Wow, this was a long stay… with the worsening covid situation around Thailand when I arrived I thought it would be a longer one, but not this long. Good thing was this island seemed to do pretty well through it all. Unfortunately things did tick up briefly causing some closures while I was there, but as far as I know cases were still relatively low and the closures I saw were not for all that long. Though it was far from the Full Moon Party scene it’s know for the entire time. Maybe one day I’ll make it back to see that, but then again that scene isn’t much my thing these days… time will tell.

This was my last stop in Thailand for this trip. It was a trip with many mixed feelings. I’m extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to see so many beautiful parts of the country and met some wonderful people, but to see so many people going through tough times because of the pandemic, along with the impact of seeing all the shuttered doors of closed businesses day after day everywhere you go wasn’t pleasant. Thailand is a wonderful place with incredible culture and people. I hope recovers soon and I look forward to returning.

This was a 64-night stay…

• Accommodation –  $912.97* (additional information below)
• Getting around locally – $215.63
• Living expenses – $1,183.97 (groceries and eating out)
• Activities – $0 
• Mobile phone/data  – $256.28 (had a couple of lines going for extra data at full speed from the US on Google Fi)
• Medical insurance = $271.08** (additional information below)

Total $2.839.93 /  64 nights = $44.37 per

Transportation to and from varies too much, so I’ve left it out along with most incidental/one-time personal costs. All other standard day to day expenses are included to give an idea of how much basic living costs in the area are. Groceries will sometimes include basic personal care items (i.e. toothpaste, deodorant, etc.).

• The first week was at the Phangan Hometown Resort for 3,000 THB (US $96.46) total. It’s a small but very nice place, and the people were great!
• The next month (30 days) was at Da Kanda for 13,000 THB (US $412.13) total. Unfortunately the pool went down right when I checked in and they didn’t care a bit. No discount, no room upgrade… honestly very poor customer service.
• The next week I stayed at Haad Son Resort for 4,200 THB (US $129.37). This is a beautiful property with an incredible restaurant out on a point on the coast and a small beach shared with a separate restaurant and I think another much smaller group of bungalows.
• The next 3 nights I reluctantly went back to Da Kanda, only because I had planned to leave the island and it would have been the most convenient place. They only ran daily or monthly rates, so I went for the cheapest option which was 1,500 THB (US $46.88). It was a decent room, but they didn’t even give a hot water kettle for these rooms, and though they certainly had plenty not being used, they would not let me use one. Again, really poor customer service.
• The last 17 nights were at Baan Manali for 7,300 THB (3,000 per week and they even pro-rated the individual days). Not only was the service great here, the property is beautiful, well kept, with a nice restaurant and a secluded little bay.

(rooms were less expensive than usual during my stay)

**I’ve paid for 180 days of medical insurance coverage in Thailand and am breaking it out per day here. During this stay this insurance ran out and I start a new policy with SafetyWing. You’ll see an affiliate banner on the right if you’re interested in signing up your use of this link to do so will give me a commission.

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