I stayed on Koh Lanta for 1 month on Klong Khong beach. I visited some things around but not much because I was not in the best condition to do so, but I’ll share with you what I visited and what I believe is worth a visit from your side also. Koh Lanta is not far from Krabi, and it is actually a great spot to visit from Krabi. As I lived in Krabi for 2 months, I believe that visiting Koh Lanta as a weekend getaway could be a great idea! The island is about 2h away by car and you can hire one with Auto Europe. The company is in the market since 1954 and works with companies such as Avis, or Hertz. They provide quality services, which is so important to have a hassle-free experience and enjoy your stay to the fullest. They also offer very competitive prices and staff working 7 days a week to provide the best service and tips.
Usually, I like to walk a lot and explore places walking as I think I can experience them in a different way, and walking along the beach for me is even more pleasant. So I was staying in Khong Klong and walked to some interesting places nearby. But, Koh Lanta is not a small island, and exploring it on foot is not an option. The best way to do so would be to rent a vehicle, and you can do it HERE!
Here are the places I explored in Koh Lanta and that I advise other travelers to visit:
Sunset rock and viewpoint
Not so far from Klong Khong is this spot with amazing views of the surrounding. From here you have a 180º view of both north and south beaches. I love viewpoints cause this is where you see the true water colors and get mesmerized by their shades of blue. If Khlong kong beach is very empty, the further I kept walking north, the emptier they were. You will find some beaches with absolutely no one there! This viewpoint was the prettiest I visited on the island.
Beautiful beach
Next was a beautiful beach named secret beach on maps.me, but it is not that secret cause it was actually the one where I saw more foreigners! There was only a beach bar and a beach massage place. Even though it was a place with more foreigners, they were not more than 30… So it is also a very quiet beach to appreciate and it has some coconut trees for a very nice shade on the grass floor. I guess this is why it attracts more visitors. I walked there through the beach, but there is a path connecting it to the street where a gate can be found, so I have no idea if during non-Covid days you have to pay to access it that way and if the gate opens and closes at specific times… Walking from Klong Khong to the Beautiful beach next to the shore was a beautiful walk as I’m passing beautiful views along the way and this coconut tree field that looks so pretty. But you can also access it by car and avoid the excruciating heat.
Gintare beach
Named like this on maps.me, this is the next beach I found on my way north. It is very small, very pretty and cozy. No one here either! There are some corals and I think that snorkeling here might not be a bad idea.
A few meters away is relax bay, a bigger beach with some resorts. There were some longtail boats docked there and it was a very pretty view to see them along those blue waters. This is the last beach that you can walk to if following the shoreline. After it, there are some rocks and you can’t access the next beach. You must return to the main street in order to proceed.
Haad Phra Ae, or Long beach
But the next beach was this one, which I actually find like a pretty normal beach. This is where you will find many beach resorts, beach bars, and more people. Not a beach to go to if you are chasing views. I didn’t spend much time here so can’t actually tell what the vibe is. This might be the busiest beach on the island.
That was the end of my walking journey to the north part of the island. To go to the very north tip of the island I rented a motorbike for 150bh the day.
Kaw Kwang beach
To reach this beach from Klong Khong I rented a motorbike cause it is too far for a walk and going by the typical motorbike taxis on the island would cost me 3 or 4 times more. To reach this beach it takes about 20 minutes by motorbike. Going by car is also a good idea.
The beach itself was not interesting at all. Completely empty but with lots of trees and shade, that’s exactly what Thai people like. So although the empty beach, there were a bunch of locals and even some street food vendors under the trees. Seems like this is the place where they come to relax. Kaw Kwang beach is not special, but the views on the opposite side are way better. The other side of the bay is way prettier and I followed along until the very last piece of land in Koh Lanta: Ko Raeng
This part of Kaw Kwang beach that I am talking about is the very north tip of it. The beach is very wide and the southern part is very different, with many beach resorts and many people. It was the busiest beach I have visited, but only the southern part of it. Still, I think that Klong Khong is way prettier.
the opposite side:
Ko Raeng
This is basically a limestone cliff like many others you see in Krabi province. It is accessible by land during low tide only. I visited during low tide but didn’t walk until there cause I thought it was not worth it. Instead, I stayed at the very edge of Koh Lanta which looks stunning to my eye during low tide. It reveals several trees that are half-submerged during high tide. Those trees are special. They are such a vibe and super photogenic with whimsical shapes that make me feel like I’m in a wonderland. I love trees and these ones have funny shapes! Loved to visit the place just because of the trees, so I advise a visit during low tide so you can see them- I visited in the morning. In the afternoon the tide gets higher and the landscape changes and this side of the bay turns into a mirror-like landscape. So beautiful with happy dogs enjoying the water too.
Kho Kwang Seafood
There are some sandy areas on this side during low tide, nearby this restaurant: Kho Kwang Seafood. I sat under a tree in this area. That’s when I witnessed the most enthusiastic wildlife event of my life. When I listen to a loud sound and look back, 2 meters away from me and under the tree was a snake trying to strangle a lizard 3 times thicker than itself!!! I saw it all!!! From the lizard struggling to escape the snake’s constricting force to the snake swallowing a whole lizard and slithering up the tree again after a big feast. The whole thing lasted more than 1 hour and during that time I just remained still and stood as near as I could. The snake could obviously see me and it looked at me several times. Actually, she kept an eye on me during the whole process. I simply watched it and didn’t interfere as I was the one that was not supposed to be there. So that was watching mother nature as it is. A full BBC episode live! It was a pretty green snake and I was thrilled to watch such an event. It was the wildest thing I have witnessed so far. When she swallowed the whole lizard, I wondered if I should step away, cause I was not sure what would she do, but she just simply slithered up the tree to a safe spot to rest after her meal. That was the event of the day! Haha
Ver esta publicação no Instagram
Northern part of Koh Lanta
I also decided to visit another viewpoint also on the edge of the island. It is not far from Saladan pier. I actually went to Sea and Soul restaurant to have a view.
From here I could see a sandbar that was turning bigger as the tide was lowering. It was a beautiful sight, but wouldn’t actually say it is worth all the way there just for it. But if you are looking for a place with a wide sand area and no one, that is the spot. No shade at all and only during low tide. During low tide, this sand bar makes it possible to walk until Koh Lang. I didn’t do it, so I can’t tell if this is the good snorkeling place that I’ve heard about in the north of the island.
On another different day, I walked from Khlong Kong to the southern part of the island. I knew I had to walk all the way back, so the furthest I went was Klong Toab beach. But let’s talk about what I saw on my way there.
Khlong Kong beach
Khlong Kong is also a very wide beach and depending on where you are it can be very empty or busy. The busiest area is in the middle where ar all the resorts (where I stayed) and beach bars. In that area, you can walk for 15 minutes with resorts and beach bars along the way at all times.
The northern part of Khlong Kong beach is just before the sunset rock and viewpoint. Therefore, from the viewpoint, you have a view of this beach. This is where I found one of the best beach sceneries on Koh Lanta. I say it because all the palm trees around the area turn it so photogenic…
The very southern tip of Klong Khong beach is a whole different scenario. After all the resorts and bars, there is a part of the beach where there is absolutely nothing, but at its very end, things are different. There are a lot of long-tail boats docked and a bunch of fishing cages and locals nearby. I guess that would be a fishing spot. At its very end is a restaurant- Eco Bar- and you can’t walk any further along the shore because that’s where the river meets the ocean. So here, you will have 2 totally distinct landscapes: the ocean and the mangrove water.
The water among the mangroves is very green but still pretty, so in this spot, you will see how the waters meet and the mangrove forest on the other side of the bay. It is a pretty sight. There are tons of seashells along Klong Khong beach and broken coral parts. I enjoyed a lot of seashell picking here finding unique stuff that I saved for myself. Seashell picking was actually my hobby while in Klong Khong!
From here I had to cross the bridge on this mangrove river to the other side and walk on the street through the rest of the path. It is no longer possible to walk along the beach and the next proper beach is Klong Toab beach.- this is what it is called on maps.me. On google maps, this beach is not marked, but it is near Lanta Palace Resort.
Klong Toab beach on google maps
There is a part of the path that I walk side by side with the ocean and it is a pretty flat path. In Klong Toab beach, the sidewalk is destroyed and it’s just a place to pass by. There is no sand to lay on or a way to reach the sea. There is a tiny little piece of sand nearby Shanti Shanti beach house and I stopped for a picture as the views are nice, even for sunset. It seems to be a nice spot for sunset watching. The name of this beach on maps.me is Sunset viewpoint, so that’s why I say…
Klong Toab beach- on maps.me
From then on I had to face a steep hill and walk a normal street that doesn’t offer anything memorable to see. I walked the street until Klong Toab beach which was empty either. The beach is not very big but its southern tip offers a nice view that I couldn’t enjoy fully because of the weather. It was getting darker but I had my raincoat with me so I proceeded with my journey even knowing that it would rain for sure. And it rained not long after I reached this beach and the rock that offers a nice view of it. In this area, there were a bunch of abandoned and destroyed bungalows where I took shelter from the rain. I don’t know if any of these places that I see abandoned are due to covid. I believe so. The island was so deserted… I saw so many places abandoned, falling apart. Sad to see.
The weather in Koh Lanta is not like in Phuket where it rains and 5 minutes later is sunny. In Koh Lanta, it rains and the weather stays gloomy for a long time with this little rain that the only thing that does is bother. For that reason, I didn’t go any further, but it was already quite a walk of about 4km that I had to do all the way back.
Koh Lanta must have way more beautiful places than the ones I am sharing here with you, but unfortunately, my health was not the best at the time and healthcare on the island is not the best, or even inexistent. Although I could easily stay in Koh Lanta for 2 months or more, I had to move o Krabi therefore, I only explored this little bit of it.
If you are considering renting a car to visit Koh Lanta, check Auto Europe’s website to guarantee good service at a good price. Many digital nomad foreigners here rent a car because it is the best way to get out of the island and head to Krabi where usually people that are on Koh Lanta go very often.
