Koh Lanta day trips: which ones, and in which season?

The best day trips from Koh Lanta

Advertised prices almost always include your hotel transfer, never the park fees.

When are the islands open?

The first thing to check: the national park closes its offshore islands during the monsoon.

Mu Ko Lanta National Park stays open all year, but its offshore islands don’t. Koh Rok, Koh Haa and the Hin Daeng and Hin Muang pinnacles close every year during the monsoon. The published dates don’t match: the official calendars give a closure from 1 July to the end of August or the end of September depending on the edition, while the park’s own page still says 16 May to 14 October. One thing is certain: in July, August and September, nobody goes.

During the monsoon, many beachfront businesses close and agencies cut back their programmes. The island stays reachable by road and car ferry, and trips on land carry on. The water stays between 27 and 30 °C all year.

Koh Rok and Koh Haa: the snorkelling day that makes the trip

26 km south of Koh Lanta, the clearest water in the area, and by speedboat only.

Snorkelling from Koh Lanta’s own beaches is disappointing: Koh Rok is the reason to pack a mask. The usual day takes in Koh Rok Nok and Koh Rok Nai, then the Koh Haa archipelago. At its best, visibility reaches 20 to 30 m, with turtles, soft corals and reef sharks.

The speedboat takes 40 minutes to an hour. Hotel pick-up between 7.30 and 8 am, back around 4 or 4.30 pm. The price, 1,595 to 1,800 THB per adult, covers the transfer, breakfast and lunch, mask and snorkel, life jacket, an English-speaking guide and insurance. It does not cover the park fee: 400 THB per adult and 200 THB per child, in cash, on the spot.

Forget the longtail for Koh Rok: it takes around two hours each way, too long for a day. For a group, a private longtail to Koh Haa costs around 8,500 THB for the whole boat, split between everyone.

The 4 Islands and the Emerald Cave: how does it work?

The island’s best-selling trip, closer and cheaper than Koh Rok.

The “4 Islands” are actually on the Trang side: Koh Ngai, Koh Mook, Koh Kradan, plus one or two snorkelling stops that change from one agency to the next. By longtail, expect 995 THB per adult and 895 THB per child including transfer, with pick-up around 8 am and back around 3.30 pm; boats leave from the Lanta Old Town pier. By speedboat the same day costs 1,550 THB. Either way, add 200 THB per adult for Hat Chao Mai National Park, in cash.

The highlight is the Emerald Cave, Tham Morakot, on Koh Mook. You swim in under a limestone arch, then follow a rope for about 80 m through a pitch-black tunnel, life jacket on and guide with a torch. Ten to fifteen minutes later the tunnel opens onto a lagoon ringed by cliffs.

Diving from Koh Lanta: Koh Bida, Koh Haa, Hin Daeng

Lanta is a good dive base, as long as you come in the dry season.

The Bidas, just south of Phi Phi, include Koh Bida Nok, Koh Bida Nai and the submerged Hin Bida pinnacle, from 3 to 30 m: leopard sharks on the sand, hawksbill turtles, schools of snapper. Depending on the boat, the crossing takes 35 minutes to 1 hour 45. A two-dive day costs 3,150 THB booked online or 3,500 THB on the spot, with gear, guide and lunch; allow 3,950 THB for Hin Daeng and Hin Muang.

The national park dive fee, 600 THB per day, always comes on top. The best season runs from November to April, with 15 to 30 m visibility and your best chance of manta rays at Hin Daeng. To compare dive spots across the country, see our diving in Thailand guide.

What to do on land when the boats don’t go out?

The island’s quieter east coast can be visited all year.

Lanta Old Town, or Ban Si Raya, is the island’s old trading port: a single waterfront street of stilt houses and wooden shophouses built by the Chinese, Thai Muslim and Urak Lawoi communities. No beach, but seafood restaurants over the water and a market on Saturdays and Sundays, from about 11 am to 10 pm. From the west-coast beaches it’s 15 to 30 minutes away, 50 to 100 THB by songthaew or 200 to 300 THB a day by scooter.

Further south, Ban Sangka-U is one of the island’s oldest villages, home to the Urak Lawoi “sea gypsies”, who still fish in the traditional way. Twice a year, at full moon, they launch wooden boats loaded with offerings to carry away bad luck: this is the Loy Ruea ceremony.

In the Tung Yee Peng mangroves, a guided kayak trip lasts 3 to 4 hours, from 895 THB, plus a 20 to 40 THB community fee paid at the village. On your own, the rental stand at the forest entrance asks about 500 THB for three hours. A late-afternoon version stretches the trip into the glowing plankton.

Cooking class and animal shelter: trips that do some good

Two linked addresses in Klong Dao that fund sterilisation and rabies vaccination for the island’s animals.

Time for Lime is Koh Lanta’s long-standing cooking school. The day class starts at 11 am and includes a visit to the shelter next door; the evening class starts at 5 pm, with a cocktail workshop. Each lasts about 5 hours, for 1,950 THB per person or 3,600 THB for two. The food is vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian, with no meat, and all profits go to the shelter. There are other schools on Long Beach and in Klong Nin, some of which start with a market visit.

Lanta Animal Welfare, the island’s animal shelter, runs without public funding. The guided visit lasts about an hour, for 300 THB per adult and 200 THB per child, booking required. The usual slots are 10 am, 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm, but they change with the season, so check when you book.

Mistakes to avoid

Most disappointments come from the calendar, not the agency.

• Booking Koh Rok in July, August or September: the islands are closed and the boat will go elsewhere.
• Heading for Koh Rok by longtail: two hours each way.
• Leaving without cash: park fees are paid in cash and never included.
• Comparing 4 Islands tours on price alone: check that the Emerald Cave is on the programme, especially out of season.
• Touching coral, feeding fish or leaving chemical sunscreen in the lagoons.

How to choose for your stay

One day at sea, one day on land: the right rhythm on Lanta.

1. 1Three days between November and April: Koh Rok and Koh Haa, then Old Town at the weekend.
2. 2A week: add the 4 Islands, the Tung Yee Peng kayak and a cooking class.
3. 3July to September: mangroves, Old Town, Sangka-U and cooking; the sea only when it’s calm.
4. 4With children: the 4 Islands by speedboat, then the shelter visit.
5. 5Divers: two dive days at Koh Haa and the Bidas, between November and April.

To keep transfers short, see where to stay on Koh Lanta: most trips pick you up at your hotel. To get there, our Krabi to Koh Lanta page covers ferries and minivans, and the Koh Lanta page covers the rest of the island.

Booking day trips on Koh Lanta

The island’s agencies sell the same trips: compare departure time, boat and what’s included.

Booking online lets you read reviews, check the islands’ opening dates and cancel for free if the sea gets up.