Publisearre: 13.02.2023
The speedboat took us from Koh Lipe to Koh Lanta on 25.01.23. Duration of the journey was about 2.5 hours. The ride felt like a rhythmic roller coaster, it was quite bumpy, definitely not for the faint-hearted. It was enough for us, eventually our bottoms started hurting.
Once we arrived at our destination, we climbed off the boat and had to pass a kind of barrier or fence at the port, where someone was sitting and collected 20 baht (10 baht per person) as an "entrance fee".
Since we were hungry and dark clouds were appearing in the sky, we first took a seat at the restaurant at the ferry port. The waitress immediately targeted us because we needed a taxi to our accommodation afterwards. After we had ordered drinks and food, it started pouring down rain. We waited for the rain to stop and went with the lady, who had been waiting for us, to our taxi driver. We ended up paying a whopping 400 baht (11€) for the taxi ride!
For the next 7 days, we stayed at the Popular Lanta Resort on Klongkhong Beach. We really liked it there. We felt comfortable in the area. It's a very cozy and small resort with a terrace and seating areas, quiet, with a great location and a beautiful beach right outside the door. The next beach, Bamboo Beach, is only a ten-minute walk away, and the well-known Long Beach, surrounded by some hotels, is about 20-30 minutes away on foot. Of course, you can also rent a scooter to explore the island. We did that too and visited the national park and the old town. Koh Lanta is a dreamlike landscape: lots of greenery, palm trees and beautiful beaches everywhere, and cows, goats, and chickens running around 😄 The locals were extremely friendly, various restaurants are located right around the corner, as well as a 7-Eleven, scooter rental, and a few shops. We dropped off our laundry for 40 baht per kilogram and could pick it up the next day (clean and folded).
We had a good time on Koh Lanta. Of course, it's touristy, especially now in high season (also popular with families), but it's less crowded compared to Koh Lipe, where it feels like everyone is in the "Walking Street" in the evening. Prices are also cheaper than on Koh Lipe, and we had incredibly delicious curries 🍛 here (Panang and Massaman Curry).
On February 1st, we left Koh Lanta by bus/minivan (booked online via 12GoAsia) and drove to the mainland to Krabi.