Koh Haa (Five Islands)
        It takes more than an hour to get to Koh Haa from Koh Lanta. There are actually five and a half islands at Koh Haa. The islands two, three and four make up a beautiful area called ‘the lagoon.’ Island number three has a very nice white sandy beach, where diving and snorkeling near its bay are excellent. The water is shallow so Koh Haa is a good location for beginners. Koh Haa is considered a gem according to diving professionals as there are many rare things to see underwater and the visibility here is exceptional. On a normal day you can see up to 25 ms and on a good day, almost 35 ms. The water is clean and clear. It’s a good place to look for ghost pipe fish, moray eel, porcupine, puffer, yellow box fish, lots of shrimps and octopus. Koh Haa has more octopus than any other site. The area is also popular for turtles.
       Koh Haa is great for diving, but very good for snorkeling as well. The lagoon is between 3 to 5 ms deep. It has a white sandy bottom with coral heads that come up so you can easily see everything. Kids tend to love it here. Even people who don’t really swim very much can put a life jacket on and enjoy the day as the water is so clear. Koh Haa also has beautiful caverns that you can swim into. On island number five (also called ‘Koh Haa Yai’—the biggest of the five) there are two very big chambers where light comes in from both sides. The opening is about 9 ms deep and 6 ms wide in both chambers. The light comes through the water which makes everything green and magical. From the ceiling there are stalactites and stalagmites to explore. Then you can go back down and swim through into the second chamber to find tiger shells, glass shrimps, and hermit crabs. Finally island number one also has a good cavern system as well. You can swim in and come out through an exit similar to a chimney. All of them are wonderful for diving. Dive shops arrange frequent trips to the islands. Normal price is 2,800 Baht for a one-day trip. Go Dive (Tel: (66) 7568 4320, (66) 8 1657 0939, (66) 8 1363 1513) is one of the professional centers on the island.

Koh Phi Phi
       It takes 2 hrs and 20 mins to reach Koh Phi Phi from Koh Lanta. There are two islands: Koh Phi Phi Don and Koh Phi Phi Lay. The first one has a concentration of hotels and resorts, and the second one is the national park. Koh Phi Phi is a well known place to dive—there are 30 to 35 dive sites. The underwater scenery in Phi Phi is spectacular, and it has a large variety of corals and marine life. You can swim through the rocks, which on occasion have schools of fish that make a wall of sea life. If you only have one dive, Koh Phi Phi is the right place to go. Koh Phi Phi is very famous for leopard sharks and big red sea fans. The visibility is not as good as Koh Haa—on a normal day, you can expect 15 to 20 ms. On a very good day, 20 to 25 ms. But the place makes it up with the variety of fish and coral, and diving sites. You can go wall-diving, since there is a wall that goes straight down to 30 ms and you can swim or float along it. The wall has pinnacles that you can swim around.
       The down side to Phi Phi is that it’s crowded. You can have 20 to 30 dive boats at any time within one dive site. You see lots of fish but you see lots of divers too. The two other good diving points of Koh Phi Phi are Bida Nok and Bida Nai (also called fantasy rock) but they’re half way back to Koh Lanta and they are located next to Phi Phi Lay. If you haven’t been to Thailand before, it is well worth a visit to Koh Phi Phi. Lanta Garden Hill Speed Boat (Tel: (66) 7568 4042, (66) 8 5791 6148), is one of the most reliable speedboat companies in Koh Lanta.