Koh Lanta Travel Guide

Yes, if you want beaches without the crowds and the noise. Lanta's west coast is one long run of sand and coves, the water on the main beaches is calm and shallow in season, and the island never feels packed the way Phi Phi or Patong do. It's one of the best islands in Thailand for families, and plenty of people come for a week and stay a month.

It's not the place for nightlife or for famous viewpoints. The bars are beach bars, the evenings are quiet, and the best scenery is offshore, so you'll want a boat trip or two. The island is also big enough that you need a scooter or a driver to explore it.

Krabi or Koh Lanta? Krabi, meaning Ao Nang and Railay, for the limestone cliffs and the island-hopping on your doorstep. Lanta for longer, quieter beaches and a slower pace. They're two to three hours apart by van, so many trips do both. My full answer, with the comparisons, is in Is Koh Lanta Worth Visiting?

If you only take one boat trip, take this one. The Emerald Cave is the reason, a swim through a pitch-dark tunnel with a headlamp that opens into a lagoon ringed by cliffs, and the rest of the day is snorkeling and a beach lunch on Koh Ngai. Book a day or two ahead in the high season, and choose a longtail for the cheaper, slower ride.

Five nights suits most people. That gives you a day for the 4 Islands, a day for Koh Rok in season, a day on the scooter down to Kantiang and the national park with the Old Town on the way back, and two days on the beach.

Three nights is the minimum to make the trip from Krabi or Phuket worth it. Lanta also suits long stays, and plenty of families come for two weeks or more in the winter.

From Krabi, take a van. They run from Krabi airport until 20:30 for about ฿400–540 and from Krabi Town and Ao Nang through the day, taking two to three hours including a short car ferry from the mainland to Lanta Noi and the bridge onto Lanta itself. Queues for the car ferry can run to hours in the high season. A bridge to the mainland is due around 2029.

From Phuket, speedboats from Rassada pier take about an hour and a half for ฿1,260–1,700 and run all year, and slower ferries via Phi Phi run from November to April. From Phi Phi, Bundhaya's speedboat takes 30 minutes for ฿700 all year. Most boats land at Saladan pier in the north.

A scooter is the way to get around. They cost about ฿200–300 a day, and Lanta's main west-coast road is flat and easy by island standards.

Otherwise, tuk-tuks with sidecars wait in Saladan and along the beaches, but they're not cheap, about ฿400–800 from Saladan to Kantiang. Grab barely operates on the island, so ask your hotel to call a driver.

November to April is the season. February is the driest month, with about 24 mm of rain at the Phuket weather station, the sea is calm and clear, and all the boat trips run. December and January are the busiest and priciest.

May to October is the monsoon. September and October are the wettest months, with about 350 mm each, the west-coast surf brings strong currents, many beach bungalows, bars and dive shops close, and the trips to Koh Rok and most of the islands stop. The vans and the Phuket speedboats keep running, the resorts that stay open discount heavily, and it suits people who want an empty island more than a beach holiday.