Koh Lanta is a completely different vibe than the last beach I spoke about over in Phuket. There are a couple of really busy beach areas in Thailand and one of them in Phuket. The others I will get to later but there is one thing that they all share in common and that is the "hassle factor" of all of them. These areas are so popular with tourists that no matter where you go, unless it is on your hotel or guesthouse grounds, you are going to be harassed everywhere you walk or sit to purchase something. This seems quaint or perhaps fun at first, but after a few days of not being able to get any peace it becomes tiresome.
Maybe I'll talk about that in greater detail in the future but let's stick to the point of this blog entry and that is the majesty that is Koh Lanta.
Lanta has a very different vibe than Phuket beaches despite the fact that both Lanta and Phuket are relatively large islands. I always say that they are about the same size but when I look closer at a map it turns out that Phuket is about 3 times the size of Lanta. Phuket certainly has a LOT more than 3x the population of Lanta and this is something that you will notice right away when you get there.
As soon as you get off the boat in the main town of Lanta you will notice that you are stepping back in time. The traditional buildings for the most part remain intact, and there seems to be a movement of sorts to make sure that it stays that way. Phuket and the rest of Thailand is kind of marred with extremely ugly cookie-cutter cement rectangle houses and they are just ugly no matter what color they are painted. Lanta still has a traditionally Thailand feel, especially in the main town. Don't let the old buildings food you though, there are plenty of amazing restaurants in this area and of course there are multiple 7-11's. This is still Thailand after all.
There are a bunch of beach areas on the island and some of the more popular will be evident right away. The good thing about the "popular" beaches on Lanta is that the word popular doesn't mean completely overrun with tourists the way that it tends to mean in Phuket. Even at the most popular beach called "Long Beach" it is very easy to find some space to yourself and for the most part, you will be left alone in your space unless you call to the nearby restaurant for some food or drinks. Touting (wandering salespeople) are kind of frowned upon on the island and therefore for the most part do not exist.
I think a lot of this is probably because the beaches are so spread out on Lanta, that it would take them absolute ages to traverse them all.
One of my favorite beaches on the island is almost all the way to the south in Kantiang Bay
There are very few lodging operations in Kantiang and one of them is a resort called Pimalai that costs something crazy like $400 a night for the cheap rooms. The thing is, this fancy pants resort is right next door to some guesthouses and bungalow operations that are $20 a night. No one is allowed to own the beach!
one thing to note about Lanta is that there are never waves here. The water is calm and swimming is easy and safe. This is great for some people and not so great for others. For me, I enjoy having some waves to play in and surf but for others they might prefer the almost lake-like quality of all the beaches in Koh Lanta.
Overall, Lanta is drastically cheaper than Phuket or most of the rest of Thailand for that part. The only thing that might turn people off is that once you arrive at the airport you are looking at an additional 2 hours of travel time just to get there. No bridge has been built all the way across as of yet and a ferry is necessary in order to get across. It used to be 2 ferries. However, if you can deal with the wait and plan to stay there for a while, I really don't think you will regret this decision. Just make sure that you are the kind of person that appreciates a slower pace of life before you go there because that is exactly what you are going to receive.