Book a Full Moon Party Transfer: How It Works, Step by Step

To book a Full Moon Party transfer, you fill in a short free form on the Full Moon Party transfer page and pay cash at the pier on the night: ฿890 one way or ฿1290 round trip, with no prepayment. That is the whole deal, and it takes about two minutes.

The real night looks like this: you are in the hotel lobby at 7 pm with neon paint drying on your arms, a minivan pulls up, and an hour later you are on a speedboat with Koh Phangan's lights getting closer. Below is every step between that form and the boat back at sunrise, including the parts nobody explains in advance.

How do I book a Full Moon Party transfer?

You book online on the transfer page, choose your date, pickup time and hotel, and that is it. Booking is free and you pay in cash in Thai baht at the pier on the day.

Here is the whole process in order, so you know what comes next:

1. Pick the party date and one way or round trip.
2. Choose a pickup time slot and enter your hotel or villa on Koh Samui.
3. Get the confirmation of your booking by email and keep it on your phone.
4. Wait in your lobby; the minivan takes you to Bangrak pier.
5. Pay cash at the pier, get your ticket badge and board the speedboat.
6. Come back to Haad Rin pier whenever you are ready and take the next boat to Koh Samui.

No card details, no deposit, no account to create. People are often suspicious of that at first, but it simply means the risk sits with the transfer, not with you.

Step 1: which date and which ticket should I choose?

Choose the exact party night, not the full moon from a calendar app: the party dates move. The next parties are on Tuesday 24 November 2026, Thursday 24 December 2026 and the New Year party on Thursday 31 December 2026.

Dates shift when the full moon falls on a Buddhist holiday, so always check the Full Moon Party dates for 2026-2027 before you plan the rest of your trip. In 2027 there are 13 parties again, 12 regular ones plus the New Year party on 31 December.

Then the ticket type. My honest advice: take the round trip unless you already have a bed on Koh Phangan. Regular ferries stop in the early evening, and there are no regular ferries back at night, so a one way ticket from Koh Samui leaves you sorting out the way home at 3 am on a crowded beach. One way only makes sense if you are staying in Haad Rin or moving on to Koh Phangan for a few days.

Step 2: which pickup time is best for the Full Moon Party?

For most people the best slot is 7:00 - 7:30 PM or 8:00 - 8:30 PM. The main party starts when it gets dark, about 7 pm, and goes on until sunrise, so there is no point arriving at a half-empty beach in the afternoon unless you want the daytime bars.

There are eleven pickup slots, every hour from 11:30 - 12:00 Noon to 10:00 - 10:30 PM. Choose the slot in the booking form and the driver collects you from your hotel or villa lobby, from any area of Koh Samui: Chaweng, Lamai, Bophut, Maenam, Bangrak, Choeng Mon, Nathon and others.

How I would pick:

• Afternoon slots (11:30 to 4:30 PM): you want to see Haad Rin in daylight, eat properly, get painted before the crowd and watch the beach fill up.
• Early evening (5:00 to 6:30 PM): sunset on the way and a calm arrival before the main rush.
• Evening (7:00 to 8:30 PM): the classic choice, you arrive as the party gets going.
• Late (9:00 to 10:30 PM): you have dinner plans on Samui or you only want a few hours on the beach.

On New Year's Eve the timetable is shorter: the last pickup on 31 December is 8:00 - 8:30 PM, and prices are higher.

How much does the transfer cost and what is included?

A round trip costs ฿1290 per person and one way ฿890. The party entrance of 200 THB is not included and is paid in cash at the beach.

Prices are per person. The ticket covers:

• pickup from your hotel or villa on Koh Samui by minivan, and drop-off back at your hotel;
• the speedboat from Bangrak pier to Haad Rin on Koh Phangan, and back with a round trip;
• a life jacket for every passenger.

Food and drinks are on you. There are no official online entry tickets for the party itself, so ignore anyone selling one; the details are on the page about Full Moon Party tickets and the entrance fee.

What happens at Bangrak pier when you pay?

The minivan drops you at Bangrak pier in the Big Buddha area. You pay in cash in Thai baht, get your ticket badge and wait in the seating area until the speedboat is called.

Bring the exact fare in baht if you can. The pier is busy on party night, and counting change for a group in the dark slows everyone down. Cards are not the plan here, and ATMs are not the place you want to be looking for at 8 pm.

The badge is the one thing you must not lose. It is how you board the return boat later, so put it somewhere that survives dancing, sweat and maybe the sea: a zipped pocket or a phone pouch on a lanyard works better than a back pocket.

Then everyone gets a life jacket and boards. The speedboats have two or three engines and take 25 to 65 passengers, with bigger boats in the high season. The ride to Haad Rin pier takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the sea, and the party is a few minutes walk from where you land. If you want to know what the ride itself feels like, read what the night speedboat is really like.

How does the return boat to Koh Samui work?

You do not choose a return time in advance. Boats leave Haad Rin pier every hour from 0:00 to 6:00: come to the pier whenever you are ready, show your ticket badge and take the next boat.

Guests wait together at the pier and board in turn. On Koh Samui you are put on the transfer list, and a minivan takes you back to your hotel. It is simple, but the waiting part is real: the pier at 4 am is crowded, tired and loud, and you may not get on the very first boat after you arrive.

My advice is to pick your exit before the night starts. Either leave around midnight to 1 am while the pier is calm, or commit to sunrise and take one of the last boats. The worst option is drifting to the pier at the peak hour with a drained phone and no idea where your friends are.

With a one way ticket there is no return boat for you: you arrange the way back yourself. If you are sleeping on Koh Samui, book the round trip from the start.

When you have your date and pickup slot in mind, the transfer from Koh Samui takes a couple of minutes to book.

What if my plans change after booking?

Nothing is lost, because nothing was paid. There is no prepayment, so there is nothing to refund; you only need to let us know through the contact form.

Please do tell us, even if it feels unimportant. Otherwise a driver waits in your lobby and a whole minivan of other guests waits with him. The same goes for changing the date or the pickup time: send a message through the form as early as you can.

People change plans for all sorts of reasons: rain, a bad stomach after street food, a friend who arrives a day late. That is fine. The only thing that makes the system work for everyone is knowing who is actually coming.

Before you leave the hotel: a short checklist

Most problems on the night come from small things forgotten in the room. Cash in baht for the transfer and the 200 THB entrance is the one that matters most.

• Cash for the transfer fare and the beach entrance, plus money for drinks.
• Your booking confirmation on your phone, and the phone charged.
• Shoes you can walk in on sand and at the pier, not flip-flops you will lose.
• A zipped pocket or pouch for the ticket badge.
• A meeting point and a meeting time agreed with your group, in case phones die.

For clothes and the rest of the bag, the page on what to wear and bring covers it. Then go down to the lobby on time, and let the minivan do the rest.

Transfer facts checked on 8 November 2026. Prices and party dates can change: the booking form always shows the current ones.