Backpacking Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta is the antidote to Phi Phi, and after two nights of fire shows that is usually exactly what you want. Thirty kilometres of island, one main road, and nine beaches lined up along the west coast that get emptier the further south you ride.
There is no scene here to keep up with. You rent a scooter, you find a beach, you end up at a bar built out of driftwood watching the sun go into the sea, and you do that again the next day. The island has a Muslim majority and a proper local life going on behind the beach road, which gives it a different texture to the party islands.
It is also the one people extend on. Not because there is loads to do, but because there is not.
Why Koh Lanta is popular with backpackers
- Nine beaches, and the southern ones are close to empty
- The best sunsets on the Andaman coast, every night
- One road, a €6 scooter, and a whole island to ride
- Old Town, a fishing village built on stilts over the water
- Cheap beds and beach bars without the Phi Phi prices
- Genuinely relaxed, in a way the busier islands are not
Best time to visit Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta is on the Andaman side, and in low season it is a genuinely different island: a lot of restaurants and hostels simply close.
Out of season the direct boat to Phi Phi and Krabi runs less often or not at all. You get here overland instead, with two short car ferries, which takes longer but always runs.
Backpacker budget: around €20 a day
- €6hostel bed
- €2local meal
- €1.60beer
- €6scooter per day
Guide prices from our own days in Koh Lanta. Add a tour or a night out and it climbs fast.
Best hostels in Koh Lanta
Aha Lanta Cozy Hostel
Down south near Kantiang Bay, which is the prettiest beach on the island and the furthest from anything resembling a crowd. Small, homely, and a short walk from quiet sand, local restaurants and a viewpoint. This is the one for doing nothing properly.
Blanco Hostel @ Lanta
The big social one, with a proper pool and something arranged most evenings: group dinners, games, the occasional party. If you arrived alone and would like a scooter convoy by tomorrow morning, this is where that happens.
Hub of Joys
Small, cheap and run by people who clearly like having you there. Sociable without any organised fun, which some days is exactly the right amount of hostel.
Best things to do in Koh Lanta
Kayaking through the mangroves
The east side of the island is all mangrove channels, and paddling into them is silent, shaded and completely different from the beach side. Half a day, and you will see more wildlife than anywhere else on Lanta.
Snorkelling at Koh Rok and Koh Haa
Koh Haa is a ring of five islands with a chamber inside one of them that divers call the Cathedral. Even from the surface the water clarity out there is on another level to the mainland side.
Four islands and the Emerald Cave
The Emerald Cave is the one you swim into: eighty metres through a pitch black tunnel holding a rope, and it opens out into a hidden beach surrounded by cliffs on all sides. Not for you if you are claustrophobic, unforgettable if you are not.
Bioluminescent plankton at night
Sunset from a kayak, then dark, and then the water lights up blue every time your paddle moves. It is not guaranteed, it depends on the moon and the season, and when it happens it is the best thing anyone does on this island.
Free, and worth the ride:
- Riding the length of the west coast, stopping at whichever beach looks good
- Sunset at Long Beach, ideally with your feet actually in the sea
- Mu Ko Lanta National Park at the southern tip, with the lighthouse
- The night market in Saladan on the right evening
- Kantiang Bay, and the viewpoint above it
Best area for backpackers
Long Beach
Long Beach is where most backpackers end up, and it hits the balance: enough bars and cafés to have an evening, quiet enough that you can hear the sea from your bed. Sunsets here are the main event and everybody turns up for them.
It is central on the island too, so the north (ferry pier, night market) and the far south (national park, empty beaches) are both a short ride away.
Good to know about Long Beach
- Cheap hostels and beach bungalows along the whole strip
- Sunset straight off the beach, no walking required
- Beach bars, cafés and restaurants without Phi Phi prices
- A good crowd for solo travellers, especially at the bigger hostels
- Central, so both ends of the island are reachable
- Scooter rental on every corner
Go further south to Kantiang Bay if you want it quieter still. Go north to Klong Dao if you want to be near the pier for an early boat.
How to plan your days in Koh Lanta
Lanta is the island where plans get quietly abandoned. Pick how long you intend to stay.
Ride the west coast. Nine beaches in a row, from Klong Dao in the north to Bakantiang in the south. Each one has a different feel and they get quieter the further you go.
Tonight: sunset with your feet in the sand. That is not optional here, it is the whole island.
Old Town and the east side. The old fishing village is built on stilts out over the water, wooden houses and cafés hanging off the edge. Completely different island on this side.
Tonight: eat over the water in Old Town, watching the boats come in.
National park or snorkelling. Mu Ko Lanta National Park at the southern tip, with a lighthouse and a clifftop trail. Or take the Four Islands boat out to the Emerald Cave.
Tonight: something quiet at Long Beach.
Diving, or nothing at all. Koh Haa and Hin Daeng are among the best dive sites in Thailand, with a real chance of whale sharks. Or genuinely do nothing, which is also allowed here.
Tonight: ferry to Phi Phi or Krabi, or south towards Trang.
Food and drink in Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta has a Muslim majority, so there is less pork and more fish, chicken and southern Thai curries. The spicing is different down here and worth paying attention to.
In Old Town you eat on a wooden deck over the water with the morning’s catch on the grill. It costs more than a roadside stall and it is one of the best places to sit on the island.
What to eat here:
Getting there and onward
Koh Lanta is connected to the mainland by car ferries, so you can reach it overland as well as by boat. That matters in low season when the speedboats stop.
Getting there. In high season the speedboat from Krabi takes two hours. Overland is about three and a half, with two short ferry crossings on the way.
On the island. Thirty kilometres long with one main road. A scooter is around €6 a day and you genuinely need one here, unlike on the smaller islands.
Onward. Phi Phi is an hour and a half, Krabi two. South of here are Trang and the Koh Mook islands, which almost nobody goes to and which are excellent.
- SpeedboatKrabi 2 hrs · Phi Phi 1.5 hrs, high season
- OverlandKrabi 3.5 hrs with two car ferries
- ScooterFrom about €6 a day, one main road
- Four IslandsSnorkelling trip via the Emerald Cave
- Dive boatKoh Haa and Hin Daeng, full day
Staying safe on Koh Lanta
One of the calmest islands in Thailand. The thing to watch is the main road, which is narrow and driven fast.
- Film the scooter before you take it
- Watch the flags. Long Beach gets a real undertow in low season
- Dress modestly away from the beach. This is a local island, not a resort
- Carry cash if you are heading south. There are barely any ATMs down there
- Ride fast on the main road at night. There are dogs on it, and no lighting
- Swim at unpatrolled beaches in low season
- Assume anything is open outside high season. Check before you ride an hour for lunch
- Hand over your passport as a scooter deposit
Rebels on the Road tip
Take the scooter all the way to the southern tip, to the national park. The road gets steeper and emptier the further you go, past beaches where there is nobody at all and beach bars with four stools. Most people never ride past Kantiang Bay, which is exactly why it is worth doing.
Frequently asked questions
Koh Lanta or Koh Phi Phi?
Different trips. Phi Phi is busier, louder and better for boat tours and nights out. Lanta is quiet, spread out and better if you want to ride around and switch off. A lot of people do both, in that order.
Do you need a scooter on Koh Lanta?
Effectively yes. The island is thirty kilometres long and the good beaches are spread along all of it. €6 a day, and it changes the whole stay.
Is Koh Lanta good for solo travellers?
Yes, particularly around Long Beach and at the bigger social hostels. It is less instant than Phi Phi, but the people you meet here you tend to travel with afterwards.
When is the best time to visit Koh Lanta?
November to April. Outside that a lot of the island shuts and the boats become unreliable.
Is Koh Lanta busy?
No. Compared to Phuket or Phi Phi it is genuinely quiet, and the southern half of the island is close to empty even in high season.
Can you work from Koh Lanta as a digital nomad?
Plenty of people do. Decent cafés, reliable enough wifi and cheap long-stay places, plus an island that gives you nothing to do after five except look at the sea.
