Leela Beach

Leela Beach

Leela Beach
4.5
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Duration: 2-3 hours
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles69 reviews
Excellent
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Сиамский следопыт
Almaty, Kazakhstan5,490 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Friends
Sunset beach next door to Haad Rin. It's 7-10 minutes. The beach is comfortable for walking, but practically unsuitable for swimming. From here you can walk along the stones to the southernmost cape of the island
Automatically translated
Written 22 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vass
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019
We went for a couple of days to Leela Beach from Koh Samui. Amazing place. Wonderful beach with white sand. Despite being a small beach, not full of people. Some people were nude sunbathing at the northern end of the beach. Sunset was beautiful to watch.
Written 3 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

blackeldo
Kiama, Australia2,230 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2017 • Solo
HAD RIN has 3 beaches:
HAD RIN EAST/SUNRISE is the best known and tends to be mercurial. Under certain conditions it is drop dead gorgeous – at other times downright drack. TRIP ADVISOR has a separate page; search for “RIN BEACH”.
Less popular is HAD RIN WEST/SUNSET on the opposite side of the isthmus. This is okay WEST of the small harbour, just the spot for people wanting fewer beachgoers, has good sunsets and a good variety of beach-side accommodation covering all budgets these days. But you won’t write home to mum about it.
LEELA BEACH to the south is the pick of the 3. It is the least known and visited of these beaches but I reckon it beats the others for reasons I hope will become obvious in the following:

GETTING THERE
LEELA is close to town central - walk south along the main street backing HAD RIN SUNRISE and head straight over the saddle/ridge at the end (do not divert left or right). Best access from the top of the saddle is via COCOHUT VILLAGE RESORT’s driveway. I’ve walked thru here a dozen times – staff doesn’t care about outsiders. All this will take abt 10 minutes from central HAD RIN township.

THE SCENE
What we have here is a 600m long strip of white silica which faces south with good views across to SAMUI. There is enough western orientation to allow for nice sunsets most times of the year. The sand is pretty clean but tends to be a bit skinny at high tide. Scattered foliage at the back of beach offers good shade in central and eastern sections. Water offshore is clearer than the other 2 beaches but not crystal clear. The GULF OF THAILAND’s weird one tide a day regime with slow daily progression means it can be low tide or high tide for all your stay. The top ¾ of the tide is fine for swimming – low tide sees quite a bit of coral exposed forming pools. This is less attractive to many beach goers but provides ideal spots to sit and soak and is great for fossiking.
The prevailing wind for much of the year is OFFSHORE which makes for smooth sheltered conditions on more blustery days. T
The beach is popular with visitors and of course its own guests during the day but never seems overcrowded.
Despite being only 10 minutes wall from the FULL MOON PARTY beach I have never noticed excessive noise on the four occasions I have stayed on LEELA (admittedly not FMP nights, but just about EVERY night is party night on EAST HAD RIN). I think the dividing ridge blocks a lot of noise.

ACCOMMODATION
There are 3 places to stay currently on the beach:
COCOHUT VILLAGE is an upper midrange joint towards the western end.
Adjacent to its east is a similar place, SARIKANTANG. I have stayed there in the past; it was pretty good and had an great singer belting out all sorts of stuff beachside in the early pm latest visit.
Past SARIKANTANG is the joint I stayed latest visit, LEELA BEACH BUNGALOWS. This is an old style backpacker place with bungalows less than 3 meters from the sand and 20m from the water. However it has been bought by COCOHUT’s owners recently. Already the western third has been demolished with a snazzy higher end place to be called THE CABIN BEACH RESORT 60% finished. The rest of the bungalows can’t be far behind. Probably just as well – the downsized restaurant has a very limited range these days plus lack of maintenance and COCOHUT’s shambolic booking system (at least for this place) has made them way less attractive.
Another new place is coming but not right on the beach. Behind SARIKANTANG on the steep hillside, COCOHUT’s parent company is building ANOTHER new joint (40% finished) to operate under another new moniker. This goes right up the hillside, over the top and down the other side to fairly close to HAD RIN EAST/SUNRISE. The ridgetop places have great views both directions. However I’d be careful staying here – the near-beach rooms would be VERY NOISY at FULL MOON - and even away from the all-night party, most nights have loud music on this beach until 0200. However the new place’s restaurant is sure to have killer views.
Also not right on the beach but the closest budget travellers will get is budget/flashpacker resort LIGHTHOUSE 300m along the boardwalk above the rocks past the eastern end of LEELA, Worth a stroll for other visitors but don’t go barefoot. Those boards can get hot – don’t ask how I know this.
Um, the above may not be correct. Probably just as close are the bungalows associated with budget restaurant MOON PARADISE 3 mins walk up COCOHUT VILLAGE’s drive-way. This place has good inexpensivemeals and limited views over HAD RIN SUNRISE. The bungalows face that beach.

GETTING TO LEELA.
FROM PHANGAN’s MAIN PIER AT THONG SALA – public songthaews (pickup truck taxi buses) waiting for the ferries shuttle the 12km (30mins) across to HAD RIN. It cost 100baht latest trip which I think is getting a bit pricey but these days they deliver to or near most resorts. The trip tends to be dusty and uncomfortable. If you charter one as your personal taxi rather than share insist on sitting in the aircon cabin and negotiate the fare beforehand.
FROM HAD RIN PIER WEST HAD RIN – a small ferry the HAD RIN QUEEN runs several trips each day from a northern SAMUI pier at BIG BUDDHA near the airport. LEELA starts about 1km from the arrival pier – I’ve walked it in the past but it’s a bit of a workout with luggage in the heat and a couple of good hills along the way. Charter songthaews also wait for this ferry.

WHEN TO VISIT.
Dry season of course is the best time –the driest months tend to be mid JAN into late MARCH from where there is a BIT more rainfall, but it doesn’t get into REALLY WET SEASON until late SEPT/early OCT. However if my itinerary dictated a wet season visit to this area and I really wanted to see it, I’d go for it.
PHANGAN and the Southern Gulf tends to have a DIFFERENT WET SEASON to most of Thailand’s APRIL/MAY into NOVEMBER deal – namely LATE SEPT/earl OCT into JAN (the fact that Christmas-New Year is high season in the PHANGAN means by then it can’t be too bad). I have visited PHANGAN including LEELA twice in wet season plus observed meteorology reports for 30 years (I’m a weather nerd) – many days are the Thai typical wet season thing of scattered showers/storms interrupted by sunshine. Some days see the rain at night and dry days with maybe not a cloud in the sky. You can get a string of rainless days (not necessarily cloudless).
It is rare to have PROLONGED RAINY SPELLS elsewhere in Thailand but this is more common in the Southern Gulf – happens one in three of four years but not necessarily on a regularly spaced basis. NOVEMBER seems the worst month. Such periods can not only have several days of more or less continuous rain but blustery westerly winds with dangerous surf - not great for eastern facing beaches (although normally okay at LEELA). Ferry trips can be a bit uncomfortable in these periods too.
Note you can get some very good accommodation deals in the wetter period. Another time offering good discounts is shoulder season – mid MARCH into APRIL. Tourist numbers usually pick up after that because wet season is kicking in at other Thai beach areas, but it rarely gets as busy as PHANGAN’s high season JAN-early MARCH. SEPT sees tourist numbers again start to taper off –another shoulder.

Hope some of the above info is useful in your planning for HAD RIN gang. Enjoy LEELA, it is worth a visit.
Written 6 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GreyEyes71
Modena, Italy232 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2018 • Friends
Leela beach is calm and suitable for the ones seeking relax. It's conveniently located on western coast of the island so It's perfect to admire sunset. Recommended!
Written 2 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

anupamarohira
Mumbai27 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2015 • Couples
This is where i loved to spent most of my time, Leela beach has two hotels on its shore, i stayed on both. Its a lovely beach, white sand, peaceful, great crowd, bang opposite to the horrible haad rin beach
Written 11 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

maybetravelling
Nuremberg, Germany65 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2015 • Solo
I randomly found the beach at the most southernwest end of Koh Phangan. I didnt even knew about it, because it doesnt get advertised anywhere. This beach is so beautiful. In the middle of the beach there is one oldschool bungalow resort (https://www.tripadvisor.de/Hotel_Review-g303907-d559569-Reviews-s1-Leela_Beach_Resort-Ko_Phangan_Surat_Thani_Province.html) which seems to be very layed back and relaxed. There is a small restaurant/bar, which is cool. At the northern end of the beach is some loud and snobby resort and at the most southern end of the beach is some new resort under construction. But in the middle - this beach is really awesome. White sand, a lot of trees and palms, dogs running around and clear water. I hope it will stay like that and doesnt get ruined by the new resort(s).
Written 29 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peekaboo
450 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Lovely clean beach and quiet. Beautiful short walk around the coast attached to the beach. One of the nicer spots on the island
Written 10 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wbt
30 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Amazing beach! We walked down here and saw a wooden crossing at the end of the beach and walked down to the end to the lighthouse and watched the sunset. So beautiful
Written 13 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TheLittleTraveller
Chania Town, Greece462 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019
Very nice beach , nice view , water ok. You can walk and at the end you can find a nice restaurant and hotel. The resort is pretty cool too but if you re low budget you can sit alone far from that resort .
Written 23 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mihicredite
14 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Couples
This is a very pleasant beach dominated by the three resort hotels that stand just behind it. Excellent bar and restaurant at Cocohut Resort that serves anyone. Water shallow for over 150 meters but zones of seaweed that get mixed up in your arms and legs as you swim by.
Written 17 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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