Koh Lanta | Getting There | Pimalai Resort | Old Town
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| Koh Lanta from the south. The white line in the ocean is where the Andaman Sea meets the waters of the sheltered bay to the eastern side of the island (and yes, like all photos that you find on our blog, we took this picture ourselves!) |
Koh Lanta is a beautiful island paradise situated a short ferry ride away from Thailand’s southern shore in the Andaman Sea. Relatively remote and difficult to access, the island is huge and remains mostly wild and untamed, still in the early throes of development. Dense mangrove forests line the northern shore of the island, eventually giving way to alternatively long white sand beaches or rocky formations stretching along aquamarine waters- all visible to visitors traveling to the resorts in the South. Many local people call Koh Lanta their home and live in villages clustered near the shoreline, leading to a mix of shops catering to both tourists and residents. The island has a touch of je ne sais quoi, perhaps a refreshing authenticity that Tiger feels is now missing from many popular Thai tourist destinations (even distant Koh Chang has changed as supermarket chains move in, tourists begin to vastly outnumber residents, and general infrastructure increases).
When people refer to Koh Lanta, they are actually talking about two major islands, comparably-sized Koh Lanta Yai and Koh Lanta Noi, joined by a bridge across the salt water “river” that separates them. The combined island covers 156 square kilometers (60 square miles) of terrain, most of which remains wild and untamed. For perspective, this is ten times larger than Koh Samed and slightly smaller than Koh Samui. The roads are surprisingly well-maintained and mainly situated near the shore, with several roads also criss-crossing the hilly central part of the island.
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| Long tail boat crossing the channel in front of the mangrove shoreline and verdant hills of Koh Lanta |
Chances are, if you plan to visit Koh Lanta, you are either driving/catching a ride from Krabi Airport or taking a ferry/speedboat from Phuket or Koh Phi Phi. The trip will take at least several hours from either point of origin, but if you are coming from Krabi Airport, several higher end hotels on the island will be kind enough to provide their own land/sea transportation for you (and may even include this in the room price found on Agoda or similar online booking website).
Speedboat Island Hopping OptionsOriginating from Phuket Town or Krabi Town in the high season between mid-October and February, it’s possible to visit Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and distant Koh Lipe as well as all the major/minor islands in between as one long island-hopping adventure. Speedboats regularly depart between these destinations, are very affordable, and can be faster than other land/flight combinations. Throw in some of the smaller islands around Koh Phi Phi, and a two-week vacation could easily cover more than ten islands! Be sure to pack lightly if this is your plan- you don’t want to be lugging large suitcases in and out of speedboats and longboats for two weeks.
We arrived at the Hua Hin pier in the early morning of an August day. Across the narrow straight were the hills of Koh Lanta. The color and wildness of the island was surprising, with mangrove trees covering the entirety of the opposing shoreline, as well as the mainland shores on either side of the small public pier where we were waiting. The island pier was visible less than a mile away. The ferries themselves are quite small compared to Koh Chang or Koh Samui. Most barges have one deck as well as a single, tall tower from which the boat was steered. Our hotel had warned us in July that the ferry schedule was now unpredictable because of the virus, but by the time we arrived, the ferries were regularly departing on the thirty-minute mark.
The trip was quite pleasant and our barge – the largest – had an elevated waiting area for pedestrians from which we could enjoy the view and take a few pictures of the scenery. After docking, we drove for another 45-minutes across Koh Lanta Noi and down Koh Lanta Yai to Pimalai Resort, situated near the southwestern tip of the island. We slowly passed long white sand beaches and rocky coastlines along the drive. A majority of restaurants and shops were temporarily closed as a result of the coronavirus travel shutdowns, but a relatively large island population also meant that many local places remained open (we picked up fresh fruit and smoothies from a local market, and some of the “famous” khao pad krapow as a “snack” for Bird).
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| Pristine beach nestled between hills on Koh Lanta |
Quaint would be a great way to describe the island. For tourism to really work, small businesses have to be established to accommodate visitors, and Koh Lanta had a good mix of quality restaurants, bars, and shops to cater to both Thai and Western tourists. Getting around the island? Now that’s more difficult, since taxis are rare and expensive, but renting a motorbike is easy if you have a license and know how to drive one!
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| Pimalai Resort is set against a steep hill on Koh Lanta |
For this journey, we were staying in the beautiful Pimalai Resort (note that Tiger and Bird usually avoid naming hotels we visit, but these are unusual times with borders closed and international travel brought to a standstill, so we will break with tradition for now!). Set into a steep hill and separated in the middle by the public road, golf carts take guests from place to place and all the rooms and buildings offer stunning views of the Andaman Sea and distant Koh Haa islands. We pulled into the hotel just before noon and stepped out of the car to see the ocean spread out before us, a slightly cool sea breeze helping to counter the incredible heat of the tropical sun. The attendants ushered us into the main reception area where we spent several minutes filling out paperwork and enjoying welcome drinks before walking down the hill to our room.
The room was breathtakingly gorgeous, spacious with an open concept: the living area joining the bedroom and bathroom in one large area. Beautiful wood partitions could separate the bathtub from the rest of the room and another partition for the rain shower, but it still felt much more appropriate for romantic getaways than say friends traveling together.
We won’t go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that the grounds were also similarly breathtaking. The feeling while walking around was that the resort was more or less hiding in the existing tropical landscape of Koh Lanta, as opposed to a resort that simply takes over the landscape. Lush trees, plants, and wildlife abound (don’t feed the monkeys, if you see any!) in comparative upscale comfort. Dining options far exceeded our expectations for island food, and the resort’s general manager was kind enough to greet us at breakfast and explain that the Seven Seas Restaurant was closed for a few structural repairs during our visit, a carryover from the resort shutdown earlier in the year. We’ve included several photos from our stay below.
Since we spent more than several days at the resort, we did decide to take an excursion to Old Town Koh Lanta one afternoon to see what there was to see. As it turns out, the island is wisely taking the opportunity of few tourists to modernize and repair many of the inland roads, including our own route. Be prepared for a dusty time (although, in all fairness, the work seems very close to completion as of August 2020)!
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| Road construction on main route between the western and eastern shores of Koh Lanta |
Old Town
Picture 1. Small main street restaurant. Picture 2. Pure white cat sleepily relaxing on a wooden table. Picture 3. Road to a secret garden over the water. At the end of the pier was a small house/hostel
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| A small motorcycle with sidecar travels to the end of Old Town Pier in Koh Lanta |
Old Town is a charming seaside collection of wood hostels, shops and restaurants clustered around a six-hundred-meter-long main street adjacent to the Old Town pier on the southeast side of the island. The place is very quaint and has a genuinely pleasant feel to it. Keep in mind its probably best to visit during the day since islanders always go to bed shortly after the sun sets!
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| Large sailing ship beached at low tide near Old Town Koh Lanta |
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| Main street of Old Town Koh Lanta proved to a quaint, relaxed place with numerous shops with hostels and restaurants situated over the adjacent shoreline |
We walked around, admiring the buildings, before stopping by a restaurant for some mango smoothies and fried spring rolls. The young woman in front smiled at us and brought us from the hot, dusty street to the back of the restaurant, which would have been over the water if it had not been low tide. Here, in the shade, the soft sea breeze was cool and refreshing.
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| A beautiful woman practicing yoga on the windswept wood floors above a small restaurant in the old town. Quite cool even during the heat of the day, and just look at that view! |
Our stay proved to be very enjoyable. Hot days were tempered by icy smoothies in the restaurants, time spent in the infinity pool, or bobbing in the waves of the ocean. Big breakfasts and delicious dinners in front of spectacular sunsets were countered by long walks up and down the hills at Pimalai Resort. And in the evenings, once the sun had fallen and darkness had crept over the island, we soaked our weary bodies in our bathtub while looking out over the darkened ocean. What’s not to like? We immediately prepared plans for our next adventure, a return to Koh Lanta at some future but not yet decided time.
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Coming up next, the white sand beaches and untouched coral reefs of Koh Lipe!
Previous post: A brief summary of an idyllic August vacation in an touristless Southern Thailand!
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