Koh Lanta is a beautiful, laid back, uncrowded island in Thailand, a couple of hours travel from Krabi, Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, an island off the Andaman Coast of Southern Thailand. Like many other destinations in Krabi Province, it is known for its diving and long white beaches.

Ko Lanta consists of several islands, the two largest of which are Ko Lanta Noi (“Small Lanta Island”) and Ko Lanta Yai (“Big Lanta Island”). However, Ko Lanta Yai is where all the tourist action is, so this article will refer to it simply as “Ko Lanta”.

Ko Lanta is popular with tourists seeking a holiday away from the parties. It’s popular with a significantly older crowd than nearby Ko Phi Phi: more walking on the beach and watching the sunset than drinking and dancing. However, there are plenty of bars and it is also popular with families with young children, and of course, with divers. Ko Lanta can provide a party if you know where to look.

Ko Lanta is a little less well-known than Ko Phi Phi, which has become more commercialized and corporate, but it is hardly undiscovered: the several beaches on the west coast of Ko Lanta Yai are each strung with a line of resorts and bungalows, although the farther down the island you venture, the less this is true. And even when the island is at it fullest, there will be a quiet place for you to relax – the beaches are never full. Ko Lanta is especially popular with Swedish tourists: although the “tourist language” is English as it is in most places in Thailand, and you will find menus and so on are translated into English, expect the poolside language to be Swedish much of the time. However, there are still many English and Irish bars and restaurants to visit.

Climate

Weather in the region is tropical – there are only two seasons: the hot season from January to April, and the rainy season from May to December. Temperatures during the year average 25ºC to 32ºC (77ºF to 89.6ºF) and the yearly rainfall averages 2568.5mm. Unlike in say Europe, the rain in this region comes down heavily and quickly over short periods.

Weatherwise, the best time to visit Koh Lanta is between the months November to April when the area’s climate is less hot than usual. During this period the island gets a lot of dry North Easterly winds, so giving dry blue skies and starry nights. Then, down on the beaches one can enjoy nice sea breezes. From May to October the area gets a lot of rainfall, more on average than the rest of the country. During this period the island gets a lot of moist South Westerly winds, so giving a mixture of dry days and wet ones. The sea stays at a warm 29°C all year round.

Places of Interest

 

Lanta Old Town - is a small village on Koh Lanta’s East side. It’s one of the region’s most culturally diverse with Chinese merchants, original Thai fishing families and an ancient Sea Gypsy community. Many years ago, Koh Lanta’s Old Town acted as the port and commercial center for the island and provided a safe harbor for Arabic and Chinese trading vessels sailing between the larger ports of Phuket, Penang and Singapore. Today, Old Town is the district capital; it has a post office, police station, Buddhist temple, Chinese temple and the island’s hospi tal as well as a long pier. It’s a charming place to visit and boasts many good restaurants and interesting shopping like handmade Hammocks and an original Batik and Art Gallery. It’s also a great jumping off point to other Islands like Ko Bubu and Ko Talenbeng.

Orchid nursery farm – This farm is recommended to all those who like flowers. The Orchid Nursery Farm is located at Long Beach (Pra Ae beach) and the entry fee is 30 Baht per person. It’s easily accessible by bike or motorbike.

Sea-Gypsy Village - Known to the Thais as Chao-Le, sea gypsies have occupied the area for hundreds of years settling along the coast in stilt-built houses erected between the water level of high and low tide. They are unique in that they mix very little with the general population, speak their language and have their very own supernatural and traditional beliefs and rituals. And example of the latter is the Loy Ruea (floating boat) ceremony where the village men build a symbolic boat and place wooden statues of themselves in it along with nail pairings, hair and popped rice. By performing this ritual, they ask for forgiveness from the sea gods and for any wrongs that may have done to the sea. It is believed that all evil is carried away in the symbolic boat. -

Khao Mai Kaew Caves - Getting away from the beach for the day, tourists can visit the stunning Khao Mai Kaew Caves which are located in the centre of the island, offering a wonder of rocks and caverns and housing spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, some of the caves are just huge and one of them contains a pool. For getting around inside the caves you will need a guide, but one is cheap, around 200baht per person. You can also take an elephant-ride for arount 600baht per person. Take some good shoes, as the caves are slippery. The caves are located just off the lower of two cross-island roads, down a narrow 1.5 kilometer dirt path through the rubber plantations.

Koh Lanta Noi & Koh Lanta Yai – has no tourist facilities as such but is well worth a visit. Hire a motorbike and catch the ferry or longtail from Saladan Pier, there’s a few circular roads, all well covered that will take you around the island to see the local way of life. There are a few local restaurants along the way so you can stop for some fried rice, pick up a map before you go from one of the tourist offices on Lanta Noi, and drive carefully!

Ban Saladan - approximately 3 km from Klong Dao Beach, is the tourist center of Ko Lanta. Facilities include inexpensive and easy to find transport, diving trips, banking and shopping.

Beaches

Kor Kwang - This beach, with its attractively curved shaped has lovely sand and clear aquamarine water.

Klong Dao – Over the years, Klong Dao has developed into the most popular beach on the island with a spectacular 3km long beach of fine white sand and shallow clear water. Yet, because of its length, it is never really that busy. It is located just 2km from Saladan Pier. The beach has an abundance of accommodation ranging in cost from just a couple of hundred to a few thousand. It is more than ideal for those who like a quiet beach but prefer to have all the usual tourist mods and cons such as international food, music and bars etc.

Pra Ae (Long Beach)-  This beach, situated in the north of the island, is a stunning crescent of sand about 4km long. There is a lot of accommodation there but since it is spread out a lot, visitors get the feeling that place is peacefully quiet.

Klong Khong - For most of the length of Klong Khong beach there is a klong (small river) running opposite the beach and an old coconut plantation. Towards the southern end is an area where the local fishermen tie up their boats to the shore. A rocky reef runs along the length of the shore making it difficult for swimming but great for admiring the sunset.

Klong Nin – This beach is separated by a klong that runs down to the beach at the northern third of the beach dividing it in two. The beach is covered with coconut and pine trees and the back end is tropical rain forest. Like almost all beaches on Koh Lanta, Klong Nin offers a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere and its sand is white and fine. The northern stretch is the best for swimming as it has far fewer rocky paths than the southern part of the beach.

Kan Tiang – This small beach is only one kilometer long, so giving visitors more of a feeling of privacy. There are excellent corals for snorkeling as well. Lying 18 kilometers south of Baan Saladan, Kan Tiang beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island.

 

Activities

Diving

There are no scuba diving sites on the island itself, all require a boat trip. However Lanta is the closest island to the famous Hin Daeng and Hin Muang sites, so it is very popular with divers.

Hin Daeng and Hin Muang near Koh Lanta are perhaps the best dive sites in Thailand (ranking in the world’s top ten) with more than 200 hard corals and 108 reef fish catalogued in a study underway, but thousands more organisms abound. Hin Daeng has the steepest and deepest in the whole of the country with fantastic marine life. Hin Muang next door is completely underwater and it is covered with delicate violet coral. The sites also have one of the world’s highest incidences of whale shark sightings.

Snorkeling

Koh Haa - this is the best site in Thailand for mixed groups of snorkelers and divers. For divers only, it offers amazing swim-throughs. In recent years Koh Haa has seen a large increase in the number of fish present at the reefs, due to committed conservation policies.

Koh Rok – some of Thailand’s finest snorkeling spots are located off Lanta’s coast. Koh Rok, 47 km south of Lanta, is considered by most to be the pick of the bunch, though other people say they rate Koh Haa’s snorkelling even more highly. Koh Rok actually consists of two islands, Koh Rok Nai and Koh Rok Nok, both graced with powdery white sand beaches and with an extensive bed of coral in between.

This sheltered and shallow channel is an ideal habitat for reef fish, and the place swarms with innumerable shoals of them. Visibility is very good, and many interesting species of reef fish can be found in these waters. Many snorkelers are most amazed by the sheer numbers of fish here, which swirl and swarm around the swimmers.

4 Island Trip – Koh Mook’s amazing Emerald Cave is the highlight of this trip. The cave is a window into a lagoon through which safety-vest-clad swimmers are towed by local guides. The swim into the lagoon is fully eighty metres in length and a real adventure.

Trekking

Elephant rides can be arranged to take visitors to the top of the hill in Koh Lanta National Park.

Kayaking

The east side of Koh Lanta with its rich mangrove forests and caves is a great option for off-the-beaten-path kayaking. Kayaking can also be done on Ko Talabaeng, the limestone cliff near Koh Lanta.

Getting There

By plane

The nearest airports are Krabi, Trang and Phuket. Krabi and Trang have direct road and boat connections to Ko Lanta, and are the best options if you’re only visiting Ko Lanta. Flying into Phuket is a better option if you’re intending to spend time in Phuket and nearby islands, or, since Phuket has many more international flights, if you don’t want to have to organize a domestic flight to Krabi or Trang from Bangkok. As an alternative to Bangkok, there are daily flights to Krabi directly to and from Singapore, as well as Kuala Lumpur.

Express transfer

The quickest and most convenient direct service form Krabi Airport and Phuket Airport to Koh Lanta is by using the express transfer which is a combination of minivan and speedboat travel. If you arrive early you will not have to wait for the ferry and if you arrive late at these airports you can still arrive on Koh Lanta the same day.

From Krabi airport a 45 minute air conditioned minivan to the first car ferry port. You then go on board the speedboat which then takes you on a stunning boat ride across the water along the coastline of Koh Lanta. The journey takes around 15 minutes depending on weather and conditions. You will arrive directly in Saladan on Koh Lanta, where you are then transferred to your hotel by car. That means the total journey time should be 1 to 1.5 hours and a lot more fun!

This eliminates the waiting time at the car ferry and also if your going from Koh Lanta to one of these airports allows you more time to enjoy your visit.

By car

Koh Lanta does not have roads connecting it directly to the mainland, but is served by car ferries. Take road 4206 off highway 4 about 20km south-east of Krabi airport. Drive to the end of the road, where there is a car ferry from Baan Hua Hin to Ko Lanta Noi. From the pier here, turn right and follow the “ferry” signs to the second car ferry to Koh Lanta Yai. Ferries operate 07:00-22:00.

There are plenty of car taxi and minivan taxi services from Krabi and the nearby airport. A seat in a ten person minivan from the airport to Ko Lanta costs about 300 baht. These minivans usually don’t have much room for luggage (although they can usually find room for one or two large suitcases together with backpacks for the rest of the passengers) so if you’re not traveling light you might need to get a private taxi.

This is what the divemasters do. A private minivan taxi will usually be quoted as 2500 baht. It’s possible to bargain a few hundred baht off this price but not much more or the tolls will consume too much of the price. Car taxis cost about the same.

When travelling to/from Ko Lanta in the afternoon by road, allow 2–3 hours for the journey as the queues for the vehicle ferries can be lengthy. The passenger ferry which leaves Ko Lanta pier (high season) at 08:00 and arrives at Krabi pier at 10:00 is quicker.

By Boat

From Koh Lanta to other islands
Private companies on Koh Lanta operate boat services to many destinations.
Koh Lanta – Ko Phi Phi: 8.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., 350 baht
Koh Lanta – Krabi: 8.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., 300 baht (apparently, in high season, at least 400 baht)
Koh Lanta – Ko Phi Phi – Phuket: 1.00 p.m. and 2.30 p.m., 700 baht
Koh Lanta – Ko Phi Phi – Krabi: 9.00 a.m. and 1.30 p.m., 700 baht

Ferry services run from Krabi, Ao Nang and from Phuket via Ko Phi Phi to Koh Lanta Yai’s Saladan pier. During high season, there are sometimes direct ferries as well.Ferry services are subject to weather and to demand: Many ferries have limited room for luggage. Often the ferries dock alongside each other, meaning that to get on and off passengers must clamber onto and across other boats with their luggage.However many times boat staff will be there to help you board your bags.

All ferries can be booked online ahead on phiphiferry.com from all the destinations including Phuket, Krabi, Ao nang, Railay, and Phi Phi as well as hotel pickup service except for in Phi Phi where there are no roads.

By passenger van

All the travel agents in Krabi Town can arrange passenger vans to Koh Lanta. There is no regular, scheduled van service from Krabi Airport, although vans and taxis can be chartered to Koh Lanta for about 2,000 baht per vehicle (2500 Baht if you are going to the southern end of Koh Lanta). Taxis (usually vans) are also available at the airport at the same rate.

There is a mini van service that runs between Krabi and Koh Lanta, However it must be booked in advance through your hotel or someone local, the cost is 400 Baht per person. Book early as it fills up quickly. It will pickup, drop off at the Airport. You should factor in 3 to 4 hours to get from Koh Lanta to the airport, since the mini van will pickup and drop off other people along the way.

If you want to return to Krabi by van rather than by ferry, ask at your hotel/resort and they will book you on the minibus which will take you there (as a group with others from other hotels), for a reasonable price. It is worth travelling to Lanta one way by boat and the other by road just to see the contrast. (and the price at Nov 2009 was not much different)

By train

The nearest train station to Koh Lanta is in Trang province just south of Krabi. From there, there are trains to and from Bangkok. ‘Distances from Bangkok’ The distance from Bangkok to Krabi is approx 950 km or about 12 hrs by car.

• Route 1: Phetburi – Prachuabkirikhan – Chumporn – Phang Nga – Krabi = 946 km.
• Route 2: Phetburi – Prachuabkirikhan – Chumporn (Highway No 41) to Chaiya (Suratthani) – Krabi (Viangsra) – Highway No 4035 – Krabi (Ao Luk) and along Highway 4 again = 814 km.

Getting around

The main roads on the island are well paved. However the road just north of Mu Ko National Park is still unpaved dirt. That road ends at the park and so it isn’t possible to drive from that point up the eastern side of the island.

It’s worth knowing the names of the resorts near yours: both the pickup trucks and motorcycle taxis will often want to pick you up or drop you at a nearby resort with a better road.

Resorts and some of the major tourist services (like the dive shops) own large pickup trucks and transport tourists around in the tray. Very occasionally, they own minibuses instead. If you come in by ferry your resort will almost certainly meet you at pier with their truck; if you’re travelling with very small children who you don’t want to cling to while you bump along sitting on the side of the truck you might want to warn them in advance that you’ll want to ride in the cab: it’s generally assumed to be the private domain of the driver.

You will find the locals almost exclusively ride motorbikes; you can hire these in several places for a few hundred baht a day. You can also hire motorcycle taxis with sidecars. These will happily take you on the unpaved roads but the ride can be as slow as walking. A typical fare for a ride from Saladan to Klong Dao Beach is 40 baht.

Jeeps can be hired for 1200 baht per day. Be sure to check insurance, contract terms and the condition of the vehicle. The “roads” of Ko Lanta combined with the driver operation characteristics of some renters are a serious challenge for any car. The frequently available Suzuki Sporty seems primitive and therefore sturdy, and a replacement should cost around 150000 baht. (WikiTravel)

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