Monday 7 June 2010

Travelling to Koh Lanta

The trip to Koh Lanta was relatively easy despite the island being quite remote. The closest airport serves Krabi province and is an ideal point of of entry as it was for us without a long overland journey.

There are very few direct flights to Krabi Airport so if you are origination from overseas then Bangkok international airport will be your arrival point. Every time we have entered Thailand via Bangkok we found it to be quite efficient for getting through immigration and customs without much delay.

Bangkok to krabi Airport.

Our flight connections favored us with a short stopover with just enough time for a bite of food before we were off again. Krabi airport is mostly served with flights from Bangkok with internal flights but there are flights from Koh Samui in Thailand as well as Singapore and Malaysia.

Flying time was quick and we were soon at Krabi airport and without waiting for baggage as we were traveling light we were soon ready for the next part of our journey.

Krabi Airport caters well for the traveler with pickup and drop off for minibus routes as well as taxi hire. It was a bit like being herded like sheep as the the passengers were segregated in to groups depending on destination and soon picked up by transport. There is a bit of trust here but the Thai people at the airport do get your sorted even if you do not have much of a clue what is happening.

Koh Lanta Minivan

Krabi Town to Koh Lanta

We could have went to Koh Lanta from the airport by getting picked up by a minivan but we decided to spend a night in Krabi Town instead.

The only problem anybody might have is timing, especially if they are arriving late and taking a taxi. There are two ferry crossings and some drivers may not want an over night stay on the island as the ferries do not run overnight.

The seasons affect how you will get there. Some services run only during the more busy season but the minivan service runs all the year round.

If your staying in Krabi your hotel can arrange a pickup by minivan. We we were just around the corner and took the time to get a coffee and walk to the pickup. It just took a couple of hours with the ferry fares included in the price of the ticket we were dropped off at our resort and ready for the beach.

Our choice of transport suited us as we were just heading for Koh Lanta. If your travelling around a few places and expect lots of modes of transport then you might be a little bit upset. Ferry services and speed boat hire can be had from other locations like PhuKet but may just run a high season service or run infrequent.

Our next trip will possibly be a straight in and straight out single destination holiday like we have done before . But if we were planning to experience a few more locations on a holiday in this part of Thailand then I think we would set aside a few extra for travelling and not expect frequent transport connection.

You will not be stranded but it just might take a bit longer to get there. As this is Thailand and anybody arriving here should have left the stress and speed of city life behind then a few extra hours relaxing and taking in the beauty should not matter.