Ko Lipe vs Ko Lante vs Ko Pang Nan vs Somewhere else in Thailand

Everything you have mentioned will be super touristy. I will be on Koh Phangan personally.

Wow, the sky is the limit. There are so many possibilities!
The best place to go depends on your criteria - do you want laid back, party places, great scenery, good snorkelling? Maybe check my WHICH ISLAND page on this http://tezza-thailandbeachesandislands.blogspot.com/ link to see which best fits your wants, and then check my separate page on the one of your choice.

If you don't want to waste any time travelling, Ko Tao is less than an hour away by ferry and is a pretty good all round island. At the same time, it takes less than a day to get across to the Andaman side, particularly if you use the night ferry.
Lipe is a great island, will be real crowded and is a real stretch time-wise from Phangan. Lanta is similar but way bigger, has more chances of vacancies and can be reaches same day from Phangan.

If it helps I will be in Lipe for NYE! I was a hell of a job finding somewhere to stay though, and that was a few months back...good luck.

If you want less touristy, get away from the ocean. North of Chiang Mai...Chiang Dao, where we live is not very touristy at all, compared to the farang zoos like Pai. You can find quality foreign and Thai restaurants up here, lots of places to check out in the area and it's not too expensive up here.

Cafe Cafe is putting on a New Years Party and I think Chiang Dao Nest is, too. We close for New Years for a private staff party.

Touristy or not, if you want to go to a New Years Party in Thailand, you should book it now.

Anywhere in Northern Thailand, except for Pai, should be great. Pai is the place where all the foreigners hang out and doesn't really have a lot to do with Thailand, except that it is located in it. So if you want quiet, don't go there...go to places like Mae Salong, Chiang Dao, possibly even Mae Hong Son, but it can get touristy, too, at certain times of year. Should be o.k. now, that the flower festival is pretty much finished.

Only thing is, the North gets pretty cold around this time of year, so if you want sun and warmth at night, you might want to go to Koh Lipe. Definetely not Koh Phagnan....it's another Farang Zoo.

(Please don't misunderstand me. Koh Phagnan, Pai and Kosan Road are great for people who want to party and hang out with other (mostly younger) foreigners. Definitely the place to be, if you are looking for parties on New Years)

Cheers

Kurt
Chiang Dao

LAOLIANG ISLAND! NO doubt. spend new year's on Laoliang and then hop on the Tiger Line boat for a couple of days around Taratao NP.

Alright Zachareah - you really need to stop touting this island. I am quite simply tired of reading it. Every single one of your posts mentions it. It really ain't that special for cryin' out loud.