Koh Lanta

The character of the place

Lanta is a large, long island off Krabi province, and it has developed at a fraction of the pace of Phuket or Samui. There are no high-rise resorts, the road down the west coast is a slow two-lane strip, and the beaches are wide and relatively empty.

It also faces west, which means sunsets over the sea rather than over the land — a detail that sounds trivial and is not, if you are choosing between islands.

The population is partly Muslim and partly Thai-Chinese in the old town, and it is a working island rather than a resort in the sense Phuket is. That is the appeal.

The beaches, north to south

The west coast is one string of beaches along one road, and the further south you go, the quieter it gets.

• Klong Dao — closest to the ferry pier and the main village, the most developed, good for families with shallow water.
• Long Beach (Phra Ae) — the long central stretch, with the widest choice of restaurants and bars.
• Klong Khong and Klong Nin — mid-island, quieter, with a good spread of mid-range places.
• Kantiang Bay — in the south, the prettiest bay on the island, with a village feel.
• The far south, around the national park — the quietest, and where the accommodation thins out to almost nothing.

The national park and the south

Mu Ko Lanta National Park covers the southern tip of the island and the islands beyond it, with a lighthouse, a short nature trail, cliffs, beaches and a colony of monkeys that are considerably bolder than they should be.

The park is also a turtle nesting area. The old town at the north-east of the island — Lanta Old Town — is a small settlement of stilt houses over the water, with a Chinese and sea-gypsy heritage and a completely different atmosphere from the beaches.

Day trips run south to the Emerald Cave at Koh Muk, where you swim through a dark tunnel into a hidden beach — genuinely memorable, and entirely dependent on the tide.

When to go

Lanta sits on the Andaman coast, so it runs on the same clock as Phuket and Krabi: November to April is the dry season and the best weather, May to October is the monsoon.

The monsoon matters more here than on Phuket. Lanta is further from the mainland, some boat services stop entirely, and the island becomes very quiet — many businesses close for part of it.

If you want Lanta at its best, come between December and March.

Getting there

There is no airport on Lanta, which is a large part of why it has stayed quiet. Everyone arrives by road and car ferry.

• From Krabi (about two hours including the car ferry) — the usual route, from the airport or the town.
• From Trang, to the south, with its own airport and a shorter crossing to the island.
• From Phuket — a longer drive, around four hours, usually with a transfer in Krabi.
• In high season, ferries and speedboats run directly from Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi and Trang. In low season many of these stop.