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In March my boyfriend and I traveled to Thailand. We visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but also wanted to spend some time “getting away from it all” on one of the islands. We knew by that point in our vacation we would be ready to relax by a pool for a few days (under the safety of a sun umbrella for the pale, freckled one of us), reading a book, drink in hand in our own tropical paradise… Where was I? Oh yes, how we ended up visiting Koh Lanta!
Knowing Which Island to Pick
There were so many islands to choose from and everybody seemed to have a valid reason why the island they went to was the best. Don’t listen to them! Koh Lanta was the best! OK so I’m not here to say this is the only island you should consider, but for anyone feeling overwhelmed with all the Koh-whatever’s out there, keep reading. I’m going to tell you a bit more about visiting Koh Lanta, and why it ended up being the best island for us.
Not being 22 anymore, we figured Phuket and any of the other more lively islands were probably a bit too busy and chaotic for us. We just wanted somewhere we could relax for a few days and enjoy the views.
Keywords I noticed when reading about Koh Lanta were ‘uncrowded’, ‘unspoiled’ and ‘remote’, with promises to be away from the more busy touristy areas. I don’t know about you but that sounded fantastic to someone who’d just spent time in Bangkok. We had friends who had previously stayed on Lanta a couple of years before and they also backed up these descriptions. We were sold: it sounded like the perfect getaway.
Getting to Koh Lanta
We stayed in the North of the main island Koh Lanta Yai, near the town of Saladan. This is where the passenger ferry from the mainland comes in. Being a remote island (remember you have to work harder to get to the best places) there were only a couple of ways you could get there, and an airport wasn’t one. With the nearest airport in Krabi on the mainland, our options from there seemed to be:
- Shared non-air conditioned transfer then a passenger ferry (technically 2 ferries) – this did not sound fun!
- Private transfer with A/C but still then onto the ferries – better…
- Private transfer with A/C then a 15 minute speedboat ride over to the island
I don’t know about you but it looks like we have a winner! Getting there in 1.5 hours vs. 3 hours? Our speedboat option was completely worth it. An hour from the airport with A/C and a James Bond-style entrance to the island!
Where to stay while visiting Koh Lanta
Thailand wasn’t all speedboats and private transfers though. The majority of our trip was spent in a less extravagant manner. For that reason we thought we deserved to really enjoy these few days of island life. We booked our 4 nights at Crown Lanta Resort. One of the big selling features for us was that there were rooms with pool access. We could open our patio door and jump into the pool from there.
Besides the bonus pool access rooms, there was also a main pool area with swim up bar. This was next to the main restaurant which was really nice but not too cheap. Especially if you blew part of your budget on a speedboat transfer! Local restaurants off resort were just as nice and way cheaper so we did that for the rest of the stay.
Breakfast was included in our rate and it was a feast! Too much to choose from including made to order eggs/omelettes, hot breakfast items, cereals, juices, fruit and pastries. Plus, if you were really lucky you’d see one of the island’s resident monkeys. Unfortunately it’s usually as they’re making a break for it with your breakfast. The resort Reggae bar down on the beach was also a great place to treat yourself to a cocktail while watching the sunset.
*Crown Lanta Resort is quite spread out. Our room was near the main check in area but we had to use the resort shuttle to get to breakfast or to the main restaurant/pool area. You can walk but it’s a rather hilly resort.
Getting Around Koh Lanta in Style
Another great thing about the hotel was the option to rent a motorbike at a cheaper price than you would pay for a cocktail in the bar. I think we paid 300 Baht for a 24 hour rental (helmets provided) but you can rent them all over the island. Only a couple of main roads make up the island so not much chance of getting lost either. Having the bike meant we could take ourselves to some of the areas further south on the island.
There were some amazing viewpoints, and we stopped off at Koh Lanta Old Town if for no reason other than to get into some shade. Lanta Old Town was charming, with shops selling local products. There were leather goods, Thai cooking items and clothing as well as your mass-produced Thai souvenirs. There were a number of restaurants overlooking the water, many with Instagram-worthy shots. A great way to spend a couple of hours.
Back in Saladan there were a lot of shops and art galleries. This was also where the local grocery stores were and most of the restaurants we would go to. Saladan was a 5 minute Tuk-tuk ride from our resort costing 100 Baht each way. You have to embrace the fact you’re in Asia to ride these island Tuk-tuks though. It’s essentially a motorbike with a metal cage of seats bolted over the top. Goooo travel insurance!
One of the days we were visiting Koh Lanta we decided to try our hand at snorkeling. Read about our snorkeling adventure here.
Leaving paradise
One of our days we went scuba diving which I will talk about in my next post. But Koh Lanta was the perfect relaxing getaway especially having been in Bangkok. This is the reason people come back from vacation and say “I want to move to a tropical island”. The people were friendly, the views were spectacular, and we were missing it before we even got back to land on one last lavish speedboat ride.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog post leave a comment or share using the social media links below. Have you spent time visiting Koh Lanta? Or are there any other islands in Thailand you would recommend?
I love this! The title is so creative! I have been eyeing Thailand for a while myself and I am so overwhelmed by the island options they have! Great post! It seems like y’all had an amazing time (:
Thanks Aaren, appreciate the feedback. Honestly you probably can’t go wrong with many of the islands. Just depends on what you’re looking for. I’d recommend Thailand though, we’re already planning the next trip.
I feel you, so many islands to choose from! I ended up on Koh Lanta and some others my first time in Thailand, but would like to try some others next time… Maybe Koh Chang. 🙂
Thanks for the comment. Which other islands did you try? Planning my next trip and will maybe see a different island this time
We went from Koh Lanta to Koh Kradan. From there to Koh Bulone and ended in Koh Lipe. Koh Kradan och Koh Bulone are really small with not much restaurants at all, but it’s very calm and beautiful. I really liked Koh Lipe, it’s small too, but has beautiful beaches and a bit more tourists. There are several restaurants and more things to do.