An extremely steep concrete driveway cuts downhill to Silvermoon’s cluster of beach bungalows and rooms in a larger brushed concrete building, all of which were revamped in 2015.

The little resort looks a bit unkempt when approaching from the road, with a broken-down military truck collecting leaves and old mattresses lying half exposed in a shack. Keep going down and you’ll find that the bungalows are among the cleanest and comfiest found in any small resort on Pha Ngan’s south coast.

Splash splash. Photo: David Luekens

With wood frames, woven bamboo walls and metal roofs, the cheapest fan-cooled bungalows are set within steps of the surf and equipped with comfortable beds, several screened windows and porches with wood tables. These rely on a few shared hot-water bathrooms with bucket-flush toilets situated behind reception.

A bit further back sit the air-con bungalows, which are similar to the fan editions but have private bathrooms. Those looking for extras can settle into a “deluxe” concrete room with fridge, fan (in addition to air-con) and more space, especially in the bathrooms. All three of the rooms and the shared facilities that we saw were spotless, making Silvermoon an alternative to nearby Golden Beach if you find their bungalows too rundown. The free WiFi worked well for us too.

Lush. Photo: David Luekens

A laid-back crew of Thais runs Silvermoon, and the woman who showed us around seemed like a terrific host. The location is challenging due to the super-steep driveway: test your brakes before attempting it on a motorbike. While there’s little of interest within easy walking distance, Haad Rin is a short drive over the headland to the east and the rest of the south coast, with its abundance of restaurants and nightlife, is within fairly easy striking distance to the west.

But Silvermoon is the sort of place that you may not want to leave, offering a plunge pool with natural rocks for walls along with a restaurant, bar, kayaks, bamboo beach loungers and a coconut tree that reaches far out over the sand.

Simple living. Photo: David Luekens

Note that the rates we saw on Booking.com were 200 to 300 baht higher than what we were quoted as walk-ins.