Koh Lanta is a small Thai island, located in the Andaman Sea, and I don’t hear many people talk about it. During my travels in Thailand, I met some people who didn’t know Koh Lanta even exists. Before visiting Koh Lanta, I was highly impressed by the stunning pictures of sunsets and clean beaches on social media. I can honestly tell you, both didn’t disappoint. Once there, I quickly realized that Koh Lanta has a very different kind of charm.
I read before coming, that it might be a bit dull. And to be honest, it is peaceful, yes, but definitely not boring. The island has plenty of beautiful long beaches, cozy beach bars where you can chill for hours, great sunset dinner options, fantastic restaurants with local dishes, busy street markets, and enough things to do when you feel like exploring. Also, if you feel like you want to take things a bit slower, there are many places to relax and recharge.
The main difference between Koh Lanta and the more popular places like Krabi or Phuket is that everything feels calmer here. Tourism is present, but Koh Lanta attracts a different kind of crowd. You see more couples, families and solo travelers who are looking for a place to rewind.
For me, Koh Lanta was the perfect island to slow down without feeling stuck. We rented a scooter, explored many of the stunning beaches, visited Lanta Old Town, found some amazing breakfast spots, and we spent many evenings watching the sun go down by the sea with a fresh coconut. It is not the island I would recommend if you are a party animal or looking for a busy nightlife scene, but if you love a quiet island vibe, soft sandy beaches, great food, and a more relaxed, but beautiful side of Thailand, Koh Lanta is absolutely a must to add to your Thailand itinerary.
In my ultimate Koh Lanta guide you’ll find all the information about what to do in Koh Lanta, where to find the best restaurants in Koh Lanta and some general info about the island.
Koh Lanta Travel Guide: Short & Sweet Answers
When is the best time to visit Koh Lanta?
Based on my own experiences (I’ve been to Koh Lanta twice), the best time to visit is between November and April. When we went at the end of the year (November), we had some rainy days, but overall, it was sunny and warm. During our second visit in April, it was very hot and sunny every day.
How do you get to Koh Lanta?
Fly into Krabi and pre-book a combined minivan/speedboat transfer via 12go.asia or take a ferry or speedboat from Phuket or Koh Phi Phi. Expect to be on the road (or on the water) for about 1-3 hours.
Which beach or area should I stay in?
Klong Dao is the most popular area to stay for families, while an accommodation next to Long Beach has the perfect, social sunset vibe.
Should I rent a scooter or a car?
Rent a scooter if you feel confident enough, otherwise renting a car could be an option. It’s also possible to book a taxi or hop on a tuktuk if you wish. Nevertheless, having wheels is a must to get around Koh Lanta.
How long should I spend in Koh Lanta?
I would say spend 3 to 4 days here to perfectly balance beach relaxation with epic excursions.
What is the vibe compared to Phuket or Ao Nang?
It’s incredibly laid-back and authentic: think low-key beach fire shows on floor cushions rather than wild neon nightclubs. However, there are plenty of small bars around to grab a drink.
Do I need cash or can I use a card?
Cash is absolutely ‘King’ in Thailand, but especially in the smaller places and on islands like Koh Lanta. Local beach bars and night markets rarely accept cards, so always take some Thai Baht with you.
How to Get to Koh Lanta
Getting to Koh Lanta was much easier than I expected. We traveled from Krabi by minivan, and the whole journey took us around 2.5 hours from door to door. There were no long stops in between, just one smooth ride from Ao Nang to the island.
Our transfer included hotel pickup in Ao Nang, a short ferry crossing, and drop-off at our stay in Koh Lanta. It was honestly one of those travel days where you prepare yourself for chaos and delays, but everything felt surprisingly simple.
The minivan ride itself was easy. We left the busier streets of Ao Nang behind, passed quieter roads and little local villages, and eventually reached the ferry point where the island started to feel close. The ferry ride was short, but it gave me that little “okay, now we’re really going to an island” vibe before continuing to our hotel.
Koh Lanta is a small but long island, so the area you choose to stay in really matters. The north of the island, closer to Saladan Pier and Khlong Dao, feels busier and more developed. This is where you’ll find more restaurants, small shops, Western food options, local places, and the island’s most popular street market for Thai dishes, souvenirs, and an easy evening walk.
The area around Long Beach feels so much more relaxed and beach-focused, while still being close enough to the lively part of the island. This is where Koh Lanta starts to feel like the version you probably imagined before arriving: long sandy beaches, stunning sunsets, cozy beach bars with tables and comfortable bean bags in the sand, and easy places to sit down for dinner after a day of exploring.
Further down south, around Klong Nin, Nui Beach, Kantiang Bay, and Bamboo Bay, the island becomes quieter and greener. The roads feel calmer, the jungle comes closer, and you start noticing more small local restaurants, sleepy beach spots, and monkeys watching from the side of the road. It feels less polished than the north, but that is also what makes this part of Koh Lanta more special in my opinion.
Where to Stay in Koh Lanta
What is the best area to stay in Koh Lanta?
For most travelers, I would recommend staying around Long Beach. In my opinion, it has one of the best balances on the island. The beach is wide and soft, the sea is easy to swim in, and you have plenty of restaurants and beach bars close by without the area feeling too busy.
What I liked most is that Long Beach still feels peaceful, but not isolated. You can wake up, walk straight to the sand, hear the waves before the island fully comes alive, and spend the day moving between the water, your towel, and a small beach restaurant without having a thing on your mind.
It is also a convenient base if you want to explore more of Koh Lanta. Long Beach is quite central, so you can easily rent a scooter and visit the busier northern part of the island or drive further south to quieter beaches like Kantiang Bay and Bamboo Bay. For me, it had exactly the kind of balance I look for on an island: calm enough to relax, but with enough things to do around to make everything easy.
We stayed at Lanta Sand Resort & Spa, located on Long Beach and it was the perfect center of our time on Koh Lanta. The hotel impressed us so much by all their facilities and amazing staff, that our second time we visited the island, we booked it again straight away. If you’re looking for an affordable stay at Long Beach, make sure to consider this hotel for your Koh Lanta trip, we can’t recommend it enough.
What to Do in Koh Lanta
Rent a Scooter and Explore the Island
Renting a scooter is one of the best ways to experience Koh Lanta. You can drive from the busier northern part to the quieter beaches in the south, stop at some beautiful viewpoints along the road, pull over for a coconut, or take a random turn when something looks interesting.
The roads were generally wide and easy to drive on when I visited, although some parts were under construction. But overall, it felt like a very relaxed island to explore by scooter.
A scooter gives you the freedom to visit different beaches, explore the more ‘hidden’ sunset spots, discover the south of the island, and take your time without depending on taxis. For me, exploring an island by scooter gives you the possibility to find the real hidden gems and go on a random adventure.
Take a Day for Beach Hopping
You can start your day around Long Beach, where you can grab a coffee at one of the numerous beach cafes. After finishing your coffee, you start slowly driving further south, make a stop at one of the lesser-known bays, visit a small restaurant for lunch, and climb some viewpoints along the way. Some beaches feel open and easy, while others feel more hidden and a bit quiet, with jungle behind you and barely anyone around.
Visit Lanta Old Town
Lanta Old Town has a completely different feeling from the beach side of the island. Instead of long sandy beaches and sunset bars, you will find old wooden houses, quiet streets, small shops, a Chinese temple, and restaurants built on stilts over the water.
This used to be the main port and commercial center of Koh Lanta, and you can still feel that history when you walk around. It is not a big place, but that is part of its charm. You do not need a full day here. I only spent a couple of hours here, which was more than enough to: stroll around the little shops, go sit by the water and have a drink, and enjoy a diverse side of the island.
What I liked most is that Lanta Old Town does not feel overly polished or too touristy. It feels more local and lived-in, like a place where you are seeing another layer of Koh Lanta beyond the beaches.
Experience the 4-Island Snorkeling Tour
Unfortunately, I did not get to experience the 4-Island Snorkeling Tour myself, but it is one of the most popular day trips from Koh Lanta and something I would definitely consider on a future visit.
The tour usually takes you to several islands around Koh Lanta, including Ko Chueak, Ko Ngai, Koh Kradan and the famous Emerald Cave, also known as Morakot Cave. From what I have seen and heard, it sounds like a perfect day out on the water, with multiple snorkeling stops, limestone cliffs, and most importantly for all the food lovers, lunch is included.
Best Restaurants in Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta has a nice variety of Thai restaurants, beachside cafés, smoothie bowl spots, bakeries, and casual western food. I mostly ate at places around Long Beach and Khlong Dao, because the list of places in this area is already long enough.
For now, I’ll just focus on a handful of my favorite spots and tell you why you should check them out if you’re planning on visiting Koh Lanta!
The BACKYARD
This was one of those places I kept wanting to go back to. It has a relaxed open-air jungle garden feeling, tucked on the side of the road, with enough space that it never felt crowded when I visited. It’s an amazing spot to work online for a couple of hours and enjoy the fresh air and the smell of freshly made dishes.
I would recommend this spot for breakfast or lunch, depending on what you’re craving at that time of the day. If you want something fresh and sweet, you must try their smoothie bowls. The Mango Tango was my favorite for sure. Thai mango has this deep golden color and sweet flavor: it makes mango back home taste a little sad after.
They also have some sweet options like honey pancakes with fruit, which were not overly covered in sauces or sugar. For lunch, I really liked their chicken fried rice. One of my favorite local dishes, and full of flavor, with a comforting wok-fried taste you would want from a proper Thai lunch.
Prices were affordable, like around €3-€7 / $4-$8 per meal per person, which felt fair for the portion sizes and the quality of the food.
Living Room Bakery
Living Room Bakery is a great brunch spot and was about a 5-minute drive from our hotel. It feels cozy, calm, and laptop-friendly, with big tables, comfortable chairs, and strong Wi-Fi if you want to sit down and get some work done.
It had a lovely café atmosphere, with enough movement around us to feel cosy, but enough calmness to actually open a laptop and focus.
The highlight for me was the eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce. The sauce was rich and creamy, the eggs were perfectly soft, and it felt like the kind of lunch you’ll think about years later.
They also serve fresh pastries which are made in their own bakery next door. Lorenzo especially loved the cinnamon rolls, which were soft, sweet, and super tasty. If you’re craving a good coffee, or looking for a relaxed lunch & work spot, this is one of the places I highly recommend in Koh Lanta.
Secret Garden
Secret Garden surprised me, but in a positive way. It was casual, affordable, and the portions were quite big, I really enjoyed the food. Sometimes the simple places end up being the ones you remember the most, and this was one of those spots for me.
My favorite dish here was the chicken pad Thai. It came out quickly, filled me up, and had plenty of flavor, which was honestly perfect after being out all day.
I would recommend Secret Garden for a casual dinner when you want something easy, tasty, and affordable without making a big plan.
The Best Beaches in Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta is a long, stretched-out island, which means the beaches all have their own little personality. Some feel lively and easy, while others feel quiet and tucked away at the end of a scooter ride. I’d love to share some of my personal favorites:
Long Beach
Long Beach was easily my favorite beach on Koh Lanta. It has that perfect balance between peaceful and lively, without feeling too busy. The sand is soft enough to sink into, the beach is wide and spacious, and when the sun hits the water during the day, the sea sparkles and turns into this bright mix of turquoise and deep blue.
It was also one of my favorite places to swim. There were great waves to jump into and splash around, but the current never felt too strong or scary. It is the kind of beach where you tell yourself you are only going to lie down for ten minutes, and then suddenly the sun has moved, your towel is super hot, and you almost forgot to reapply sunscreen.
Another thing I loved about Long Beach is how easy everything feels if your accommodation is located close to the beach. You can spend the whole afternoon in the water, then walk straight into a beach bar or restaurant for a cold fresh coconut or sunset dinner. It has that relaxed island feeling without being too remote.
Khlong Dao Beach
Khlong Dao Beach is in the northern part of Koh Lanta, which makes it one of the easiest beaches to visit if you are staying nearby or want to combine it with food and shops. It is also very close to Lanta Walking Street, the main street food market on the island.
One of my favorite memories here was grabbing a takeaway pizza and eating it on the beach while the sky slowly turned into different orange and pink colors. It sounds simple, but honestly, those are often the moments that stick with you the most.
Khlong Dao is not the most hidden beach on the island, but that is exactly what makes it nice. It is perfect for one of those evenings where you just want to show up, watch the sky change, and find dinner nearby afterwards.
Kantiang Bay and Bamboo Bay
As you continue south, Koh Lanta begins to feel a little wilder and much less polished. The roads get quieter, the jungle feels closer, and the beaches become more remote. Two stops that really stood out to me in the south were Kantiang Bay and Bamboo Bay.
Kantiang Bay has a peaceful, tucked-away feeling, with soft sand, clear water, and a more authentic atmosphere than some of the busier beaches up north. Bamboo Bay feels even more remote. What I mostly liked about Bamboo Bay was that it’s one of those places where you mostly hear the sea, the breeze moving through the trees, and very little else.
If you are staying in another part of Koh Lanta, this is exactly the kind of trip that is better with a scooter, because you can stop whenever something interesting catches your eye. The drive to the south of the island is part of the experience. You’ll pass small local spots, jungle views, quiet roads, and little corners of the island that you would completely miss if you only stayed near your hotel.
One thing to know before visiting Bamboo Bay is that there are wild monkeys across the road from the beach. They are curious, fast, and very interested in anything that looks like food or shiny things like sunglasses. Keep your bags, snacks, and valuables close to you, and do not leave anything behind by your scooter. The monkeys may look cute, but they definitely do not negotiate. 😉
Frequently Asked Questions About Koh Lanta
What is the best way to get to Koh Lanta from Krabi Airport?
Honestly, unless you want to navigate local buses and multiple ferry ticket booths on your own, booking a combined minivan and speedboat transfer ahead of time is a lifesaver. I used 12go.asia and they picked us up right at our hotel and dropped us off at our new stay in Koh Lanta. I would recommend booking in advance, because it saved me so much stress.
Should I rent a scooter or a car in Koh Lanta?
The island is bigger than it looks, so you’ll definitely need wheels. If you’re comfortable on a scooter, it’s affordable and fun to rent one, just make sure you have an international drivers license and a solid travel insurance because unfortunately, accidents are common in Thailand. If you are not confident on a bike or if you are traveling with family, I highly recommend renting a car at Krabi Airport and driving over instead.
Which beach should I stay close to in Koh Lanta?
It really depends on your vibe! If you want a beach with gentle, shallow water, especially for families, Khlong Dao Beach is probably the best fit. If you want gorgeous sunsets and a social (but not overwhelming) atmosphere, Long Beach is the spot. I stayed at Lanta Sand Resort & Spa right on Long Beach. Waking up so close to the ocean every day was unforgettable.
What are the best day trips from Koh Lanta?
I would absolutely save a day for either the 4 Islands Tour or Koh Rok. The snorkeling around Koh Rok should be beautiful, with that clear blue water that makes you understand why people talk about it so much. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make it as our trip got cancelled due to bad weather.
Is Koh Lanta a party island?
No, Koh Lanta is not the island if you’re looking for wild parties where you can go out until sunrise, and in my opinion, that is part of its charm. You will still find nice beach bars, and a few other places where you can have a fun evening, but the nightlife here is much more relaxed compared to different places like Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, or Koh Phangan.
Can I visit Koh Lanta during the rainy season?
You can, but a lot of the island shuts down between May and October, and ferries run much less frequently. If you do plan to go during the off-season, make sure to book accommodations with free cancellation, just in case your travel plans shift due to changing weather conditions.
Final Thoughts about Koh Lanta
If you want my honest opinion, Koh Lanta is a must to add to your Thailand itinerary, especially if you are looking for a quieter and more relaxed side of the country. I personally loved that the island still felt lively enough to have good restaurants, cafés, beach bars, and things to do. Compared to other destinations in Thailand, like Phuket or Ao Nang, Koh Lanta feels more local, and easier to enjoy at your own pace. Some of my favorite moments were honestly just driving a scooter down quiet roads, beach hopping in the south, trying numerous of the cool cafes, eating dinner during sunset. I think Koh Lanta is especially perfect for couples, digital nomads, and travelers who like going to the beach, and a laid-back island vibe without the intense crowds. If Phuket or Ao Nang felt too touristy for you, Koh Lanta might be exactly the kind of island experience you should go for!
