Thailand - Koh Lanta

Who doesn’t want to go to a paradise beach island? We thought we should visit at least one of Thailand’s famous idyllic islands… however it wasn’t quite what we expected.

We chose to visit Koh Lanta as it is easy to get to with a RORO ferry. Also we’d read the island was “a quieter, more laid-back, scenic island in the Andaman Sea than neighbouring Phuket or Phi Phi. It is known for its 30km-long coastline featuring nine uncrowded white sand beaches, mangrove forests and forested hills and is ideal for those seeking a mix of nature and relaxation”. Sounded just the ticket!

It took us over a day to cycle the ‘4206’ main road down the peninsula to reach the ferry at Hua Hin Pier, cycle the smaller island of Koh Lanta Noi, before crossing the bridge to reach Koh Lanta Yai, the main island. It’s fairly big: 25km (15miles) long and 6km (4 miles) wide. Our plan was to spend two nights in the south-west to explore Mu Ko Lanta National Park on the island’s southern tip, cycle over the hilly centre to see rustic Lanta Old Town on the opposite eastern coast where we’d camp, before having one final night on the north-east side ready to cycle up towards Krabi.

As it turned out Koh Lanta wasn’t our cup of tea. I guess we’ve enjoyed being off the tourist trail for a wee while and Koh Lanta is Thailand in tourist-mode so it was a bit of a jolt. Cycling over the bridge into Sala Dan we were instantly struck by how many ‘falangs’ there were: we’d not seen so many westerners since Australia! The main road was wide and busy with an endless stream of pink skin and tattoos scootering past in convoy. English menus offered cocktails and Pad Thai (for twice the price we’d been paying for food), massage opportunities abounded, weed joints could be smelt every few kilometres, and numerous boards advertised trips to nearby islands.

We joined the throng of scooting tourists on the western road as we cycled to the southern tip of the island. The number of scooters slowly petered out, peeling off at each successive beach we reached. After a brutal rollercoaster of hills we finally reached the national park. Home to the last beach on the island, shared with only a handful of folk, we really enjoyed a long lazy swim in the sea.

On the eastern coast we chilled out with a coffee in Lanta Old Town. A laid back tourist trap, every shopfront on Lanta’s main street sells souvenirs and food and drink to slowly ambling visitors. In an oldywoldy-looking wooden cafe we did a spot of planning, with a view of karst islands hazy on a bright sea every time we looked up from the monitor.

Trusting in the camping icon on Google maps our highlight on the island was finding The Anchor Place down a dead end road. The loveliest elderly Thai man came out to greet us and showed us around his campsite. We were the only campers that night to enjoy this very peaceful spot. We sat with a beer looking out at the pale blue karst islands dotted on the sea view horizon, with the smell of mosquito coils and the sound of large tropical leaves softly rustling in the salty breeze. I woke in the morning to stare through our tent mesh at an orange ball sunrise emerging from the sea and the silhouette of palm trees above us.

Our last night was very different. We strung out our morning enjoying the campsite for as long as possible before cycling up to Lanta Old Town to get some lunch. 12 miles later, through back roads, quiet and green, we arrived as dusk fell in Sala Dan at the top of the island. Our accommodation - Lovely Lanta - was far from it. Mosquito-ridden, dark, and uncomfortably hot and stuffy. This end of the island is more developed, with wide roads, more accommodation, and is not an area we felt relaxed in. We were glad to leave, early the next day, catching the ferry at 8am to cycle our way up towards Laem Sak and Krabi.Læs mere