Ko Lanta (Thailand) advice needed

[oxyhacker]

We may be spending a few days on Ko Lanta (unless someone gives us some good reasons not to) and need some advice from anyone who has been there about where to stay.

There appear to be three beaches where most of the accomodations are located: a noisier one near (walking distance) to town, a quieter one a lbitfuther away, and one that has a rocky beach even further, that isn't as good for beach stuff but may have better snorkling.

Any idea which is the best one, or recommendations for a specific place? We prefer quiet to noise, but want to be able to get into the town for eating and don't want to be stranded too far from town so we are stuck eating in the same place every meal - someone told use there are very few taxis there so getting around can be a problem is you get too far away from town.

Also, anyone know what the situation is there for snorkling? I'm the only diver in the group, but the others are avid snorklers. Is there reef/tropical stuff available from the shore, or ???

 

[gabyne]

There are a lot of beaches from North to South on Ko Lanta, not just three... there is Klong Dao which is the main beach and the most northern - there are many bungalow resorts but it is very quiet and has beautiful white/golden sand. Further south there is Long Beach, Relax Bay, Klong Kong, Waterfall Bay etc...
http://www.ko-lanta-travel-thailand.com/
http://www.kolantabeach.com/

If you want to go diving you should stay at Klong Dao Beach, f. ex. at Southern Lanta Resort, D.R. Lanta or any other - otherwise you won't be picked up by the diving base in the morning as they are almost all located at Ban Saladan in the north where the jetty is. Klong Dao has a lot of good restaurants directly at the beach so no need to go to Ban Saladan for dinner - it may be cheaper and more authentic but not so nice...

I dove with Ko Lanta Diving Center two times and was very satisfied. http://www.kolantadivingcenter.com/

Distances to the diving spots are quite long so you're out for the whole day. Ko Lanta DC has a very big and very fast boat so this is also convenient. I think they would also take snorkellers. The thing is that there is almost no snorkelling from the beach (just very down in the south I've heard) since the water is very shallow and therefore visibility is low and there are almost no corals. So you have to do trips for snorkelling (f. ex. to Ko Ha or Ko Rok islands).

Diving spots not to be missed: Hin Daeng/Hin Muang (great!), Ko Ha islands (at least 5 different spots there) and also some spots around Phi Phi (Fantasy reef - low visibility, but interesting fish and coral).

 

[frogfish]

Agree with the comments above except that most dive shops will pick you up where ever you stay on the island - just be prepared for a potential 30 minutes drve to the jetty.
With regards to snorkelling, there is nothing much around Koh Lanta - viz is very low (about 2-3 m) and no corals so you have to be prepared for long boat trips.
Howver the island is low key and beautiful so you should have a good time there

 

[RSdiver]

Don't miss Hin Daeng and Him Muang (Red rock and Purple rock) and if possible insist on going there - all other diving will pale in comparison.

Yeah, it is a bit of a ride to get ther, but well worth it.

 

[frogfish]

Yes Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are by far the best sites in this area (as good as Richelieu Rock in my opinion)