By Road (Air-Conditioned Bus)

The Southern Bus Terminal, (Tel: +66-2-894-6122, also known as Sai Tai Taling Chan (serves all destinations west and south of Bangkok from its somewhat inconvenient location on the Thonburi side of the river. In December 2007, the terminal moved to a new, even more remote location, at Phutthamonthon Sai 1 Road in norhtern Thonburi. The new one is located in the same direction, but is 4.5 km further from the center. Long-distance buses leave from here to destinations throughout Western Thailand (including Nakhon Pathom and Kanchanaburi) and Southern Thailand (including Krabi, Phuket, Surat Thani, Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, Hat Yai, and many others). The new terminal is fairly pleasant airport-like structure with air-conditioning, electronic departuer monitors (in English), a few bank offices and a KFC. Unlike the rip-off operators at Khao San Road, all buses from here are public, well-regulated, cheap and reasonably safe. Just buy your tickets at the numbered desk with your destination posted on it (almost always in English).

Daily bus services to Krabi are available at the Southern Bus Terminal (Tel: (66) 2434 7192, (66) 2434 7862) on Boromratchchonnani Road in Thonburi. The approximately 840 km journey takes about 12 hours.

From Krabi

From Airport Onwards

There are several ways to get to Koh Lanta from Krabi Airport (Tel: +66 7569 6545 to 9). You can rent a car at Krabi Airport if you want to drive all the way to the island. The conventional cars on offer are Suzuki Carribean 4WDs. (Specify whether you need a stick shift or automatic). There are international car rental companies such as Avis (Tel: +66 2251 1131 to 2) and Budget (Tel: +66 2203 9200). To get a car that suits your need or a luxury one, you should reserve in advance. Vehicles most suitable for roads on Koh Lanta are four-wheel-drive models. A credit card is required in renting a car with a minimum deposit of THB20,000. It takes about an hour to drive from Krabi to Hua Hin Pier, the springboard to Koh Lanta. You can drive your car onto the ferry which collects THB 100 per vehicle with an additional fare of THB 10 per passenger.

A more convenient way of reaching Koh Lanta from a flight arriving in Krabi is to book for a private transfer service that will pick you up at the airport and bring you directly to the resort. It can be done by booking for the hotel's transfer service or through a transfer service agent. Although, the latter is cheaper than the former. During your boat ride to the hotel, you will possibly witness some of Koh Lanta's satellite islands such as Koh Talabeng, Koh Kham and Ko Po.

By Ferry

Visitors can travel from Krabi to Koh Lanta via ferry during high season (November to April). The ferry departs from downtown Krabi at 11:30 a.m. and arrives at Saladan Pier on Koh Lanta at 1:00 p.m. The return trip to Krabi leaves at 8:00 a.m. and arrive at 10:00 a.m. The ferry service is unavailable during the low season (start of May to middle of October). Most first-time visitors find the 360-degree scenery from the ferry an eye-opener, thus the pleasure of vacation starts here. After a cruise from the mainland, the ferry drops off vehicle and passengers at Koh Lanta Noi from where an 8 km journey is required to reach another pier for a ferry transfer to Koh Lanta Yai. While on the ferry, you can either remain seated in the car, or get off and transfer to the seats on the upper deck.

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