Koh Lanta is a dream. The softest white sand beaches, the perfect water for swimming, amazing food, and a cute little bungalow; what else can you ask for?
It was a bit of a harrowing journey to the island though. The ferry from Phuket to Koh Lanta was supposed to take around 2 hours. Halfway through the journey, the ferry saddles up next to two other boats, and we are told to board the other one mid-ocean, which will bring us the rest of the way. We are on that boat for probably 5 minutes when it just completely stops. After a while of just floating, they told us there was a problem with the engine so we need to wait for another boat to pick us up. After waiting for nearly an hour our first boat comes back to rescue us! The whole journey took more than 4 hours.
Despite our little engine fiasco, we eventually arrived in Koh Lanta and found a taxi to take us to our accommodation, Ozone Beach Huts.
Immediately, we felt way happier and more comfortable in Koh Lanta than we had been in Phuket. Everything was much more laid back, much less touristy, and less about partying.
We stayed in these cute little bungalows at Ozone Beach Huts. There was no A/C, but it was cozy and so close to the beach! Our first day we spent just checking out the area around our place.
On our second day, we rented a scooter to explore the island. We had originally planned to rent bicycles, but it ended up being cheaper to rent one scooter than two bikes! Our scooter was 250 baht for 24 hours, and ultimately we were glad that we got the scooter over the bikes. We got to explore Koh Lanta Old Town, and drove all the way down the coast, to Koh Lanta National Park.
Koh Lanta is quite spread out, so renting a scooter is definitely a must if you want to explore more than just the beach.
We had originally only booked 4 nights in Koh Lanta, but ended up extending because we liked it so much. It is much quieter than Phuket, and the beaches were far less crowded. The sunsets were beautiful, beach bars were plentiful, and the weather was just perfect.
When we weren’t going on walking or scooter adventures, we took advantage of our close proximity to the beach and spent hours swimming and floating in the ocean.
We spent our last day plotting and planning our next destinations – we will be headed to Koh Phayam, then Bangkok, then Chiang Mai for the rest of our Thailand adventure.