For those familiar with the name, Koh Phangan will no doubt be flooded with visions of thousands upon thousands of people wearing fluorescent shirts, drinking buckets of whiskey and dancing the night away to repetitive beats on the beach. Though this is true (luckily only a few days a month), there is a lot more to Phangan than the Full Moon Party and we are here to help enlighten you about the countless other awesome spots across the island.

Having spent a fair few years on Phangan we like to think we’ve inspected every spot with a fine comb and whittled down our hottest spots to share with the globe. Today we’re going to tell you about a place by the name of ‘Amsterdam Bar’, located on the South-West of the island in ‘Wok Tum’, Amsterdam Bar is one of the best spots on the island for travellers to kick back, grab a beer and enjoy one of the best sunset views available in this part of the world. During our 12 day Half Moon and 13 day Full Moon Experience trips we visit either Amsterdam Bar or one of the other awesome sunset bars the island is lucky to be blessed with.

Upon arrival at Amsterdam Bar don’t be intimidated by the hundred or so steps up the side of the mountain, as Guinness says ‘good things come to those who wait’ (or walk in this case), so trust us, the sweat and effort it takes to get the top is well worth it! Once you’ve conquered those last few steps and wiped the sweat away from your brow, you’ll raise your head to the very welcoming sight of a swimming pool laid out on an extended balcony propped on the side of a mountain, complete with sun loungers, cool beers and chilled reggae...perfect!

Not only is Amsterdam Bar one of the most popular sunset spots on the island but it also has bungalows perched on the hillside available for rent, these little houses are consistently busy creating a homely and very welcoming vibe to anyone walking into the bar. From the top deck, Amsterdam Bar gives you a panoramic view of the whole west coast of Koh Phangan, with the small islands of ‘Koh Tai Nai’ & ‘Koh Tai Nok’ sitting just off the coast of the island and Ang Thong National Marine Park off in the distance, you can’t help but lean back into your chair and feel absolute bliss whilst watching the sun shimmer across the ocean.

Here at TruTravels we have a very special place in our heart for Amsterdam Bar and because of that we wanted to share it with all our TruTravellers joining us during the Full Moon period, after a full power day at ‘The Challenge Course’ our groups head up to Amsterdam Bar (or one of the other similar sunset view bars) at about 4:30pm (best time to beat the crowds) where we get the perfect spot to enjoy the sun setting over the Gulf of Thailand.

There’s no more of a perfect way to end a hard days exploring on Koh Phangan than sitting and watching the sky change color in the most awesome fashion. Kickin’ back with an ice cold beer in your hand and seeing the sun dip behind the horizon, it’s one of those moments where you think to yourself…‘f**k I love life’!

If you’re planning a trip to Koh Phangan anytime soon and want to get away from the parties for an evening, then jump in a taxi and get yourself over to Wok Tum for a little piece of paradise posted up on the mountain, you won’t regret it…and no doubt we’ll be seeing you there!

See ya for the sunset!