Koh Lanta Travel Guide Introduction
Koh Lanta is a charming island in the Southern region of Thailand. It offers beautiful beaches, a national park, and island hopping boat tours that will keep you well entertained throughout your stay.
Getting There
Although Koh Lanta is an island, getting there is easiest by car. There is a ferry that can take your rental car or taxi across the water to the island. It’s only a short 10 minute ride and costs ฿120 Baht ($3.85 USD) per car.
Rental cars in Thailand start at about ฿800 Baht ($25 USD) per day which includes car insurance. You do have to leave a deposit of either your passport or ฿5000 Baht ($150 USD) which will be returned to you once you return the vehicle undamaged.
What to See
Koh Lanta is known for its laid back feel which makes it easy to relax. Most activities will include connecting to nature through hiking, kayaking, and boat tour.
You can check out our full Koh Lanta travel video below!
Phra Ae Beach/Long Beach
Our favorite beach on Koh Lanta was Long Beach which is named Phra Ae Beach in Thai. It’s the longest beach on the island, and we would recommend staying at one of the resorts on Long Beach as this beach has the most beautiful environment.
Klong Hin Beach
Klong Hin Beach is known for it’s beautiful rocky beach. The waves come in and crash against the rocks creating soothing sea sounds and amazing views. We saw this beach while on the way to Mu Ko Lanta National Park and had to stop. The beach has a sandy beach as well, but the stone flats are the true jaw droppingly beautiful part!
Klong Dao Beach
Klong Dao Beach has nice mountain views and a curved bay giving it a beautiful and unique landscape. This beach is the most popular with local families and is lined with hotels and restaurants.
Our hotel Twin Bay Resort was located on this beach, and we were lucky to have an oceanview room. We enjoyed falling asleep to ocean wave sounds and waking up to ocean views. In addition to the ocean being at the hotel’s back side, in front of the hotel was another bay creating a true twin bay effect. It was nice to be surrounded by water in a stunning environment at a mid-level price.
Mu Ko Lanta National Park
Mu Ko Lanta National Park is a must see on Koh Lanta. This park has its own beautiful rocky and sandy beach. You can climb up the lighthouse hill to see amazing views of both beaches, and it’s definitely worth the hike.
Wildlife also roams freely in the park. We saw a monitor lizard and a monkey came up and sat on the bench next to me.
There’s also a 2 km nature trail to enjoy. This national park is ฿200 Baht ($6.40 USD) per person and ฿30 Baht ($1 USD) to park.
Old Town Lanta
Old Town Lanta was the first settlement on the island. We recommend walking around to explore the old architecture while doing some souvenir shopping or getting a bite to eat at one of the many seaview restaurants.
You can also admire the sea views from the pier. There’s even a shipwrecked boat there allowing you to ponder the times of the first settlers.
Island Hopping Boat Tour
Island hopping boat tours are a great way to see some of the surrounding islands of Koh Lanta. The 4 Island Tour for example includes hotel pick up, a boat tour to 4 fabulous islands, snorkeling, and lunch.
Your hotel can help you book this activity as they know the tours that are available based on the season. Itineraries change often due to rainy season, low season, and due to low occupancy due to covid-19.
Koh Lanta really has a lot to offer and we thoroughly enjoyed our road trip to the island.
Feel free to pin this article to your Pinterest vision board for future travel planning.
If you like island hopping, you may also like our Ao Nang, Krabi 4 Island Tour blog. You can check out our blog post for that here!
