Escape / Thailand
Koh Lanta for People Who Do Not Like Resorts
Koh Lanta · 7 min read
Koh Lanta is thirty kilometres long, mostly one road, and has resisted the full theme park treatment that reshaped its neighbours. Beaches are wide and flat, sunsets are reliably absurd, and the busiest thing on the island is a scooter with a family of four on it.
It suits travellers who want the Andaman Sea without the noise.
Picking a beach
Long Beach is the middle ground: walkable, plenty of places to eat, still calm by Thai island standards. Klong Nin is smaller and prettier. Head south past Kantiang Bay and things get properly quiet, with a few good hotels tucked into the hillside.
The far south ends at Mu Ko Lanta National Park, where you can walk to a lighthouse through forest full of monkeys and swim off the rocks below.
Old Town and the east coast
Lanta Old Town on the east side is a single street of century old wooden shophouses built over the water, with seafood restaurants on stilts and almost no tourism infrastructure beyond that.
It is a good place to spend an afternoon and a better place to eat dinner than most of the beach strip.
Water and weather
November to April is dry season with calm, clear water. Diving and snorkelling around Koh Haa and Koh Rok is excellent and the day boats are well organised.
May to October brings monsoon swell, cheaper rooms and a lot of closures in the south. Some travellers love the emptiness, but the sea is not for casual swimming.
Why it works as an escape
It is a beach holiday that still involves an actual place, with a local economy and a life outside the resort gate.
Come for two weeks. Everyone who comes for one wishes they had.
