Where to go after Koh Lanta in March?

[Kryssa]

Hey there,

We're traveling with a flexible itinerary and have a week of diving scheduled with Dive & Relax on Koh Lanta starting March 1st.

Any suggestions for where to go next? We like laid back island life, chill bars, great diving, friendly people - and not a livaboard

Open to locations outside Thailand but want to do an itinerary that makes sense geographically so not Galapagos

Thanks all

 

[lord khram]

Sipadan offers great diving. Not too far from Thailand.
For marine life, this has to be one of the best places I have dived.

 

[Kryssa]

Sipadan offers great diving. Not too far from Thailand.
For marine life, this has to be one of the best places I have dived.

Any specific place to stay or dive shop to dive with that you'd recommend? Also how long is the dive season? Thanks

 

[Arioc]

I wouldn't go to Sipadan because they use a ticket system for diving there. The best diving in Asia is in Indonesia, if you want the best diving thats the place to go.

 

[lord khram]

Any specific place to stay or dive shop to dive with that you'd recommend? Also how long is the dive season? Thanks

Diving is year round.
We had a dive package at Kapalai Resort. They organised / provided everything. Accommodation and food were good, diving well organised.
An internet search I am sure will give you countless other options.
Visibility is at it's best generally outside of rainy season, which I think should be due to end soon?

 

[UFOrb]

We're traveling with a flexible itinerary and have a week of diving scheduled with Dive & Relax on Koh Lanta starting March 1st.

Any suggestions for where to go next? We like laid back island life, chill bars, great diving, friendly people - and not a livaboard

How about Koh Lipe? Easy to get to from Koh Lanta via ferry (I think the ferries still operate that time of year), excellent beaches & some good bars and eateries - general good vibe on the island There are no cars but you do have do watch out for scooters at 'rush-hour' unless you're on Walking Street

There's some decent snorkelling off sunrise beach (I didn't snorkel off the other beaches but probably ok too) & the diving's very easy & relaxed, although it may not blow your mind. Stonehenge is a very pretty site.

Or how about Palau Perhentian, Redang or Tioman on peninsular Malaysia? (although not particularly straightforward to get to), or Bali / Gili islands? there are direct flights to Bali from Bangkok.

 

[Kryssa]

Thanks all... I think we're going to Bali. Maybe do another island or two in Thailand, maybe check out Chiang Mai, but then Bali

 

[UFOrb]

Thanks all... I think we're going to Bali. Maybe do another island or two in Thailand, maybe check out Chiang Mai, but then Bali

We'll also be heading to Bali (and Gili Air) for the first time in May

If you want a couple of days (or more) pure chill time I recommend Koh Ngai, not far from Lanta. We've stayed at Mayalay Beach Resort a couple of times which we really like (probably flash-packer+ standard) - get a bungalow near the front. There are other resorts on the island that get rave reviews too. It is pretty expensive by Thai standard though. You can then return to the mainland at Trang for the nearest airport.
We didn't dive from there but there is (was) an operator that does local sites. We figured it probably wouldn't be worth it, esp compared to the sites accessed from Lanta, although possibly worth a night dive.
I'll caveat this by saying last time we were there in 2014, there were some signs that the beach was washing away in places and sand bags were being used, which took away from some of the appeal but not enough to put us off from returning some time. These were not present when we were there in 2009.

Also, if you have time you should definitely try to visit Chiang Mai and surrounding area - check out the Mae Hong Son loop.

Btw, if you don't already know about it, Travelfish is a great source of info: The independent travel guide for Southeast Asia. Travelfish.org

 

[Bubble Junky]

Have a look at Pulau Weh too - not too far from Lanta. You can get to Penang or KL easily from Lanta, then a short flight to Banda Aceh. Check out Lumba Lumba. You then connect down to Bali quite easily too... For Bali, I would look into staying on Lembongan Island - have a look at Big Fish...

 

[UFOrb]

Have a look at Pulau Weh too - not too far from Lanta. You can get to Penang or KL easily from Lanta, then a short flight to Banda Aceh. Check out Lumba Lumba.

That looks like a good shout. I'm going to make a note of that for our next, next trip to SE Asia. We always go to Thailand for all or part of our trips as that's where my wife's family are from, so anywhere child-friendly & fairly easily reached from Bangkok is good. Most of the sites look fairly close by, which is what we look for these days with 2 young kids in tow. What's the diving like and what's Palau Weh like for kids?