By ferry the journey from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta is scheduled to take around 3 hours. By shared speedboat the same journey is scheduled to take around 1 hour 20 minutes.
Ferry Timetable from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta
Click on the Ao Nang – Koh Lanta link in the timetable below for more information and to buy tickets.
| Ao Nang - Koh Lanta ฿ 500–550 3h – 4h 30m | |
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Ao Nang Ferry Pier
Ferry and shared speedboat services from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta depart from Nopparat Thara Pier.
Arrival in Koh Lanta
Ferry and shared speedboat services from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta arrive in Koh Lanta at Saladan Pier.
About Travel to Koh Lanta
There are two different ways to travel by public transport from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta, by road or by sea.
Travel by Sea Compared to Travel by Road
Travel by speedboat is the fastest option (just under 2 hours) and also the most expensive option costing around 1,000 THB per person. Travel by minivan takes about the same time as travelling by ferry (about 3 hours 30 minutes) and they cost roughly the same, 500 to 700 THB per person.
The advantage of travel by sea is that you get to see several islands along the way, as well as the coastline of Koh Lanta. Travel by minivan, however, may be more convenient for some visitors as these services tend to include a hotel pick up in Ao Nang and a hotel drop off in Koh Lanta.
Pregnant women are advised by most of the transport operators not to travel by speedboat. Depending on the size of the waves the journey can be very bumpy and passengers are seated in a confined space for up to 2 hours.
Seafront shrine in Koh Lanta Old TownKoh Lanta Yai
Koh Lanta is a cluster of islands. The island where nearly all the leisure travellers stay is Koh Lanta Yai. Koh Lanta Yai is 30 km long and 4 km wide.
Beaches
All the beaches in Koh Lanta are located on the west coast of Koh Lanta, with the beaches becoming progressively less busy as you travel south from the main town, Saladan, in the north of Koh Lanta Yai. The long distance ferry pier for Koh Lanta Yai is located in Saladan.
Car Ferry Pier
Koh Lanta’s other ferry pier is located on Koh Lanta Noi, which the island to the north of Koh Lanta Yai. The ferry pier on Koh Lanta Noi is a car ferry pier with services covering the 1.5 km sea crossing to the mainland in around 20 minutes. Minivan services from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta complete the sea crossing to Koh Lanta on this car ferry service service.
Things to Do on Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta has a more relaxed atmosphere than many other popular Thai beach resort destinations such as Koh Samui or Phuket. A fairly high proportion of the visitors to Koh Lanta are families enjoying value for money resorts located on or close to the beach. Koh Lanta does, however, have a number of places of interest to visit.
Motorbike Tour
The most popular thing to do on Koh Lanta, besides relaxing on the beach, eating, and drinking, is to travel around Koh Lanta Yai on a rented motorbike. There is a concrete ring road which runs south from Saladan about half way along the west coast of the island before cutting across the island and turning northward back to Saladan along the east coast.
There are lots of beaches on the west coast of Koh Lanta Yai which are worth stopping at to look around and go for a swim. The best of these are in the southern end of the island including Bamboo Beach and the tiny Ao Nui Beach. There are also several waterfalls, and some caves, in the centre of the island which you can access from the road running along the west coast of the island.
Koh Lanta Old Town
The east coast of Koh Lanta Yai has no beaches but it does have an interesting town to visit, some great coastal scenery, zip lines and an area where you can go kayaking along mangrove lined waterways. The main east coast town is Koh Lanta Old Town which was the commercial centre of Koh Lanta before Saladan. The most interesting features of Koh Lanta Old Town are its wooden Chinese style shop houses, some of which have small private piers over the sea which have been converted to very pleasant sea view restaurants.