Things to do in Koh Lanta
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Koh Lanta
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry peak season. Calm seas, every boat running, best diving visibility in February and March.
Hot shoulder. April is hottest with Songkran, May brings the first monsoon swells and closures.
Monsoon low season. Rough seas, offshore trips suspended, many southern businesses closed.
Reopening shoulder. Rains taper, parks and boats restart, prices below December levels.
What's on
- Laanta Lanta Festival Early March, around the first full moon, 3 days
Island celebration of Thai, Muslim, Chinese and Chao Leh cultures in Lanta Old Town, with stages and food stalls.
- Songkran 13-15 April
Thai New Year at village scale, with morning merit making and water splashing in Saladan and Long Beach.
- Loi Ruea (Chao Leh floating boat ceremony) Full moon of the sixth lunar month, roughly May, with a second edition roughly November
Sea gypsy ceremony at Ban Sang Ga U village in the south. Dates follow the lunar calendar, ask locally.
- Loy Krathong November full moon
Banana leaf floats launched at Saladan and the beach villages as the season reopens.
Best things to do in Koh Lanta
Lanta Old Town
The original port town of teak shophouses and stilt seafood restaurants, best seen slowly with a long lunch over the water.
Phra Ae Beach
Five kilometres of wide west facing sand with good swimming, beach bars and the island's nightly sunset ritual.
Kantiang Bay
A compact crescent of pale sand between green headlands in the quiet south, often called the island's prettiest bay.
Klong Dao Beach
Shallow, sheltered, sandy bottom swimming close to Saladan, the easiest beach on the island for small children.
Time for Lime
The island's benchmark cooking class, with a cocktail start, pool breaks and profits supporting Lanta Animal Welfare.
Lanta Animal Welfare
Tour the rescue centre and take a shelter dog for a walk, the hour families remember longest from a Lanta trip.
Following Giants
Observation only elephant sanctuary on forested hillside, with no riding, bathing or feeding by visitors.
Sala Dan
The pier town done as an evening out, with stilt seafood restaurants over the water and the island's market stalls.
Where to stay in Koh Lanta
Klong Dao
families, easiest first base
Calmest swimming on the island, five minutes from Saladan, with walkable restaurants and mid range resorts.
Long Beach (Phra Ae)
best all-round base, first trip
Broadest choice at every price, the densest independent restaurant strip and the island's sunset beach.
Klong Khong
budget travellers, relaxed evenings
Bungalows and reggae bars at friendly prices, with a rocky shoreline that makes swimming tide dependent.
Klong Nin
couples, quiet with dinner in walking distance
A smaller beach village feel with good beachfront restaurants and a slower pace than Long Beach.
Kantiang Bay
scenery, seclusion, resort-centred stays
The island's most beautiful bay and its best luxury resort, forty minutes from Saladan and quiet in low season.
Lanta Old Town
character stays, festival nights, split stays
Stilt house guesthouses over the water on the east coast, superb seafood and no swimmable beach.
Think twice about
- Saladan town
Pier and services hub with no beach worth the name. Stay five minutes south on Klong Dao and visit Saladan instead.
- East coast and Old Town as a beach base
Mangrove shoreline with no swimming. Every beach day costs a 20 to 30 minute road trip in both directions.
- Bamboo Bay and far south resorts without transport
Beautiful and remote, with resort food or a long dark steep ride for every alternative at taxi prices.
Best restaurants in Koh Lanta
Yawee Restaurant
Family run local favourite for curries, crisp fried tofu and mango sticky rice at off beach prices.
May's Kitchen
Long Beach institution for fresh seafood and home style Thai cooking at a few dollars a dish.
Krua Dan Tai
Southern Thai cooking with the chilli heat and turmeric depth intact, served to share in a simple local room.
Mr Pad Thai
Single dish street cart by the minimart whose tamarind pad Thai travellers call the best they have had.
Drunken Sailors
The south's cafe fixture, with proper coffee, the area's best breakfast and a Thai and Western menu all day.
Jai-Dee Home
Family run beachfront kitchen on Klong Nin where the sunset decorates simple, well priced Thai seafood.
Cozy Restaurant
Small international Thai restaurant with high quality ingredients that satisfies mixed groups on both sides.
Ling Uan (Fat Monkey)
Long Beach's best known grill bar restaurant, filling with divers and long stayers rather than passing trade.
Outdoor things to do in Koh Lanta
Ko Rok
The flagship speedboat snorkel day pairing Koh Rok's reefs and white beach with the clear lagoon of Koh Haa.
Emerald Cave
Swim through a dark sea tunnel into a hidden cliff ringed lagoon, on the Four Islands longtail day via Koh Kradan.
Hin Daeng
Thailand class pinnacle diving at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang for advanced divers, with Koh Haa for everyone else.
Mu Ko Lanta National Park
Lighthouse headland with a two bay view, near empty beaches and a rainforest nature trail at the island's tip.
Thung Yee Peng Mangrove Forest
Longtail through mangrove channels, then kayak into the Talabeng sea cave and scramble the Koh Phee skull cave.
Khlong Chak Waterfall
A jungle stream walk past a bat cave to the island's one waterfall, best in and just after the rainy season.
Maya Bay
The famous bay done as a Lanta day trip, with Phi Phi snorkelling and a quiet Lanta bed at the end of it.
Sala Dan Pier
Departure point for private longtail charters, the flexible luxury way to run the Four Islands at your own pace.
Best hotels in Koh Lanta
Crown Lanta Resort & Spa
Private beach luxury on the headland at the northern end of Klong Dao, with pool villas and a sunset bar.
Twin Lotus Resort & Spa
Adults only design resort on Klong Dao's long beachfront, with garden villas and a well regarded spa.
Coconut Lanta Resort
Small simple resort a short walk from Klong Dao beach, keeping the family swim base without resort money.
Layana Resort & Spa
Adults only grande dame directly on Long Beach, the service benchmark for luxury stays on the island.
Long Beach Chalets
Garden chalets a short stroll from the sand, in the sweet spot between the budget strip and the luxury end.
Coco Lanta Resort
Eco leaning resort with a pool on Klong Khong, the comfortable way to buy that beach's relaxed evenings.
Isara Lanta Beach Resort
Simple beachfront resort on Klong Khong at local guesthouse money, for travellers who spend days elsewhere.
Rawi Warin Resort & Spa
Large eco luxury resort terraced from hillside to beach on the quieter central coast at Klong Nin.
Is Koh Lanta expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | THB 1,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | THB 3,500 a person |
| Splurge | THB 10,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Time for Lime: a few days ahead
- Following Giants: a few days ahead
- Ko Rok: a few days ahead
- Emerald Cave: a few days ahead
- Hin Daeng: a few days ahead
- Thung Yee Peng Mangrove Forest: a few days ahead
- Maya Bay: a few days ahead
- Sala Dan Pier: a few days ahead
- Book boat days early in the trip so weather cancellations can be re-run.
- Yang Garden, Time for Lime and Following Giants need days ahead in high season.
- Pimalai and Layana need months ahead for late December to February.
Is Koh Lanta safe?
- Monsoon seas from May to October make west coast beaches often unswimmable. Respect red flags.
- The realistic risks are scooter accidents, the sea and small overcharges, in that order.
- National park monkeys grab food and loose items. Keep bags closed and do not feed them. Emergency number 1669.
Koh Lanta travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Unofficial huts near Khlong Chak waterfall demanding over 350 THB. The official park ticket is 200 THB.
- Elephant camps offering rides or bathing under sanctuary language. The benchmark is observation only.
- Seafood by weight without a stated price. Confirm the per 100g price and weighed total before cooking.
Getting around Koh Lanta: public transport and more
- One west coast road, Route 4245, runs about 30km from Saladan to the national park.
- Scooters rent in Saladan and Long Beach for roughly 200 to 300 THB a day. Helmet always and never leave a passport as deposit.
- Songthaews work the main road for short hops. Agree every taxi fare before you ride.
Who Koh Lanta suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Koh Lanta your trip
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