Ko Lanta is several Islands that makes up one of the 8 districts in the Krabi Province. It has two large islands Ko lanta Noi (Small Lanta Island) and Ko Lanta Yai (Big lanta Island). The big island is where all the action goes down and often is referred to as Ko Lanta. It is 30km long and 6km wide.
It has 9 main beaches from North to South along the sunset coast, lots of stunning scenery, lots of small islands and reefs close by underwater adventures, and has lots of forest to offer you some wildlife viewing.
This is not a party island and is quieter than Ko Phi Phi and Phuket. It is a relaxing place and attracts an older crowd, and families with young children, and a lot of divers. It is a charted holiday hotspot so expect crowds if you are in a hotel partnered with a tour company.
Cost wise it is a cheaper location in comparison to others and offers a lot more of activities both night and day. The restaurants are fantastic and the cooking class amazing. So a 2-3 day stay will get you around the Island and experience Ko Lanta properly. A week if you there for diving. The beaches are not the greatest and there is a lot of pollution on the beach.
A pleasant quite stay with great seafood, drinks, activities and shopping would sum up Ko Lanta. Do not forget to try the Blue Crab in Red Curry.
Here are my top 10 tips for Ko Lanta:
1. Arrival options into Ko Lanta:
This is an Island with no airport so the closest airport options are Krabi, Trang or Phuket. Use the hotel you are staying with to arrange transport or use a taxi service like Taxi Krabi.
There are basically 3 options available here all involving a boat arriving to Saladan Pier(North Ko Lanta):
Krabi International Airport Transfer:Take an airport transfer where a minivan picks you up and takes you to a ferry that transports you over. The options can be via regular ferry or Express speedboat from the ferry.
Ferry or Speedboat: You can catch a speedboat from Southern Islands like Ko Ngai to Ko lanta. Options are also available from Ao Nang, Railay, Ko Phi Phi, and Trang. They have ferries as well but this are large and crowded, so if you have the option take the speedboat.
By Car: There is no roads connecting the Island to mainland but they have car ferries operating in between. It take 15-20 minutes to cross to the Island.
2. What to expect at the Arrival port? :
Arrival town is at Ban Saladan which is the northern point of the Ko Lanta. Once you exit the Saladan pier you will probably first pay a ฿10 exit fee to some officers who are collecting money for the cleanup of Ko Phi Phi. Handing out paper receipts after payment which kind of defeats the purpose since this becomes the new litter for Ko Lanta.
Once they payment is done you will run into a crowd of tour brokers, taxi/tuktuk drivers, someone who wants to sell you something,and you may even find someone who claims to be lost family. So be open to all possibilities here ;) The prices from the port for a taxi to your location( if hotel pick up services is not provided) is fair.
3. What to expect in Ban Saldan? :
Ban Saladan is the main town and tourist center on the Island. There are a lot of Swedish expats on the Island operating businesses or simply working there. You can find them at Dive centers around the Island. There is even a cool Swedish Restaurant & Bar in Ban Saladan close to the pier.
The Town is quite relaxed and one of the best for hassle free shopping.
4. Accommodation options:
The north and west side of the Island is where all the hotels and beaches are. Important thing to note before booking any accommodation is the hotel affiliations. As mentioned earlier Ko Lanta has lots of Swedish expats meaning there are a lot of Swedish tourists visiting the Island. This unfortunately means a lot of charter flights with operators such as Startour, Ving, Apollo, Solia etc. So try to book a hotel not affiliated with any of these tour groups to have more privacy and a better hotel crowd.
Unfortunately my hotel selection was based on bad information resulting in a hotel in the above category. It was a smaller hotel than the others at Khlong Dao beach area, so crowded in the 50-80 people range rather than 200-500. I sneaked into several other hotels in the area to check it out and they all were super crowded with charted holiday tourists. It was a blessing in disguise as it meant my 3 days were spent exploring the Island.
5. Daytime Activities:
Being a larger island the options are greater for Snorkelling, Diving, PADI courses, Trekking, Kayaking the east side of Ko lanta where there is rich mangrove forests and caves, also Ko Talabaeng has nice limestone cliffs northeast of Ko Lanta worth exploring by Kayak or Long tail boat, Fishing trips organized for half day or full day will reel you in a tuna, sailfish, red snapper, marlin or other exotic fishes, Long tail boat tours of the east side, rent a boat, go on an Island hopping trip, Lanta Muay thai gym for some lessons, Mai Kaew Cave exploration, Snake or monkey shows, visit old Lanta or south sea gypsies village.
6. Evening Activities:
Nothing Much happens on the Island at night so it is more of a relaxed vibe. Try Night time fishing, Kick Boxing events, Shopping in Ban Saldan, massages, cooking classes, Dinner and Drinks.
7. Serenity Spa and Massage:
Once of my hangouts for massages on this trip since hotel spas were booked out. This place offers quality massages and is cheaper compared to hotels. You can read more about them here: Serenity Spa and Massage.
8. Roi Thai Cooking School:
Best entertainment on the Island, as Chef Roi entertains and teaches the Thai Culinary Secrets. You can read more about this on my Cooking Class review.
9. Wildlife overview:
Mosquitoes are your main worry here but trekking into the forest may reveal some interesting creatures. There are many snake shows and monkey shows if you want to see something in a controlled environment. Also the Elephant trekking is offered here but I refuse to go to this and support the industry where the elephants are chained down and treated badly. I have not tried the animal parks as well above due to me not supporting any places where animals are kept in captivity.
10. Cost Overview on the Island:
Food is relatively cheap and Lunch & Dinner will cost ฿100-300 a day. Water is quite cheap with big bottles 1.5 litres trading at ฿15. Beer is about ฿30 and cocktails can range from ฿80 to ฿150.
Accommodation price ranges from ฿800 to ฿23000 per night. Average price for a decent 4 star place with breakfast is about ฿5000- ฿8000.
Supermarkets, Art Galleries, Tourist souvenir stores, Electronic shops, and street markets are all over Ban Saladan. Grocery shops and markets available in Old Lanta. Ko Lanta is great for shopping on your holiday.
There is one Hospital in the middle of the Island close to old Lanta. There are dentists in Ban Saldan and at the hospital. ATM’s are easy to find in Ban Saladan.
My dislike for Charter Holidays as noted in point 2 Above: For those who are wondering why I don’t like Charter holidays here is some background.
I have done 2 Charter holidays in my life and the yes it is cheap and if planned properly it can work out to be okay. Charter 1 was to Antalya, Turkey and charter 2 to Hurgada, Egypt: From the crowded plane with first time noisy travelers to the tour bus pickup it feels like animals being moved from one location to another. Then the pack gets separated at different hotels but each hotel already has more charted travelers checked in. So the pools are crowded, and meal times are like a zoo. Most of these packages offer all inclusive deals including alcohol, which means the zoo has drunken animals running around all day.
Luckily on my second charter I chose a different hotel that was less popular which resulted in less crowd at the expense of some comforts of a normal resort. So to sum it up a charted holiday means crowds and not the best experience at a hotel.
