Could I retire early on $796 USD month in Koh Phangan Thailand
Our early retirement tour of Thailand continues in Koh Phangan. On this trip to Thailand, we have already completed our research and written retire cheap reports for Pattaya and Jomtien, and Koh Samui, Thailand.
Now, after adding Koh Phangan, we have retire cheap reports for 13 locations in Thailand including Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Hua Hin, Bangkok, Pai, Pattaya, Jomtien, Koh Samui, and Koh Phangan. The reports are now available at VagabondBuddha.com.
My name is Dan and I left the USA and started traveling the world in 2007. I love traveling the world and seeing the best places to retire cheap in paradise with my own eyes. I have been to 67 countries and I make videos and write reports about the best places and tips and tricks to retire inexpensively overseas.
This report shares my research on Koh Phangan Thailand. Koh Phangan is a smaller island just about 40 minutes by ferry from Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand in the Surat Thani Province.
Koh Phangan is most famous for the full moon party that draws thousands of people every month to dance the night away as the full moon rises. Koh Phangan is a digital hippie heaven. There is vegetarian and vegan food everywhere, drum circles, yoga classes, digital nomad hideaways, and meditation retreats.
You will see some Expat retirees in Koh Phangan, but overall, the Expats are more new economy workers like digital nomads, remote workers, writers, and new-age aficionados. But if you are not a fan of the hippie culture, don’t worry too much. There are still Thai people living all around Koh Phangan for you to mingle with, and there are still parts of Koh Phangan so remote that even a recluse or hermit would be happy.
I grew up in California so I am very comfortable with hippies. In fact, I rode chopper to high school and lived the hippie lifestyle until I went disco in 1977. That is where I found the most beautiful woman starting in around 1977.
My research helps me estimate what it would cost me to retire in Koh Phangan if I were to rent a one-bedroom apartment or beach hut on a long-term lease. My research indicates that I may be able to retire here on as little as about $796 USD per month. Those numbers are detailed below.
This report also shares my favorite markets, restaurants, and things to do in and around Koh Phangan along with my retirement desirability factors and overall retirement desirability score.
My Favorite Markets and Restaurants on Koh Phangan
Koh Phangan Markets
Public Markets (Market Koh Phangan): This is where locals buy fruits, vegetables, and rice. They also have meat and fish if you need them.
Ex-Pat Grocery Stores: The above public market is typically cheaper and fresher than expat-style grocery stores, plus, you will be supporting local families. If you are looking for what we call Supermarkets in the USA, visit any of these places: Makro, Big C, Lotus. Some stuff you just won’t find in the public market.
Koh Phangan Restaurants
One of the best things about Thailand is the small mom-and-pop style food carts located at public markets and food courts. Here are a few we enjoyed and then some of our favorite restaurants. I am bubbling up favorites toward the top.
Food Court 1: There is a large food court with 30 to 50 food carts with meals ranging from about 60 to 180 baht ($1.63 to $4.80). The local dishes prepared by local families are closer to the low end and the foreign dishes prepared by foreigners are on the high end. The Falafel I had was over $4 USD but a simple vegetable Thai rice dish can be as little as 50 Baht ($1.31). The savory Tofu Mussaman dish at the vegan organic place in the back left corner will blow your mind.
Food Court 2: This is another food court where we found our favorite foods at even slightly lower prices than the above food court. Go to both food courts and try food in several different food carts in each. You will begin to understand why many people cook at home very little when living in Koh Phangan. You could easily eat on $3 to $5 USD per day in these food courts and never get bored of the variety.
Traditional Thai Breakfast (Congee Breakfast): Make sure to try out this traditional Thai breakfast shown in the above video for less than $1 USD per person.
Pure Vegan Heaven: Do you ever feel like eating a super healthy all-fresh produce salad super high in organic nutrition and fiber? Check out the choices you have here for $4 to $6.
JJs Bar & Grill: We went back here several times because we loved the food so much. We even spent our last few days at their resort so we didn’t have to walk far to the beach or the excellent food!
Grasshopper Beach Bar, Zen Beach: Nice place to people watch people as the sun sets over the ocean.
Haad Salad Villa Restaurant, Salad Beach Som Tum (Papaya Salad, 60 Baht, $1.62)
Saturday Night Walking Street
This is the Saturday Night Walking Street. This is the best food on the island for 50 Baht and something you can’t miss if you want to understand Thai culture.
Koh Phangan Nightlife
There are a few spots downtown Koh Phangan where you will see people playing pool or watching sports and snacking on bar food. But that doesn’t seem to be the main demographic on the island. The larger parties are electronic dance parties that are hosted in a remote series of changing locations. Promotors set locations a few weeks in advance and hand out flyers so people know where to go to join the dance party. If you have any interest in those, just watch for people handing out flyers on the beach in the evenings. You will also see those promoted on signs along the road in the weeks leading up to the event.
For the more traditional nightlife, not well attended, just walk the below map and listen for the music you love.
Dan and Qiang Enjoying The Full Moon Party
Koh Phangan Best Beaches (Scooter Tour)
Here are our favorite beaches in Koh Phangan. Just jump on your scooter and click the Google Map and set out on the highway to adventure. If your time is limited, visit only our top 3 favorites, in order of most favorite: Chalok Lam Beach, Haad Salad Resort, and Haad Rin.
Koh Phangan Best Sunsets
Here is a Google Map of our favorite places to watch the sunset in Koh Phangan. Zen Beach is hippie heaven where you can watch the sun sink into the water while you do (or watch) partner yoga or have an adult beverage at Grasshopper Beach Bar. Castaway Beach Bar is a place where you can stand on a sand bar about 15 meters offshore and watch the sunset while you stand in a sand bar.
Ang Thong National Marine Park
This is an experience you don’t want to miss. The Ang Thong National Marine Park can be expensive depending on who you book with. If you can book it through these guys if they have started leaving from Koh Phangan now: cheapest one we could find.
Our Estimated Cost of Living in Koh Phangan
Here is our estimated cost of living converted into US dollars if the two of us moved to Koh Phangan on a tight budget. But we are all different, so you will have to put your feet on the ground in Koh Phangan to determine your cost of living based on how you would live, eat, shop, and entertain yourself. The below exchange rate was about 37 baht to $1 USD when we were there but that varies so check the current exchange rate.
Rents: You will see furnished 1 bedroom apartments in the range of about 8000 to 25000 Baht ($225 to $700 USD) per month if we were willing to sign a lease for a year or more. I will use the 8300 Baht ($225 USD) because that would be our minimum comfort range. Be sure to read my report, How I find perfect apartments around the world.
Utilities: Koh Samui is at sea level, so, we would need to run our air conditioner many nights and during midday on warm days. Based on the amount of electricity we used, our electricity will run us about $50 USD per month. Gas and water would be another $17 per month so about $67 USD per month for our estimated utilities which will vary based on the season.
Groceries: Based on our time here and the money we spent on groceries, we estimate about $260 USD per month on groceries for the two of us. We would shop mostly in the public market where the vegetables, fruits, rice, and meats are cheaper, and only go to the more expensive supermarkets like Makro and Big C for things we could not find in the public market.
Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, plus some street food, we would spend around $28 per week or $125 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We would eat mostly in mom-and-pop-style restaurants in the night markets or food carts rather than the expensive expat-style restaurants.
Cell Phone Data: The cost to recharge our prepaid service is about $19 per month. My android phone will act as a hotspot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house together.
Laundry: Not as many apartments here have washing machines but you will see coin-operated laundries around. With 40 Baht wash and 50 Baht dry, plus around $6 per month detergent, it would cost us around $21 USD per month for laundry.
Water: We would spend about $9 per month on drinking water. They have reverse osmosis (RO) refill stations for about 30 Baht for 20 liters. That is about $0.81 USD per 5-gallon jug of water. We would drink around 10 per month which would be about $9 USD per month.
Internet: Our Internet would be about $50 per month.
Transportation: The fun areas around Koh Phangan are spread out and public transportation is really non-existent. The songthaew (covered pick-up trucks) in Ko Phangan only have tourist pricing. So everyone just rides scooters around it seems. So if we moved here we would just pay cash for a used scooter and two helmets for around $800 USD. We would spend around $20 USD per month on fuel.
Alcohol (Optional): Large local beers (620 ml) cost about 62 Baht ($1.67 USD) in the 7-11. Since the large-sized beers are really two regular-sized beers, you are paying $0.85 USD per regular-sized beer. Bars charge about twice as much or more. So for the two of us, we estimate about $120 USD per month since we would drink more at home or on the beach.
Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $100 per month for entertainment for the two of us.
Retire Early $796 USD Month Koh Phangan Thailand
|
Koh Phangan |
Expense (USD) |
|
Rent |
225 |
|
Groceries |
260 |
|
Utilities |
67 |
|
Restaurants |
125 |
|
Cell Data |
19 |
|
Laundry |
21 |
|
Water |
9 |
|
Internet |
50 |
|
Transportation |
20 |
|
Recurring Total |
$796 |
|
|
|
|
Alcohol (Optional) |
120 |
|
Optional Total |
$916 |
|
|
|
|
Entertainment (Optional) |
100 |
|
Optional Total |
$1016 |
This is our estimated cost of living if the two of us moved to Koh Phangan on a tight budget. To fully understand what it would cost you to live here, you must do an exploratory visit and put your feet on the ground. Also, visit Koh Samui Numbeo (a nearby island) and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the above table. Our costs of living are generally much lower than a new traveler’s because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live cheaper than we do.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
More typical ex-pat living costs in Koh Phangan range from about $800 to $2500 per month. But people spending that much often have higher incomes or pensions. They often report spending more on entertainment, eating out, and alcohol. Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.
But many of you will likely be unable to retire on so little here. I give example reasons why in this report: Understanding Why Overseas Living Costs Vary Widley. You will never know your cost of living here until you do an exploratory visit with your feet on the ground. Several other reports you should read include How to NOT FAIL at Retiring Cheap Overseas and the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explain why you should have emergency funds available for unexpected large expenses. Links to those are provided below.
Where We Stayed
We spent 10 nights in the apartment we show in the above video. So our nightly rate was $11 per night USD which included a scooter and internet for free but electricity. The electricity was metered and ended up costing is 400 Baht for 10 days, which is about $1.08 per day for electricity. If you like the place you can book it on Airbnb here. Here is the location on Google Maps.
If you decide to live or retire in Thailand for a year or more, and, you will be trying to live within the budget we are estimating in this report. you are going to have to put your feet on the ground and look for more local less expensive long-term accommodations. Here is our process for finding places as we slowly travel: How to find great apartments around the world.
Ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan
We used the Bangrak Seatran ferry leaving this Pier in Koh Samui and going to this Pier in Koh Phangan which took about 45 minutes. The ferry cost us 350 per person ($9 USD) and had two departure times, 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM. From the doc in Koh Phangan, you will pay about 180 Baht ($5 USD) per person to get get to your accommodations.
Livability Factors and Retirement Desirability Score
Here are the factors I think about when I consider a place for early retirement potential. After I discuss each factor, I will assign an overall retirement desirability score.
Walkability: Medium Desirability. I love living in walkable areas of the world where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, nightlife, and other interesting things to do. If I decided to retire in Koh Phangan, there doesn’t seem to be a completely walkable area. There are walkable neighborhoods, but I would want to have accessibility to other parts of the island and there is no real public transportation to speak of. So I would buy an old scooter and a couple of helmets for around $800 USD.
Internet: High. The internet was great while we were in town, 296 MBPS down and 140 MBPS upload speeds. The ATT-Test Internet Speed Test is shown below.
Food: High. The food choices in Koh Phangan are decent for an island of this size. There are many restaurants owned and or operated by ex-pats. There is a very large ex-pat population as a percentage of the overall population on the island. Many of these ex-pats have created restaurants with food from home so there are a great many choices. The problem is that they are more expensive than Thai food. But it is nice to have the choice when the mood strikes.
Transportation: Low. Since we like living in walkable neighborhoods, and Koh Phangan is spread out, we would need to get a scooter to live here. So transportation is low desirability.
Weather: Medium. Here is the weather in Koh Phangan. The average daily temperatures range very little from average highs of 81F, 27C, in December to the average highs of 87F, 31C, in May. The nightly lows also range very little from 73F, 23C, in December to 76F, 24C, in May. October through December is the rainy season, with the wettest month being November.
Things to Do: High. Partying, shooting pool, golfing, night markets, cooking, yoga, scuba, snorkeling, mountain biking, martial arts, gyms, restaurants, bar hopping, island hopping, live music, running, coffee shops, street food, mall, dancing, picnics, standup boarding, windsurfing, volleyball, basketball, jet skiing, sailing, and relaxing on the beach.
Healthcare: Low. Thailand is one of the top-rated medical tourism countries in the world but that doesn’t apply to Koh Phangan. They do have some basic medical care here but they are likely to send you to Koh Samui or even Bangkok if anything complicated is needed. Here are a few fairly decent hospitals in Koh Samui (Google Map links: 1, 2, 3). They can take care of everyday needs without much trouble. But, for anything that requires a specialist, you might be referred to Bangkok. My favorite in Bangkok is this one.
Expats: High. There are a huge number of Expats living in Koh Phangan as a percentage of the total population but around 80% of them seem to be under 40 years old. So they may not know how to handle problems you experience if you are older. Here is an ex-pat group on Facebook where you can ask questions. Make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make.
Real Estate: Medium. Foreigners can buy condos in their own name in Thailand. But I didn’t see any condo complexes on Koh Phangan. It is mostly low-rise apartments and beach huts. But that is okay with me. I never recommend buying real estate overseas until you have lived somewhere for at least 2 years and I would probably never buy for the reasons I state here: Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas. Make sure to read that before deciding to buy real estate overseas. Almost everyone else is going to try to get you to buy (for the commission) so read at least one source explaining why I would wait a few years living there before I would even consider buying.
Visa: High. Over the last 5 years, many retired ex-pats in Thailand have been complaining about how it gets harder and harder to get a retirement visa in Thailand. I don’t really think it is that hard. In this video, my friend Martin explains two of the most popular options for getting a retirement visa in Thailand.
Koh Phangan Overall Retirement Desirability Score: High. I am ranking Koh Samui as having high desirability. I personally like the hippie feeling of island life. Why? Because it is more relaxed and has more of a permanent vacation feel to it. But some people just don’t like hippie culture.
Thailand is one of the easiest countries in the world for ex-pats to adjust to overseas living. Stay tuned for our annual worldwide ranking where we rank the top places in the world to retire cheap in Paradise. Thailand will likely slide into some of the top spots in the 2023 annual rankings. Here is our 2022 ranking for the top places in the world.
Thanks for reviewing my report, Retire Early on $796 USD Month in Koh Phangan Thailand.
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This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the Youtube channel for VagabondBuddha.com. Thank you for stopping by. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?