Zen Beach

About Zen Beach

Ask anyone who's spent a few sunsets on this island where to actually go, and Zen Beach comes up more than anywhere else. It's in southern Srithanu, a short ride from the main village, and it's been the island's go-to sunset spot for years — not a new discovery, a genuinely long-standing local favourite.

What makes it different from just "a nice beach at sunset" is the daily jam session — during high season, musicians gather here most evenings starting around 5pm and play until it's properly dark. It's informal, unpaid, and genuinely good — drums, guitars, whoever shows up with an instrument. You don't need to be a musician to enjoy sitting in the sand and listening.

The unofficial nudist area

Worth knowing before you go, not something to stumble into unprepared: the right side of the beach has been an unofficial nudist/topless area for years. Nudism isn't actually legal in Thailand, so this isn't an official designation — it's a long-standing, tolerated local norm rather than a marked zone. If it's not your thing, the rest of the beach (and most of the left side) is entirely normal swimwear, no different from anywhere else on the island.

Bars and food

A couple of simple, low-key beach bars operate right on the sand — cold drinks, cheap Thai food, exactly the kind of place you sit down for one beer and end up staying for the whole sunset. Nothing fancy, and that's the appeal.

Getting there

10–15 minutes from Thong Sala by bike, same general direction as Srithanu — head to the C&M Cultural Centre school at the top of Sri Thanu, take the turning into the school, keep going, and take the right-hand fork when the road splits. It's a little fiddly to find the first time; save the location in Google Maps rather than trying to navigate purely by directions.