Koh Lanta

Day 243 (February 26, 2019) – Koh Lanta, Thailand

Koh Lanta was pretty much a perfect Thai island. It was exactly what I was hoping to find from our island-hopping adventures in the Andaman Sea. The beaches were among the nicest we’d ever seen, all the cozy little beach-side restaurants we visited were absolutely delicious, and the whole place had a super relaxed feel. Forget Phuket. Koh Lanta was the elusive Thai island paradise we had been searching for.

The ferry from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lanta. Not the nicest one we've been on but it got us there.

We arrived in Koh Lanta by ferry from Koh Phi Phi. The ferries are remarkably easy in Thailand. There is a whole network of boats connecting all the Thai islands. Tickets can be purchased from just about any travel agency or hotel and the prices are more or less fixed depending on the size and speed of the boat. A couple hours after departing Koh Phi Phi we had arrived at the dock in Koh Lanta and were sitting in the back of a pick-up truck being driven down the coast to our hotel on Klong Nin Beach.

Arriving at Klong Nin Beach. 

Our hotel wasn’t anything fancy, but it had everything we needed, including air conditioning, for only $23 a night. Best of all, it was across the street from the beach. Klong Nin Beach was one of the nicest beaches we’ve had the pleasure of spending time at. The scenery may not have been as dramatic as others we’ve seen, but we couldn’t have asked for a better patch of sand of nicer water. Wading into the ocean felt like walking into a giant bathtub. The water was clear and warm, but just cool enough to feel refreshing, and there was hardly a wave. The entire time we were swimming I don’t think we ever encountered a single rock or speck of seaweed. This beach was seriously perfect.

Klong Nin Beach in the evening. Never crowded, but enough small beach bars and restaurants to keep us occupied every night.

Sunset at Klong Nin Beach.

We fell into an island time routine pretty quickly. We woke up late, sipped some coffee, eventually made our way out to find lunch, walked around a bit but ultimately came back home again to cool off in the air conditioning during the heat of the day, then went to the beach in the afternoon where we stayed until sunset, then grabbed dinner and eventually went to bed. In other words, we didn’t really do much of anything, but it was supremely relaxing. For what it’s worth, we did spend a tremendous amount of time reading.

Travis with a big bowl of red curry.

We did take one of our afternoons to explore the island a bit. We rented a scooter and drove further south along the coast to Kantiang Bay. This beach, in a beautiful arc surrounded by green hills, was a lot more picturesque than the beach we were staying at. We checked out one of the accommodations in the area and made a reservation to stay there later in the week. We also grabbed lunch at one of the restaurants that were perched on the hills overlooking the bay. We sat on the floor of a rickety platform built out over the edge of a cliff eating noodles and curry. It was a beautiful place to eat, especially with the sea breeze cooling us off, even if it wasn’t the most structurally sound deck ever built. We also drove to the north of the island and checked out Phra Ae Beach, which was another popular tourist destination. This was another stretch of amazing beach and it even had lots of trees to provide some shade. From our explorations of the island I don’t think we ever found a beach that was anything less than perfect.  

From our lunch on a rickety deck, overlooking Kantiang Bay.

Phra Ae Beach on the north side of the island.

We eventually did move to our new accommodation in Kantiang Bay. We wanted to spend some time in a different part of the island, and we picked a good place to hang out for a while. Even cheaper than our first accommodation at only $16 a night we had an entire air-conditioned bungalow to ourselves. Kantiang Bay was a bit quieter than Klong Nin. The beach was prettier to look at but not quite as nice as the first one we were at. We had to keep an eye out for rocks and the occasional boat coming into shore, but the water was still clear and refreshing. There were only a handful of restaurants to choose from, but we never had a bad meal. Most nights we’d swing past 7-11 to pick up a couple beers and drink them on the beach, listening to the waves and the music from one of the nearby beach bars.

The deck of our accommodation at Kantiang Bay.

Our jungle bungalow. 

Koh Lanta had just the right balance of feeling secluded but still having close access to the necessities. We had huge sections of beach all to ourselves but there were still plenty of restaurants to choose for dinner every night. Our week in Koh Lanta flew by and while it may not have been all that adventuresome it was exactly what we were hoping for.

Enjoying the sunset at Klong Nin Beach, the best beach we've yet found on our Thailand trip.