Koh Lanta Map Hotels Travel Agents Guide

Koh Lanta is situated in the southern most district of Krabi Province, approximately 70 kilometers from Krabi province. It stretches for 27 kilometers in the north to south direction along the western coastline of Andaman Sea in southern Thailand. Koh Lanta lies on the west coast of Andaman Sea in between Krabi and Phi Phi Island. Large Size Island with 6 km wide and over 30 kms long, 9 beaches lie from north to south along the sunset coast. Stunning scenery, fantastic white sandy beaches, coastlines have more than 70 small islands and plenty with forest, coral reefs and under water life. The geography of the island is typically mangroves; coral rimmed beaches; and rugged tree covered hills.

Koh Lanta is thin and long island. The ferry or car ferry will docking at the north most of the island call Baan Saladan; the gate way to Paradise. Start traveling on Koh Lanta at Baan SalaDan Village, a typical Thai fishing village where most of boats from Phi Phi and Krabi terminate. Boat for snorkeling or diving are available here; you can hire a motorbikes rentals from here as well. From Baan Saladan, drive down to the south with distance 30 Km will take about one hour. The road will end at Koh Lanta Marine National Park office where the lighthouse; symbolic of Koh Lanta located. Beware that half of the way is paved road, the rest is unpaved; dusty, bumpy and up hill and down dale. But both sides are stunning view.

Ko Lanta Yai (Thai: เกาะลันตาใหญ่) is located in the Andaman Sea off the west coast of Thailand, between the Phi Phi Islands islands and the mainland. They are politically part of Krabi Province, most of which is on the mainland.

Measuring 30km long and 6km wide, the island forms part of the Ko Lanta archipelago, which covers an area of 180 km². The area was designated as Park No.62 of Thailand in 1990.

Less well known than the neighbouring Phi Phi and Phuket islands, Lanta is relatively less developed with most of the accommodation available being basic bamboo huts. There are very few paved roads on the island, mostly to the north, and they deteriorate gradually towards the southern end.

Ban Saladan, the main town and port, is located at the northern tip of the island and is served by ferries from Krabi, Phuket and Phi Phi. The main beaches are located on the west of the island, the largest being Klong Dao, Pra-Ae (Long Beach) and Klong Khong Beach. There are other, much less accessible, beaches at the southern end.

Lanta escaped the worst of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Although there was widespread devastation along the west coast, significantly fewer injuries and fatalities were reported in comparison to the Phi Phi Islands. It is thought 11 people lost their lives. Assisted by tourists, most businesses were up and running within a few days

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.
[edit] By car

Ko 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 Ko 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 250 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.
[edit] By boat
Ferry arrival at Ban Saladan pier
Ferry arrival at Ban Saladan pier

From Ko Lanta to other islands

Private companies on Ko Lanta operate boat services to many destinations.

* Ko Lanta – Ko Phi Phi: 8.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., 350 baht
* Ko Lanta – Krabi: 8.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., 300 baht
* Ko Lanta – Ko Phi Phi – Phuket: 1.00 p.m. and 2.30 p.m., 700 baht
* Ko 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 Ko Lanta Yai's Saladan pier. Ferry services are subject to weather and to demand: many will not run at all during the monsoon season and at a reduced frequency during the low season. 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.

Services from Krabi are run by P.P. Family Co (+66 75 630 165) and depart Krabi pier at 10:30 and 13:30, taking 2 hours to reach Ko Lanta (200 baht including free pickup from Krabi hotels). There's a transit bus from Krabi town center for 10 baht.

Services from Ao Nang are run by Ao Nang Travel and Tour (+66 75 637 730) and depart at 10:30 (280 baht).

Ferries depart from Ko Phi-Phi at 11:30 and 14:00, and take 1 hour. If travelling 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 Ko Lanta are 200 baht from Ko Phi-Phi and 450 baht from Phuket.
[edit] By passenger van

All the travel agents in Krabi Town can arrange passenger vans to Ko Lanta.
[edit] By train

The nearest train station to Ko 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.

* Ko 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.

* Lanta Old Town is a small village on Ko 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, Ko 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 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 Ko Bubu and Ko Talenbeng.

* Ban Saladan 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.

* 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 50baht per person. 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 may have done to the sea. It is believed that all evil is carried away in the symbolic boat.

* 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.