Andaman Coast islands
Koh Lanta
The Andaman island people pick when they've outgrown Phuket: long flat beaches, a car-and-bridge connection that makes it easy with kids, and a season that's the exact opposite of the Gulf — here's how to reach it and which beach to base on.
In short
Koh Lanta at a glance
Koh Lanta is the Andaman island UK travellers graduate to once Phuket feels too busy — a long, flat, family-friendly island of west-facing beaches strung down one coast, reached by road rather than a long sea crossing. There's no airport: you fly into Krabi (KBV), then take a roughly 1.5–2 hour minibus transfer that crosses to the island on a bridge (the old car ferry from Hua Hin pier was replaced by the Lanta Animal Welfare bridge in 2016), so it's far gentler with children and luggage than an open-water boat. The season is the headline fact and the opposite of the Gulf: Lanta is dry, sunny and fully open November to April, and largely shuts down in the May–October monsoon when many beach businesses close. Pick your beach by how lively you want it — busy Long Beach in the north, quiet Kantiang Bay in the south — and Lanta rewards the slow, longer stay it's built for.
Koh Lanta is where Thailand’s Andaman coast slows down. People tend to arrive having done Phuket or Ao Nang and decided they want the same turquoise water with a fraction of the jet-skis and the bar strips, and Lanta delivers exactly that: a long, low island of flat west-facing beaches you reach by road and two bridges rather than a heaving open-water ferry. That bridge connection is the detail first-timers underrate — it makes Lanta one of the easiest islands in the south to do with children and luggage, no longtail-and-wet-feet arrival required.
The mistake almost everyone makes is the calendar. Because the famous Gulf islands are good half the year and the Andaman the other half, people assume Lanta works whenever — it doesn’t. From May to October the monsoon doesn’t just bring rain, it closes the place: passenger ferries stop, dive shops shutter and whole stretches of beachfront go dark until November. Come in the November-to-April window, pick a single beach to settle into rather than chasing the whole 30km coast each day, and Lanta becomes the slow, unhurried island it’s built to be.
The route
A relaxed first week that gets you onto the island the easy way, spreads you across two contrasting beaches and works in the one boat trip everyone comes for. Transfer and ferry times are scheduled high-season services; the passenger ferries don't run in the May–October monsoon, when the minibus is the only route on.
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Day 1
Arrive via Krabi
Fly into Krabi (KBV) and take a shared minibus transfer south to Lanta — about 1.5–2 hours including the two bridge crossings, roughly ฿300–500 (£7–11) a person. In high season you can instead take the passenger ferry from Krabi or Ao Nang (~2 hours, ฿400–600), but it only runs November to April. Settle into a northern beach the first night — Klong Dao or Long Beach — where the most restaurants are.
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Days 2–3
The northern beaches
Base around Long Beach (Phra Ae) or Klong Dao: wide, flat sand that's safe for paddling, sunset bars, and the easiest dinners on the island. Hire a kayak or a bicycle, walk the beach at low tide, and book the Four Islands or Emerald Cave snorkel trip for the next day — they sell from every shopfront for around ฿900–1,400 (£20–32).
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Days 4–5
Boat day and the south
Take the Four Islands speedboat trip — Koh Ngai, Koh Mook's Emerald Cave (a swim through a dark tunnel into a hidden lagoon), Koh Chuek and Koh Kradan — then move down to the quieter south. The road down the west coast is hilly and the beaches grow more remote and scenic past Klong Nin.
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Days 6–7
Kantiang Bay and the national park
Base in Kantiang Bay, the dramatic horseshoe cove in the far south, and drive on to Mu Ko Lanta National Park at the island's tip — a lighthouse headland with a short jungle trail and resident monkeys (entry ~฿200/£4.50). It's a 45–60 minute drive from the northern beaches, so the southern stay saves the daily haul. Ferry or transfer back to Krabi to fly home.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Long Beach (Phra Ae)
££ mid-rangeThe island's longest beach and its most practical first base — several kilometres of flat sand, the widest choice of restaurants and beach bars, and an easy walk to dinner. Lively without being a party strip; the all-round pick for a first visit and for families wanting options nearby.
Best for: First-timers, families, easy dining
Klong Dao (north)
££ mid-rangeThe most sheltered, family-leaning bay right by the main town of Saladan — calm shallow water, sunset views and walking distance to the pier and ferries. The convenient, gentlest base, slightly busier and built-up than the beaches further south.
Best for: Families, calm swimming, ferry access
Kantiang Bay (far south)
£££ premiumA steep-sided horseshoe cove near the national park, quiet and scenic with a handful of resorts and small restaurants. The remote-feeling base for couples and switch-off stays — but it's a 45–60 minute drive from the north, so you commit to staying put.
Best for: Couples, quiet, scenery
Getting around Koh Lanta
Lanta is long and thin — about 30km from the northern bridge to the national park at the southern tip — and there's no public bus and no Grab coverage, so getting around is scooters, hired cars or pre-agreed taxis. Renting a scooter is the cheapest way to roam (~฿200–300/£4.50–7 a day), but the single coast road has fast, hilly stretches and Thailand's motorbike accident rate is a real, GOV.UK-flagged risk, so ride only if you're confident and check your insurance covers it. Songthaews and private taxis run from Saladan in the north, but fares climb with distance — a taxi from the northern beaches down to Kantiang Bay can be ฿600–900 (£14–20), which is why basing in one spot beats island-wide day-tripping. Many hotels arrange transfers and rent bicycles for the flat northern beaches. There's no scheduled boat service between Lanta's own beaches; the ferries serve Krabi, Ao Nang and Phi Phi, not the island's coast.
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