Haad Salad Beach - in search of peace on the beaches of Koh Phangan
While exploring the beaches of Phangan, I visited Haad Salad right after Haad Yao and I can say that compared to Yao, Salad is a very small beach, hidden almost at the end of the Pangan bypass road. The one that goes from the pier to Tong Sala along the coast, not through the center of the island. Haad Salad is located on the outskirts of civilization and is of interest only if you are looking for peace and solitude. There are few people here, very calm and very little infrastructure, and the entire beach can be walked in 5-10 minutes..
The content of the article
- one Beach description
- 2 Entering the water, depth and waves
- 3 Sun beds and shade
- 4 Beach photo
- five Infrastructure
- 6 Houses and hotels on the beach
- 7 How to find the beach
- eight Beach Map
Beach description
Haad Salad is less than Haad Yao, its length is 500 meters, not more. If you look at the sea while standing in the center of the beach, then the left side of Haad Salad is less busy, since the main entrance is on the right, that is, the northern part. Haad Salat Beach is so shallow and narrow that much of the promenade is protected by cement, rocks or walls that help keep the shore from being washed away..
The sea in high water rises close to the grass, completely hiding the entire strip of sandy beach. This has its own romance if you swing over the sea in one of the swings, but you forget about romance when the tide happens in the middle of the day and at best you only have a couple of meters of sand to relax..
The sand on the beach is fine, fluffy and light yellow. When wet, it becomes darker, and when it dries in the sun it turns into almost white, which is good for the exterior of the beach, and looks photogenic in photographs on sunny days. Interspersed with shells and stones, I almost did not notice.
The central part of the U-shaped beach is quite swimable, adjusted for the depth of the sea, of course. Alas - the Pangan shallow water is also present here..
Probably if I wanted a calm and «seal» rest away from everyone, then I would go exactly here. It seems to be on the outskirts, but it's easy to get there on a good road. In extreme cases, 20-30 minutes by bike and you are already on the other side of the island.
Entering the water, depth and waves
I visited Haad Yao and Haad Salad at about the same time, and it seemed to me that Salad would be deeper than Haad Yao. If you enter the sea at high tide, then 3-4 meters from the shore, the depth becomes neck-deep, but at low tide you will find a standard 10-15 meters walk to shoulder depth.
The beach, clear of stones, is located in the center, and on the flanks of Haad Salad it is fenced on both sides by stone ridges. Waves only happen with strong winds or during the monsoon season, when every day storms and rains fall. In high season, the beaches are not affected by waves thanks to the shallow water.
Sun beds and shade
There are trees here, they grow mainly in private territories and there are not so many free ones left, but you still won't have to hustle under one tree with three families. Traditionally for such narrow beaches, the coast is divided between resorts and restaurants by invisible boundaries, which are looked after by the owners and administration of the establishments..
It often happens that even those scanty meters of the beach that the sea leaves us are lined with dining tables or sun loungers in front of restaurants or resorts. If you wish, of course, you can always go to the cafe and use its furniture and shade for a couple of drinks..
Beach photo
Infrastructure
By and large, the entire infrastructure of the area around Haad Salad is several resorts and one small street with a couple of mini-markets and bike rentals - a little bit of everything. But I would not say that there is a complete wilderness, because there are people, it's just that everything in the area is very tiny..
The beach is isolated, not one of the most requested and popular, so the infrastructure here is limited by the range of services that are in hotels and resorts, well, and a small number of private cafes.
There are no bright sights in the area. No temples, no waterfalls within walking distance - all this is nearby, but you have to go there on wheels.
Houses and hotels on the beach
Haad Salad was lucky with resorts, and indeed with different types of housing. The coast is cut by long sections, on which there are about a dozen resorts, of which I would recommend paying attention to these three: Salad Hut, Benjai White House and Haad Salad Villa .
You won't be able to rent a private house right on the seashore, but if the proximity of the water is not critical, then there are several decent options for a longstee beyond the road, although they are located in palm groves, in the lowlands, and the sea view will not be the most artistic. If at all.
Hotels in Had Salad>
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For the lazy, here are the direct links to the hotels listed above:
How to find the beach
If you look at the Haad Salad area on the map, you will see that the space between the main road and the beach is packed with resorts and the easiest way to get to the beach is to get to the T-junction (marked on the map) near the purple store and turn left ( if you turn right, then you will leave for Chaloklum Bay).
After the turn, you need to get to the end, there is a normal road with shops, and not narrow tangled alleys.
Closer to the beach, the road ends at Salad Beach Resort (by the way, it is also visually nothing and the price tag is normal), there is a parking place in front of the entrance. We drop the bike and go through the territory of the resort to the shore. Honestly, I did not look for other places of entry, since IMHO this is the best place to pass to Haad Salad.
Beach Map
Haad Salad Beach Map
Haad Salad Beach Map: