Need Some advice on Ko Lanta Accommodations!
 

Hello everyone,

I am going to start a 17 day trip to Thailand with my girlfriend in Ko lanta in a few weeks, and I am looking for a suitable spot to stay there for a few days...
We want to be on the southern 1/3 of the island (the idea being that the crowds might be a little thinner there)with a fair bit of privacy. Budget isn't so much a concern as physical setting and character...
And of course we want the bungalow, as opposed to a room. Also a good little restaurant/bar with good Thai food would be nice.
Any ideas??
And while I have your attention, is it fairly strightforward to get from Krabi to Lanta independently? We will be landing in the Krabi Airport around noon on a wednesday..
OK now the questions keep coming. Is it possible to snorkel right off the beach on Lanta? And lastly, Railay beach sounds quite sublime, but the photos make it look rather overrun with tourists...What's your take on it?
Thanks very much - I have been scouring the forums here for days, and the ideas and suggestions are incredibly helpful.

Bert
Kandahar, Afghanistan

PS and YES, we will spend a few days in Bangkok on the way home....:)

We were recently in Thailand in Dec for 3 weeks. Our itinerary was BKK, Railay Beach, Phi Phi, and Ko Lanta. We stayed at the Royal Lanta Resort and Spa-it was a beautiful hotel that I would recommend. Crowds are not a problem at Ko Lanta and we were on the busiest beach which was not busy at all. We thought Ko Lanta was one of the most laid back islands that we had visited if that helps. The food was great-We ate at the SunSet Grill (right next to our hotel on the beach) a few nights as well as a few other restaurants on the beach which were all fab and cheap. The food at the hotel was superb and we ate there for lunch most days. You can take a van from the Krabi Airport to Ko Lanta-we took this from the hotel to the airport and very straightforward. There really isn't much to see for snorkeling-but many dive shops to choose from if you are certified.

I also want to mention that Railay Beach was our absolute favorite destination in Thailand although we loved every place that we visited. I really think you should go there if you can-its very very laid back and the scenery is unreal. We stayed on Railay East at the Sunrise Tropical resort and just absolutely loved the entire experience. We were there in high season and it was not crowded. I cannot say enough about Railay as well as Ko Lanta.

I hope this helps-I had a hard time finding information about Ko Lanta when I was planning our trip and I am happy to answer any questions. If you want to post your e-mail address and I can e-mail you directly to answer questions. Good Luck!

Snorkeling right off the beach at Koh Lanta? NO! For any decent snorkeling from Lanta you need to take a boat trip. There are some links on our site specifically for Koh Lanta....take a look!
www.leightravelclub.com

We stayed on both Koh Lanta and Krabi with our adult kids for Christmass 2005. Koh Lanta was a little disappointing after the magnificent limestone cliffs on Railay. The setting made it more than just a beach resort. I do not know what your $$$ is but the Rayavadee certainly had wonderful bungalows.

We took a boat from Krabi to Koh Lanta. It a couple of hours.
The Layana resort is also very nice and in a good location. Koh Lanta is very quiet. The snorkeling is good but you do have to take a boat.
You will enjoy them both.

We loved the Pimalai on Koh Lanta. Beautiful ,relaxed, outstanding spa, powder white sand beach. Just perfect!

Hey thanks for the input Pmalinow et al... I haven't been here to look at the replies for a while.

Now I think we will start in Ko Lipe (if I can just get air asia to cooperate with me and change my flight to from Krabi to Hat Yai) and island hop northwards from there. We are thinking Lipe, Libong, Bulon, Railay, and Lanta, then fly out of Krabi back to BKK. One week to go!