Hin Kong Beach

Hin Kong sits on Koh Phangan's western shore, a long, low-key stretch of sand that most island visitors drive straight past on their way to the busier west-coast hubs. That is precisely its appeal. There are no beach clubs blasting music here and no party crowd — just a broad, gently sloping bay, a scatter of small bungalow places set back behind the casuarina trees, and a horizon that faces straight out across the gulf toward the mainland.

The beach is governed by the tide more than almost any other on the island. At high water it reads as a calm, shallow lagoon you can wade and float in; as the water draws back it exposes a vast, firm sandflat — including a sandbar you can walk well out into the bay on — which becomes a flat mirror for the evening light. Because it faces due west, Hin Kong delivers a real sea sunset, and it is regularly named by repeat visitors as one of the better sunset spots on Phangan, with the low-tide flats doubling the colour in reflection.

• West-facing — genuine sea sunset, one of the island's better-rated sunset spots
• Wide low-tide sandflat with a sandbar you can walk far out into the bay on
• Shallow, calm water — easy swimming and wading at high tide
• Quiet and residential: no beach clubs or party scene
• Easy flat access by road or scooter off the west-coast road