... Yet another beautiful island community not spoiled by over-development.
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| Sunset "Pool View" in Koh Lanta |
Koh Lanta is popular with tourists seeking a holiday away from the crowds and wild parties often associated with Patong in Phuket. It's popular with a significantly older crowd than nearby Phi Phi Island: more walking on the beach and watching the sunset than drinking and dancing. However, there are ample bars and the long term residents are friendly and do know how to party! It is also popular with families with young children, and of course, with divers.
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| Only accessible by ferry... |
The main island is 6 km wide and over 30 km long, and is located approximately 70 km from Krabi Town. The island has 9 gorgeous white sandy beaches, more than 70 smaller islands and plenty with forests, coral reefs and under water life you can explore while diving or snorkeling. The geography of the island is typically mangroves; coral rimmed beaches; and rugged tree covered hills.
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| Snorkelling in Koh Rok |
Koh Lanta is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and even sea gypsies. The majority of the population in the rural areas is Muslim. The area however, does not suffer from any religious tension and the folk live in peace and harmony. Most of the folk speak with a thick Southern dialect which is difficult for even other Thais to understand.
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| Plenty of Beach for every one ... |
Here is a quick reference list of things to see and do while in Koh Lanta:
- 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, Buddhist temple, Chinese temple and the island's hospital 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 Koh Bubu and Koh Talenbeng.
- Ban Saladan, approximately 3 km from Klong Dao Beach, is
the tourist center of Koh Lanta. Facilities include inexpensive and
easy to find transport, diving trips, banking and shopping.
- 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.
- 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 they may have done to
the sea. It is believed that all evil is carried away in the symbolic
boat.
- Orchid nursery farm is recommended to all those who like flowers. The
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.
- Koh Lanta Noi has no tourist facilities as such but is well worth a
visit. Hire a motorbike and catch the ferry or long tail 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 Yai, and
drive carefully!
- Kor Kwang beach, with its attractively curved shaped has lovely sand and clear aquamarine water.
- Klong Dao Beach, over the years, 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 baht to a few thousand. It is more than ideal for those who like a quiet
beach but prefer to have all the usual tourist facilities such as
international food, music and bars etc.
- Pra Ae (Long Beach) is situated on the north end of the island and
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 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 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 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.
- Kantiang Bay is a kilometer long beach on a gently curving shoreline. It
is home to a limited number of hotels and resorts, leaving the pristine
beach with an uncrowded feeling even during the busy holidays. There
are excellent corals for snorkeling as well. Lying 18 kilometers south
of Baan Saladan, Kantiang beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on
the island and was voted one of the "Top Ten Tropical Beaches in The
World" by the Sunday Times of London.
- Koh Lanta National Park — there are two beaches in the National Park, such as Had Hin Ngam.
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| Koh Ngai (Hai Island) |
- Hin Daeng and Hin Muang near Koh Lanta are perhaps the best dive sites in Thailand (frequently ranking in the world’s top ten) with more than 200 hard corals and 108 reef fish species catalogued in a study underway, but thousands more organisms abound. Hin Daeng has the steepest and deepest reef 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. We recommend to dive there with our friends of MV Giamani.
- 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
snorkeling 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 meters in length and a real adventure.
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.
Wanna-be fishers can catch the likes of marlin, sailfish, barracuda, red snapper and tuna. Three different kinds of fishing trip are offered by private long tail boat: half-day, full day and night fishing.
Besides diving, Thai cooking courses on Koh Lanta are where wanna-be Thai cuisine chefs can learn to cook up all their favorite dishes such as tom yum kung, sweet green curry and chicken with cashew nuts.
In general, Southern Thai food is renowned for its spiciness. Much of the cuisine has its origins in Malay, Indonesian and Indian food. Favorite dishes from the south include Indian-style Muslim curry (massaman), rice noodles in fish curry sauce (Khanom Jeen) and chicken birayani.
As for Koh Lanta, reasonable priced and tasty seafood is obviously what most tourists long for when visiting a coastal province like Krabi. In this connection, the wing shell (หอยชักตีน) is Krabi’s famous cuisine. It is eaten with a spicy dip. In addition, stirred fried Spotted Babylon (หอยหวาน), which is found in mangrove forests, with chilies and basil is also famous and is common in Koh Lanta’s restaurants. Another great Krabi taste is, of course, seafood so as one would expect there are several restaurants with the 'catch of the day' displayed on ice outside. One can find all kinds of fish; juicy crabs and langoustines; shellfish, including giant oysters; as well as squid and lobsters.
Koh Lanta has a wide variety of restaurants, the kind that most visitors travel to Thailand for: beach-front locations serving delicious and inexpensive Thai and seafood dishes. Eateries line the beaches in front of the bungalows and no visitor will starve from lack of variety or interesting places to dine.
There's not much in the way of party nightlife, which, for many, is part of the Koh Lanta appeal - Relaxed. But there is always something going on if you ask around — there are a few restaurant/bars at the harbor, beaches and most hotels. Since it is a small island free of crime and drunkards, the local law-enforcers are more lenient about allowing bars to stay open until what time they wish, and that is usually when the last customer goes home.
How to get to Koh Lanta
By plane
The nearest airports are Krabi, Trang and Phuket. Krabi and Trang have direct roads and boat connections to Koh Lanta, and are the best options if you're only visiting Koh 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 service from Krabi Airport and Phuket Airport 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 approximately 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 1.5 to 2 hours. This eliminates the waiting time at the car ferry and also if you are going from Koh Lanta to one of these airports allows you more time to enjoy your visit. The transfer costs are around THB 1950-2050 per person depending where you are going. In comparison, renting a private minivan only costs around THB 2500 in total, and there is not much gain in terms of duration with the speedboat, the private minivan will only take around 30 minutes more.
By car
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| Lanta ferry service |
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 Koh Lanta will cost 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 dive masters do.
When travelling to/from Koh 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 Koh Lanta pier (high season) at 08:00 and arrives at Krabi pier at 10:00 is quicker.
By boat
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, boat staff often 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.
Services from Krabi depart Krabi pier at 10:30 and 13:30, taking 2 hours to reach Koh Lanta (200 baht including free pickup from Krabi hotels). There's a transit bus from Krabi town center for 10 baht. Ferries depart from Ko Phi-Phi at 11:30 and 14:00, and take 1 hour.
Services from Phuket in a single day, you will need to leave Phuket on the 08:00 ferry to transfer to the 11:30 ferry. Tickets to Koh Lanta are 200 baht from Ko Phi-Phi and 450 baht from Phuket.
Once you arrive, if you have a booking at a hotel/resort, there should be a person at the ferry exit with a sign giving the name of the hotel you have booked.
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
By passenger van
EasyDayThailand or 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.
So you can see there are many options to get to Koh Lanta, and that each depends on catching a boat (either a speed boat or ferry) and it is sometimes best to pre-schedule these trip. Feel free to contact Easy Day Thailand to make all your arrangements, let us handle all the details so you don’t have to worry about them.
More on tours in Thailand at www.easydaythailand.com
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