Koh Lanta
After hopping around for a bit, we were more than happy to book a ten-night stay on this island.
I first discovered this island from an Instagram post from a guest on the Zero to Travel podcast. He posted his nice yet affordable long-term accommodation on a digital nomad-friendly island called Koh Lanta.
It’s only a two-hour drive to Krabi, is an excellent springboard to travel to other surrounding islands, and it’s laid back, a bit under the radar, and beautiful! This place has been our favorite part of Thailand for sure.
We stayed all the way at the Southern part of the island near Bamboo Beach, which is quite far from the ferry port and main town, Sala Dan. However, we liked it this way. The farther south you go, the more tranquil the beaches and surroundings become.
Our accommodation was simple but had everything we needed with a stunning view. We stayed at Oyo 1085 Ma Lanta House. It appeared to be family-run along with the nearby restaurant overlooking the bay. We ate here a few times and the food is nothing to rave about but people definitely drive from other parts of the island to sit here and take in the views because it was typically busy.
The family-run restaurant below our hotel overlooking the bay
It’s not really walkable to anywhere other than Bamboo Beach though. We rented a scooter on the first day and kept it for the remainder of our time here. Even tuk-tuks wouldn’t travel up here because of the steep incline to reach our hotel. It seems a bit treacherous at first to ride through the winding hills, but then once you get used to it, it’s beautiful and fun. There aren’t many cars at all and other drivers are all traveling pretty slow and cautious as well, so everyone is respectful on the roads. Multiple blogs have cited that Koh Lanta is actually one of the best Thai islands to ride scooters around!
On one of the first nights there, we went to a beach bar called “Why Not Bar” in Katiang Bay. They had live music and we unexpectedly got to watch our first real fire show once the sun set. The live music included classic American hits that you’d likely hear in a bar in Florida, but everything had a slight Thai accent. I appreciated the little bit of familiarity though.
Fire show at Why Not Bar
Side note - This bay is home to one of the few 5-star resorts on the island, Pimalai, which between passing by and researching online, I would recommend to those looking for a stunning Thai vacation resort.
One day during our stay here we did a four-island tour on a traditional Thai longboat. It’s a super common tour to take from Koh Lanta; the tour includes visits to Koh Chuek, Koh Kradan, Koh Maa, and Koh Mook. They provided snorkel gear and we had a lunch buffet on an incredible beach before heading back to Lanta. I think the highlight for me was the Emerald Cave. Yes, it’s super touristy and there were several other tour groups there when we went, but it was both creepy and thrilling to swim through a pitch-black cave to then be greeted with a massive sunny and tropical beach once through the cave. I can’t imagine being the first person to discover this place.
Koh Kradon - an island we stopped at on our four island boat tour
For those that prefer bigger resorts and generally just more going on, Koh Lanta may feel a bit boring I guess. However, if you’re a professional beach bummer who loves small quirky beach bars, are on a budget, or just prefer to be away from hoards of tourists, you may just appreciate this island as much as we do.
beach bumming is practically a sport on Koh Lanta