Koh Lanta, Thailand

Latest information on this wonderful Thai island.

Friday, 9 March 2012

Leopard Sharks at Hin Bida

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Pour les Francais!

Banana Pancakes with Chocolate Syrup - Yummy!

Drunken Sailors, Kantiang Bay - Be warned it is addictive!

Food & Cocktail Anyone?

Then the Fat Monkey it is! (Main Road Klong Dao Beach)

Romantic Night Planned?

Dinner at Red Snapper (Centre of Phrae Ae Village just of the main road - beachside)

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2015 Andaman Freediving Competition

A lot of fun with our participants!

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Don't leave it behind

Every year, millions of tons of rubbish end up in the sea. Take your rubbish home, or even better take more rubbish off the beach than you came with!

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Take a breath in Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta National Park

Map of Lanta

Something for Everyone

Snorkelling, Fun Diving, SCUBA Courses, Freediving & Technical Diving

Best Diving spot in Thailand!

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South Online run Speedboat, Minibus and Private Car services direct to/from the island to Krabi, Phuket and many of the smaller islands around Koh Lanta (Contact me for more information)

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Followers

No Farangs were hurt in the making of this film!

please drive carefully on holiday otherwise you may end up as roadkill from WaterWorks / Christopher East on Vimeo.

Diving on Koh Lanta

Lanta has some of the best diving in Thailand, based in the Andaman Sea, the waters are clear and warm and full of interesting things to see:

Koh Bida and the Phi Phi Islands
This area has dive sites that are absolutely teeming with aquatic life. Good chance of seeing Turtles and Leopard Sharks here. Journey time 2 hours and maximum depth 30m.

Koh Haa
Meaning 5 islands (but there are actually 6!) this place is ideal for all. A beautiful lagoon offers safe waters for snorkellers and beginners, whilst the caves and swimthroughs offer something special for the more experienced. Koh Haa is just 2 hours from Lanta. Max depth 40m.

Hin Daeng & Hin Muang
The most famous of our dive sites, these sites are home, at some periods of the year, to Whalesharks and Manta Rays. An experienced diver only dive site, which is quite a journey (3-4 hour journey) but offers amazing deep diving. Maximum depth 50m.

King Cruiser
Somehow this car ferry managed to crash into one of the most well known reed beds, nobody died but it did leave us with a great wreck dive as well as two fantastic reef dives nearby (Anenome Reef & Shark Point). Usually a 3 dive day with a maximum depth of 30m.

Choosing a dive school
Lanta's dive schools in the main offer good quality, small courses. When picking a school, see if you can speak to an instructor (so you can see if you will gel) ask them how the course is organised and check the group size. In Lanta it is rare for any dive centre to offer a class in excess of 4 people.

Freediving
Freediving is diving using only the breath in your lungs. This growing sport is now available throughout the high season and Lanta also has a yearly competition in February.

Andaman Freediving Competition 2011

Getting to Lanta

Koh Lanta is easily accessible all year round, Koh Lanta is very close to the mainland and can be accessed by passenger or car ferry.

Airports
The closest airport is Krabi Airport but we are also close to Phuket and Trang Airports. Phuket is an international airport but Krabi (which will soon be a full international airport) often is cheaper to get to and receives flights from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Private Transfer and Minibus
Once you arrive you can organise a private transfer or Public Minibus from Krabi Airport. BEWARE, they like to take you into Krabi, but INSIST you catch the minibus direct to Koh Lanta (else you will waste a couple of hours going in the wrong direction). If in doubt contact me and we can organise if for you! The journey takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours utilising 2 car ferries (which run from about 7am to 10pm throughout the day) to cross firstly to Lanta Noi and then to Lanta Yai (the main island).

From Phuket and Trang you can also organise a private transfer or Public minibus. Phuket is about a 4 hour journey and Trang is about 2-2 1/2 hours.

Don't book your transfers back to the airport but organise them from the island, usually it is cheaper and the Public minibus offers a great service direct from the island

Passenger Ferries
These now seem to be running throughout the year, except when the weather is bad. Ferries can be picked up from Krabi (500 Baht), Phuket (800 Baht) and Phi Phi(400 Baht). Krabi is a once a day service and takes about 3hours, Phuket is twice a day and takes about 4 hours. With the Phuket ferry you first go to Phi Phi and then change immediately onto the Koh Lanta ferry. Phi Phi is about half way between Phuket and Lanta.

One of our Friendly Leopard Sharks

Want to stay on Lanta in Style?

This amazing Seaview Villa is now available to rent,

Saladan

This is the main town of Lanta (when I say main town, please think town with only about 4-5 roads in it!) and is the starting point for most visits to Lanta. All the ferries (Car and Passenger) dock here and there are plenty of restaurants and shops.

Lanta Seafood is probably the most famous restaurant in Koh Lanta. Very popular with the local Thai population, and very busy at night, good Thai food (including BBQ) and great prices.

Catfish is a lovely cafe overlooking the channel between the 2 islands, offering good quality fresh food and also has the largest second hand bookshop at the front.

Long Beach (Prae Ae)

This long (3km) beach is home to a large number of small resorts and is probably the busiest of all the beaches. Home to some busy night time bars, this is popular with people looking for more nightlife.

Hungry? then the only place to eat is The Tavern, situated on the main road, Daniel the owner, really knows how to fill you up with great Western food (we recommend the Breakfast, Sunday Lunch and the sizzling hot plates.

Just up from the Tavern is Expat bar, May's Thai food is traditional, spicy and yummy, whilst her English husband cooks a mean curry and scrumptious pies.

Saturday night is a trip to Corner bar, right at the southern most tip of the beach, this small bar is where many of the local Farang (western) staff head out to party.

Kapa Klum is a pretty, Thai style beach bar, offering great parties, a cool vibe and amazing views.

Long Beach Sun Set

Klong Kong

This is an excellent destination if you want cheap but good quality accomodation, the beach is very rocky in the shallows, but is pretty and most decent sized resorts have a pool.

Ting Tong's bar is probably the most famous bar on this beach, expect a very chilled atmosphere with often the house band playing some cool tunes.

Kantiang Bay

Based in the south of the island, this beautiful bay has an exclusive feel with only a few resorts (including Pimalai Resort) and some great restaurants. In this area, the community is more Muslim based so be aware that some resorts will not serve alcohol, but usually have a bar associated with them that does.

'Same Same but different' Restaurant offers high quality thai food at the end of Kantiang Bay and 'Why Not' Bar is a great place to enjoy a beer as the sun goes down.

Klong Dao

This is the first of the main beaches (there is a beach in Saladan itself), and has many of the larger hotels are located here. A long white sandy beach offers plenty of bars and restaurants on both the beach and the main road.

Ling Uan (Fat Monkey) has a wide selection of Thai and Western food as well as serving a wide range of cocktails.

Corner Bar is a sweet cafe serving simple Thai and Western food and good strong coffee.

Koala Bar (at Ocean View Resort) is situated on the beach and serves food and drink during the day and at night. Make sure you say hi to Gluay (Banana) the crazy, beautiful and funny Thai lady behind the bar!

Need your hair done? Try 'Fix the Girl' owned by a lovely Thai lady (Wow - yes that really is her name).

Klong Nin

In the middle of the island, this small town has a very long, straight beach. An area that is growing each year, Klong Nin offers some good shopping with quite a few restaurants and bars, on the beach and in town.

Relax in Klong Nin

Old Town

Much more Thai than the other touristy areas of Lanta, Old Town used to be the original town, but is now home to many of the Thai Fishermen of Lanta. Much more traditonal in style, with absolutely stunning views across the sea to other islands, Old Town is a popular motorbike trip.

Each year, Lanta Lanta Festival is held in March in Old Town and it changes from a quiet sleepy town, to a huge party event for 3 days.

Be sure to visit Beautiful Restaurant, if you want to enjoy great Thai food, provided by a lovely Thai family whilst overlooking the mangroves and tropical islands of the South.

Mango House offers a great vibe with great Western and Thai food.

Sussanah, offers Longtail trips to the southern islands of Koh Lanta Marine Park. Be sure to go to Emerald Cave, a true 'Thai Delight.'

Hammock House is THE destination if you want to take home a beautiful hammock, my favourite is the sitting hammocks!

Other Places of Interest

Blue Planet Divers
Diving Koh Lanta
Freediving Thailand
Visit Koh Lanta

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