pm, I could see the ocean and Bottle Beach, at last. This hike took me 2 hours, but you can do it in a shorter time, probably 1h30 is enough. But I like to enjoy the surroundings, stop, stare, and absorb what is around, so I usually take longer. Up to you, you can take even longer if you wish. I did it to enjoy the hike, not only to see the beach.
The hike isn’t that difficult. There is a lot of climbing, yes, but it is worth it. I had some beautiful views along the way. There was a viewpoint over Haad Khom in the middle of the jungle, with huge trees like I hadn’t seen before, and the jungle was lush. It is a good hike indeed. It was tiring, though. At some point, I was wondering where the beach was after all, haha.
The highlight of my Bottle Beach hike was an encounter with a lizard I had never seen before. A very colorful one, wow. It was absolutely gorgeous with so many bright colors. I managed not to scare him, and I could fully appreciate the creature’s beauty as he stopped motionless for quite a while. We were literally staring at each other, and the lizard wouldn’t move. I managed to get so close to it. About 1 meter apart. That was pretty cool to “connect” with the animal and not scare it away. I left after lots of pictures and at least 15 min looking at the lizard.- This is why I say you can complete the hike way faster than I did.
I also saw another cute lizard, and I almost grabbed a snake, unintentionally. Oh my haha. It was one of those very thin green snakes that are very well camouflaged in the trees. I was about to grab a branch for support when it started to move, and I realized that I had almost grabbed a snake without noticing, oh my. Anyway, I think this snake is harmless.
At last, Bottle Beach sneaks in between the greenery. Before reaching it, there are some abandoned wooden buildings, and then the beach, which looks very pretty and not crowded. Even though Bottle Beach is beautiful, I have seen better on Koh Phangan. This isn’t the most beautiful beach I have seen on Koh Phangan, but it is still so pretty. Because of its not-so-easy access, it gets quieter and more pleasant for a beach day. There are some accommodations here, lots of coconut trees, and also options to buy food and drinks.
I spent all day there. The hike was tiring, and I didn’t do it all the way back. Reason one was that this way I could stay longer at the beach, and the second reason was that there is a taxi-boat service that will take me back to Haad Khom effortlessly.
Taxi-Boat between Bottle Beach and Haad Khom
Yes, it is true. Bottle Beach isn’t only accessible through jungle hikes. There is a taxi-boat service departing from Haad Khom, and this is how most people visiting this beach reach it. The boat ride doesn’t take long, about 15 min, and it is not so expensive. I paid 100bh one way, which I thought was acceptable. Plus, I didn’t get exhausted, and I got a beautiful boat ride along with some new views. The last boat from Bottle Beach to Haad Khom departs at 5 pm or 5.30 pm, I don’t remember clearly. For this reason, I stayed in Haad Khom for a while until sunset time.
Haad Khom viewpoint
For sunset, I headed to Haad Khom viewpoint, where I had left my motorbike. This is such a good place to watch the sunset on Koh Phangan! I witnessed an amazing sky. Wow. It was a beautiful day!
