Explore Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
Although KO LANTA YAI can’t quite compete with Phi Phi’s stupendous scenery, the thickly forested 25km-long island has the longest beaches in the Krabi area – and plenty of them. There’s decent snorkelling and diving nearby, plus caves to explore, kayaking and other watersports, so many tourists base themselves here for their entire holiday fortnight. The island is especially popular with families, in part because of the local laws that have so far prevented jet-skis, beachfront parasols and girlie bars from turning it into another Phuket, though resort facilities are expanding fast. Lanta is also rapidly being colonized by Scandinavian expats, with villa homes and associated businesses popping up all over the place, at a pace that not all islanders are happy about. The majority of Ko Lanta Yai’s ten thousand indigenous residents are mixed-blood descendants of Muslim Chinese–Malay or animist chao ley (“sea gypsy”) peoples, most of whom supported themselves by fishing and cultivating the land before the tourist boom brought new jobs, and challenges.
One of those challenges is that the tourist season is quite short, with the weather and seas at their calmest and safest from November to April; the main ferries don’t run outside that period, and some hotels close, though most do stay open and offer huge discounts. The short money-making window, however, means that accommodation prices on Ko Lanta fluctuate more wildly than many other south Thailand destinations.
The local chao ley name for Ko Lanta Yai is Pulao Satak, “Island of Long Beaches”, an apt description of the string of beaches along the west coast, each separated by rocky points and strung out at quite wide intervals. Broadly speaking, the busiest and most mainstream beaches are in the north, within easy reach of the port at Ban Sala Dan: Hat Khlong Dao is the family beach and Ao Phra-Ae the longer and more beautiful. The middle section has variable sands but some interesting, artsy places to stay, at Hat Khlong Khong, Hat Khlong Nin and Hat Khlong Nam Jud. Southerly Ao Kantiang is reliable for swimming year-round and currently marks the end of the made road; beyond here Ao Khlong Jaak and Ao Mai Phai are a little harder to get to and so feel more remote. Lanta Yai’s mangrove-fringed east coast has no real tourist development but is both good for kayaking and culturally interesting because of the traditional homes in Lanta Old Town. North across the narrow channel from the port at Ban Sala Dan, Lanta Yai’s sister island of Ko Lanta Noi has Ko Lanta’s administrative offices and several small villages but no tourist accommodation. The rest of the Ko Lanta archipelago, which comprises over fifty little islands, is mostly uninhabited.
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Lanta festivals
Lanta festivals
Every March, Ko Lanta Yai celebrates its rich ethnic heritage at the Laanta Lanta Festival (laanta meaning roughly “eye-dazzling”), which is held over five days in Lanta Old Town and features both traditional and modern music and entertainments, countless specialist foodstalls and crafts for sale. Traditional chao ley rituals are celebrated on Ko Lanta twice a year, on the full moons of the sixth and eleventh lunar months – usually June and Oct/Nov (see Koh Lanta Community Museum). Meanwhile, the Chinese shrine in Lanta Old Town is the focus of the island’s version of the Vegetarian Festival, which involves processions, cultural performances and walking on hot coals.
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Yoga and cooking classes on Lanta
Yoga and cooking classes on Lanta
Yoga
During high season there are yoga classes at Cha Ba bungalows on Khlong Dao, but the most famous teacher is at Relax Bay on Ao Phra-Ae.
Thai cooking classes
Five-hour cooking classes are offered by Time for Lime, at the south end of Hat Khlong Dao.
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Snorkelling trips and watersports on Lanta
Snorkelling trips and watersports on Lanta
Snorkelling trips
The best and most popular snorkelling is at the islands of Ko Rok Nai and Ko Rok Nok, 47km south of Ko Lanta; these forested twins are graced with stunning white-sand beaches and accessible waterfalls and separated by a narrow channel full of fabulous shallow reefs. Also hugely popular is the “four island” snorkelling trip that takes in the much nearer islands off Trang – the enclosed emerald lagoon on Ko Mook, plus nearby Ko Hai (Ko Ngai), Ko Ma and Ko Kradan – but these sites can get very crowded. Another option is the day-trip to Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh and Bamboo Island. The trips cost around B1500 in a speedboat or B900 in a big boat, including lunch, snorkelling equipment and national park entry fee. For a smaller, more personal experience, contact Sun Island Tours or Freedom Adventures.
Diving
The reefs around Ko Lanta are quieter and in some cases more pristine than those round Phi Phi and Phuket, and excellent for seeing whale sharks. The diving season runs from November to April, though a few dive shops continue to run successful trips from May to August. All dive boats depart from Ban Sala Dan, and nearly all dive courses are taught either in Sala Dan or on Hat Khlong Dao, though there are dive shops on every beach.
Some of Lanta’s best dive sites are located between Ko Lanta and Ko Phi Phi, including the soft coral at Ko Bidah, where you get lots of leopard sharks, barracuda and tuna. West and south of Lanta, the Ko Ha island group offers four different dives on each of its five islands, including steep drop-offs and an “underwater cathedral” and other caves; visibility is often very good. Much further south, about 56km from Ko Lanta, are Hin Daeng and Hin Muang.
The nearest recompression chambers are located on Phuket; check to see that your dive operator is insured to use one of them (see Diving and snorkelling).
Kayaking
There are several rewarding kayaking destinations, rich in mangroves and caves, around Ko Lanta Yai’s east coast and around Ko Lanta Noi and its eastern islands, including Ko Talabeng and Ko Bubu; a few companies also offer kayak-snorkel trips to the four islands described above.
