Haad Khom Beach
4.7★ · 785 Google reviews
Tucked between the fishing village of Chaloklum and the remote sweep of Bottle Beach, Haad Khom is one of the north coast's quiet surprises. Locals and longtime visitors know it as Coral Bay, and the name is earned: a reef wraps the mouth of the cove, sheltering the water and keeping it glassy and calm even when the open sea is choppy. The beach itself is short and intimate, a curve of pale sand backed by palms with only a handful of low-key beach bars and bungalow operations behind it.
What sets Haad Khom apart from most beaches on the island is that you can slip straight off the sand and be over coral within a few strokes. The inner reef has taken a beating over the years from foot traffic and warming seas, but swim out toward the buoys and the coral and fish life improve noticeably. It is unpolished, low-rise and a little off-grid, which is exactly why people who find it tend to keep coming back.
- Living coral reef you can snorkel directly from the shore — rare on Koh Phangan
- Reef-sheltered water stays calm and clear when other beaches are choppy
- Small, intimate cove with only a few beach bars and bungalows
- An easy hop east of Chaloklum by road, motorbike or long-tail boat
- Best coral and fish life are out toward the buoys, not the inner shallows