We have 27 places to stay in and around Ko Lanta.
Which are some of the best places to stay on Ko Lanta?
So many options—so here is a cheat sheet
Saladan
Ko Lanta’s main pier town hosts one good hostel along with several cheap guesthouses and serviced apartments for dive instructors and long stayers. You’ll find great seafood and some sand to lounge on at north-facing Ao Koh Kwang, whose north-facing sand meets the far end of the village. Head inland, however, and it gets tacky quick.
Khlong Dao
Mostly midrange resorts back this three-km beach, which, though lacking jetskiis and banana boats, is as close as Lanta comes to looking like the busiest beaches of Samui and Phuket. Though most of the resorts fail to impress, the gentle drop off is good for small children and we do like the lower-key northern and southern corners of the beach. Off the sand you’ll find heaps of cheap guesthouses, apartments and restaurants.
Haad Phra Ae (Long Beach)
Lanta’s longest beach offers the widest range of accommodation. Dirt-cheap bungalows and dorms join a hippie-party vibe in the northern traveller village, while older backpackers, flashpackers and families have good choices to the south. The central portion of Haad Phra Ae leans more towards the upper end of the price spectrum thanks to some larger resorts, and out on the main drag you’ll find a bunch of budget guesthouses and hostels.
Khlong Khong
Lanta’s main party beach, Khlong Khong has a solid spread of backpacker to flashpacker spots on the sand to go with another flurry of long-stay places out on the newly widened main drag. The rough tan-sand beach is nothing special, but young travellers (and the young at heart) appreciate the beach bars that host loud parties and advertise “Bob Marley cigarettes”.
Khlong Nin
Khlong Nin and its neighbouring beaches, Khlong Tob and Khlong Hin, combine to form one of our favourite parts of Ko Lanta. They’re all beautiful beaches with strategic locations at the centre of the west coast, within easy striking distance of both the northern and southern beaches. Don’t miss the Muslim-Thai food out by the mosque in Baan Khlong Tob.
Far southern Ko Lanta
This section includes a trio of far southern beaches: upscale Ao Ba Kantiang, backpacker-friendly Haad Khlong Jak and remote Ao Maipai. All three are tremendously beautiful and set in more natural surrounds than the more heavily developed beaches further north. Though many travellers only come down here on a day trip, quality lodgings are available on all three bays.