Too much relaxation by the beach? Feel the need to explore some more and change the scenery? Koh Lanta Yai is great for touring around on the scooter for a full day or half a day.
Here are the 5 top things to see in Koh Lanta Yai by scooter:
- Koh Lanta Yai Old Town ==> very cozy and small town with nice place to get souvenirs and have lunch or dinner facing the ocean.
- Mu Koh Lanta National Park ==> see some beach monkey and beautiful clear water
- Beaches, beaches, and more beaches! ==> Nui Bay Beach has a great setting, and its also nice for photos, Kolng Dao beach is great for seafood on the beach and fire shows, and Long Beach is great for chilling and swimming.
- Saladan Pier area ==> that is where the main pier is with many restaurants facing the water. Also a large market for souvenirs is there, but the prices are fixed, so we would recommend going to shops where you can negotiate :-). On weekends there is the weekend marker.
- Sea Gypsy Village – It is far away from everything else, and you should only go if you have time and enjoy riding around with the scooter for long. Read below on how we experienced it.
Koh Lanta Old Town and Sea Gypsy Village are on the east side of the island, while the beaches are on the west side. Saladan pier is at the northern tip of Koh Lanta Yai and Mu Koh Lanta National Park is at the southern tip. Going south to the National Park is only possible on the west side. So we would recommend doing the east side program for half a day. You can negotiate the scooter prices for less than 24 hours 🙂 And then doing the beaches and national park as a full day, with enough time to relax by all the nice beaches on the way.
Read below our journal entry from the day touring around the Koh Lanta’s east side for half a day.
We started our day the perfect way!
Waking up naturally, without alarm clocks, at 7.10 gave us enough time for Tomer to go for a run and Anastasia to do a Yoga session before breakfast. A 5km run along the beach before breakfast is the best way to avoid feeling guilty trying everything the buffet has to offer. After 5 days at our resort in Koh Lanta, the staff already knows us well. While walking in to the restaurant, the waitress confirms: “two omelettes, no ham?” This sure made us feel at home!
After breakfast, we started our usual routine of laying on the sun beds by the beach, only this time with a plan: to leave at 15.00 to go visit the Sea Gypsy village and Lanta Old Town. We rented a scooter from our favourite lunch restaurant and went off East. After riding for about 45 minutes down the island, we reached the southernmost point of Koh Lanta Yai on the East side.
We expected the Sea Gypsy village to be inhabited by some historical Thai tribe that has not changed in over 500 years. However, all the Sea Gypsy village turned out to be was some tin
cabins by the beach with chickens running around everywhere in and out of people’s homes. The sea gypsies were simple ‘normal’ island people, wearing normal clothes, riding motor bikes, and relaxing in the squat position.
The Old Town was surprisingly much nicer than all other towns on the island. It had sea-side restaurants with amazing views, and handy-craft stores. The Old Town is a very nice place to go for souvenir shopping and have a meal by the sea.
For tomorrow we booked a cooking class at Time for Lime. Stay tuned to read if we cooked a delicious or disgusting Thai meal. One thing is for sure, Anastasia will avoid the chillis!
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