Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta is Krabi province's quieter Andaman island — long sandy beaches, an Old Town of wooden stilt houses, and a slower pace than Phuket or Krabi. There's no airport: you reach it by ferry or minivan-plus-car-ferry from Krabi (about 1-3 hours) or Phuket (2.5-6 hours). Most travelers give it 3-4 days, more if you just want to do nothing.
Koh Lanta doesn't try to impress you the way Phuket does — no glittering malls, no strip of go-go bars, no airport even. What it's got instead: long stretches of beach split across half a dozen named bays, a genuinely charming Old Town built on stilts, a national park with a lighthouse and sea caves, and a pace that lets you read a book on the sand without someone trying to sell you a jet ski ride every four minutes.
How many days do you need on Koh Lanta?
Three to four days is the sweet spot — enough to pick a beach, settle into a rhythm, do one day trip, and still have an afternoon to do absolutely nothing. Two days works if Lanta's a stopover between Krabi and points south, but you'll spend a chunk of that just arriving and leaving. A week isn't excessive if you're chasing empty beaches and don't need much beyond swimming, reading, and eating.
How to get there (there's no airport)
Koh Lanta has no airport of its own — the nearest is Krabi International Airport, and every route in involves at least one ferry or car-ferry crossing. From Krabi it's a fairly easy hop; from Phuket it's a genuine half-day trip, and the direct sea route only runs in high season.
| Route | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Krabi Town to Lanta, shared minivan (incl. short car ferry) | ~300-450 THB (~$9-13) | 2.5-3 hrs, year-round |
| Krabi (Klong Jilad Pier) to Lanta, passenger ferry | from ~1,100 THB (~$32+) | ~1 hr 10 min, high season |
| Phuket to Lanta, government minivan + car ferry | ~400 THB (~$11) | ~5.5 hrs, year-round |
| Phuket to Lanta, direct high-season ferry (via Phi Phi) | ~1,200-1,500 THB (~$34-43) | ~1.5 hrs, Nov-Apr only |
Off-season (roughly May to October), skip the direct Phuket ferry — it doesn't run — and go overland via Krabi instead: a bus or minivan to Krabi Town (about 3 hours, 200-300 THB), then the minivan-plus-car-ferry combo on to Lanta (about 1.5 hours more).
Best beaches on Koh Lanta
| Beach | Best for |
|---|---|
| Klong Dao | Families — shallow, gentle water, closest beach to Saladan pier |
| Long Beach (Phra Ae) | Most choice — restaurants, bamboo beach beds, sunset bars, the widest range of hotels |
| Klong Nin | A calmer, more local feel with good beachfront cafes and a bit of surf in the shoulder season |
| Kantiang Bay | The postcard shot — a quiet crescent bay backed by hills, home to Lanta's top resorts |
What's actually worth doing beyond the beach
- Wander Lanta Old Town — a strip of century-old wooden stilt houses and seafood restaurants built right over the water on the island's east coast.
- Head into Mu Ko Lanta National Park at the island's southern tip — entrance is 200 THB (~$6) for foreigners and gets you a lighthouse, sea-cave viewpoints, and a genuinely quiet beach.
- Snorkel the Koh Rok and Koh Ha island group — full-day boat trips run around $48-54 per person (plus a separate 400 THB national park fee), and it's noticeably less crowded than the equivalent Phi Phi trip.
- Rent a scooter and just loop the island — Lanta's flat, the roads are quiet, and half the fun is stumbling on a beach bar with nobody else in it.
- Take a half-day mangrove kayak or canoe trip on the island's east side — a completely different, jungly side of Lanta most beach-only visitors never see.
Book your beach before your ferry, not after. Klong Dao and Long Beach fill up fastest in December-January; if you want one of Kantiang Bay's quieter resorts, lock it in weeks ahead during peak season.
Koh Lanta or Krabi?
Krabi (meaning the Ao Nang/Railay mainland side) wins on convenience — you land at the airport and you're at a beach within the hour, with more restaurants, more tours, and Railay's limestone cliffs right there. Koh Lanta wins on pace and space — longer, emptier beaches and a real 'switch off' feeling once you're a day or two in. If you've only got 3-4 days and want to pack in sightseeing, stay around Krabi/Ao Nang. If you've got a week or more and just want to decompress, Lanta's the better call — just budget the extra travel time.
When to go
November through April is Koh Lanta's dry season — calm seas, the most reliable ferry schedules, and the beaches at their best; December and January are peak (and priciest). May through October is the wet season: fewer crowds and noticeably cheaper rooms, but expect regular downpours, rougher seas, and no direct ferry from Phuket.
What accommodation actually costs
Budget guesthouses and hostels start from around $14-32 a night. Solid 3-star beachfront hotels average around $52 a night, 4-star resorts around $85, and Lanta's top 5-star properties — mostly clustered around Kantiang Bay — run around $175 a night, noticeably cheaper than equivalent beachfront on Phuket.
Common mistakes
- Booking the direct Phuket ferry in the off-season — it simply doesn't run May to October; check before you buy.
- Staying only on Klong Dao or Long Beach and never seeing the Old Town or the national park — both are a short scooter ride away and worth the detour.
- Underestimating the Phuket-Lanta overland trip — budget the better part of a day, not a couple of hours.
- Skipping travel insurance for the scooter — Lanta's roads are quiet but potholed in places, and most policies exclude scooter accidents without a proper motorcycle license.
Where to stay in Koh Lanta — hotels
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