Are you looking for a tropical paradise? Do you want to see something more of this enjoyable region washed by the Andaman Sea? Do you want to merge with the beautiful sceneries of white sand beaches and crystal clear waters, lush jungles and vibrant resorts? And above all, do you want to get away from the logic of mass tourism that characterises Phuket, Phi Phi Islands and Krabi?

A glimpse of Koh Lanta National Park

Perfect, you are in the right website, the one that takes you to visit Southern Thailand and gets you to know a series of beautiful, little-known and little-explored islands. Let me be clear: do not expect deserted islands. You can though certainly expect places where you will hardly find annoying masses of tourists, where you can find decent hotels equipped with the right comforts and where, perhaps, there is an attempt to generate a form of sustainable tourism.

Enough said. Follow us now along this enchanting journey which, starting from the island of Koh Lanta, just south of Krabi, takes us all the way to Koh Lipe, a short distance from the Malaysian border. An itinerary particularly suitable for those who want to explore beaches that will enchant you with their beauty and that will leave an indelible desire in your heart to come back in your next vacation to see for yourself all that the Andaman Sea has to offer you.

So, let’s get ready to tackle this itinerary, one that develops through three Thai coastal provinces: Krabi, Trang and Satun.

Koh Lanta – (Krabi province)

Koh Lanta National Park

This is the first stop of our tour. It is an island of remarkable beauty off the coast of the Krabi province where visitors can stay in hotels of various categories that often overlook the white, long beaches of the island. The island of Koh Lanta is already a well-known destination and there are several tourists who reach it, scattering along its entire coast.

Many are the activities that can be practiced in Koh Lanta: snorkelling, kayaking and excursions to nearby and equally enchanting islands can easily be organised.

Koh Lanta has its own merit-making corner

And of course sunbathing, relaxing on the beach and swimming a short distance from the shoreline, where you can ‘soak in’ as if there were no tomorrow.

These are the basis of those ‘non-activities’ that you can practice on any of the islands we will descrive.

In Koh Lanta there is no shortage of restaurants serving delicious Thai dishes as well as international cuisine. Most of them are located on the beach, so not only will you not go hungry during your stay, but you can also satisfy your appetite for a panoramic view of the ocean.

Koh Ngai – (Krabi province)

A corner of Koh Ngai beach

Koh Ngai is an Andaman Sea island located off the coast of Thailand. It is a paradise framed by splendid beaches of white sand and by waters so transparent that they look like panes of glass. It is the right place for those who want to get away from it all, who are not afraid of boredom and who feel good about themselves, perhaps not disdaining simply relaxing on a deck chair with a book in hand. Koh Ngai’s luxuriant tropical vegetation, among other things, offers adequate shelter from the scorching sun during the hot hours of the day.

Next, add up the usual activities such as canoeing, fishing, snorkelling and even diving to access those spectacular coral reefs that make up much of the seascape surrounding the island, easily reachable by local boats.

Koh Mook lifestyle… easy

One of the main attractions of Koh Ngai is the abundance of wildlife, including monkeys, monitor lizards and colourful birds that can be seen almost everywhere on this small paradise island.

Not enough? Then let me tell you that on Koh Ngai you will find little of everything (or none), though some shops can be found on nearby islands. Koh Ngai is the perfect place for fantasising. Just walk away from your hotel, close your eyes and imagine being on a desert island. Dream, and reach the night time, leaving worries aside and abandoning yourself to a deep and restful sleep.

Koh Kradan and Koh Mook – (Trang province)

Relax in Koh Kradan

The only difference between Koh Ngai and these two islands is that they are located in different provinces. Apart from this, everything said for the previous island also stands for the latter two. We can only add that Koh Kradan has a remarkable snorkelling site that can be easily reached by swimming from the shore, and that on Koh Mook you can visit the splendid and unmissable Emerald Cave, through which you access a hidden lagoon that will leave you breathless. Seeing is believing.

Last but not least, Koh Mook, being larger than the others, has a greater number of tourist structures and a village, where you can find local shops and restaurants.

Koh Libong – (Trang province)

This is another must-see destination when visiting the southern region of Thailand. This tranquil island offers visitors the chance to experience traditional Thai culture, with local villages filled with friendly people who will welcome you with open arms and traditional smiles. Here you can practice numerous activities, including trekking in the lush jungle and boat trips to surrounding islands or, alternatively, among the mangroves, looking for wild animals. Koh Libong is truly a unique place we will talk about in more details in the future.

Koh Bulon – (Satun province)

Sunset over Koh Bulon

I last visited the island of Koh Bulon about ten years ago. I was headed to Koh Lipe, but in the end I couldn’t resist Koh Bulon sea, its beaches, its tranquility and the cuisine of Gianluca, a friend who had a restaurant on that island: the Panka Noi Pizza, open from November to the beginning April.

Well, after ten years who knows how this Koh Bulon will have developed, you will say. It is legitimate to wonder, though I assure you that Koh Bulon has not had the growth that much better-known Koh Lipe, our next stop, has had. As a result, Koh Bulon has maintained a good part of the beauty of the past.

But if you insist, I will travel back to the island soon, and I will let you know more about it as soon as possible. What I do know is that Gianluca is always there with his restaurant so I’m also sure I’ll be adequately fed… Rather, if you happen to be in Koh Bulon, go find him: it’s worth it.

Koh Lipe – (Satun province)

Koh Lipe dream beach

And finally here we are at the end of our journey. We are in the Koh Tarutao Marine National Park, where the island of Lipe is located. This is undoubtedly the best known destination of Southern Thailand, an idyllic paradise that is slowly becoming a ‘lost paradise’ with once pristine beaches that now attract ever greater numbers of tourists.

Given our initial comments on mass tourism, perhaps Koh Lipe should be dropped from this list of ours. However, I believe that this island should be forcibly inserted into a southern islands itinerary because, despite everything, it remains, in my honest opinion, an amazing place. I would say that Koh Lipe should be awarded an ‘ad honorem green card’.

Koh Lipe by night

Koh Lipe‘s fame is also supported by the beauty of the surrounding islands, great destinations for day trips, and by the coral gardens that surround it, rich in marine life and a natural paradise for those who intend to snorkel or dive.

In all these years of growth, Koh Lipe has also developed a lively nightlife made up of bars, restaurants and clubs where you can have a drink and listen to music. In short, there is something for all tastes on the island. As you can see, there is no shortage of choice and I assure you that we are talking about quality places.

How to reach the islands

At this point the last thing to tell you is how to reach these islands which, although off the beaten track, are well connected to each other, to the mainland and to the main tourist centres.

Sea sand palms and rest

Scheduled speedboats connect Phuket, Phi Phi Islands and Krabi with each of these islands. Certainly some distances can be long and perhaps not very suitable for those suffering from back pain or seasickness, but in this case there are alternative solutions.

You can travel by car or minivan, privately or by public transport, the latter obviously cheaper, until you reach one of the ports of embarkation closest to your chosen islands.  From there, a traditional ‘longtail boat’ carries you to your destination.

Should you arrive from further afield, for example Bangkok, you can fly to one of the three International airports close to the above islands: Krabi, Trang and Hat Yai.

And for those who have the time and the wish, you could hop on a catamaran cruise which touches each of the destinations described, and perhaps some other pearl of the Andaman where you can have an intermediate stops. In short, even in this case there is no shortage of solutions, the choice is yours.

Photos by Guglielmo Zanchi (Pluto)

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The proper rudder!

I had been planning a day out at sea in Koh Lanta and finally, on a stunning morning not so long ago, I got the chance to hop on my friend Didier’s wooden boat.

I had carefully planned the trip from Ao Nang, on the mainland; I set off in the early morning and my car and I managed to board the first set of ferries to the Lanta islands. We reached Koh Lanta Yai at 8am, I stopped in the village of Ban Saladan to buy some breakfast fritters from one of the local vendors and arrived at Didier sea-front wooden house on stilts soon after. My friend was busy talking to his captain and checking the boat for the forthcoming trip.

I drunk a coffee and socialised with a group of tourists who were joining the tour, before being summoned by Didier; we boarded the boat via a bamboo floating jetty and off we were, cruising towards the Koh Lanta straight. On the Ban Saladan shores, a series of private piers hosted boats on which staff loaded air tanks and diving equipment, and divers chatted with their instructors, excited about the day’s programmed dives.

Didier on his boat

The water on the straight was calm and the tides high, and the captain headed towards the maze of mangroves. The program then proposed cruising south through the islands of the straight, with Koh Mook, in the Trang archipelago, as the southernmost destination. As the captain cruised skillfully, I took my time to check up the back of the boat. It was different from the traditional longtail boat that characterize the Andaman, which uses an overboard engines attached to a long iron stick that ends with a propeller. This was a bigger boat, with an onboard stored-away engine and a proper rudder. Captain Bang Sod, an aged local with white hair and a witty smile, with his several years experience at the command of large diving boats, looked quite proud to be the captain of such a boat.

With my exploration completed, I turned my attention to the mangrove forest; their environment is so complete, so quiet and peaceful especially at that time of the day. Thailand only has a few areas that have been recognised as wetlands of the world and the mangrove forest of Krabi Province is ranked in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Lots of plants and wildlife live in the mangrove environment, including monkeys, birds, and fish.

The boat’s slow pace then allowed us to enjoy the magnificent views of the gulf, and to take on the healthy sea breeze. The magic of the sea is always appealing to me. I love slow boats, drifting in the vastness of the water masses, watching the horizon line and never reaching it, evoking past navigations of intrepid seafarers.

View of Koh Lanta east coast

At 9am we exited the mangroves canals and the sun started to get stronger; the sky was a nice shade of blue. The boat cruised along Koh Por island with its nice bays and a picturesque fisherman village, passed Lanta’s southernmost point, then a few islands: Koh Ngai, where several boats discharged sunbathers; Koh Ma and Koh Chuak, well-known diving and snorkeling sites; Koh Kradan and Koh Mook, the most popular islands in the Trang province, part of Had Chao Mai National Park.

Koh Mook is home to several local communities; it features high cliffs and rocks facing the open sea at its western face, and is well known thanks to Morakot (emerald) Cave, a unique attractions part of the Unseen in Thailand tourism campaign that takes its name from the color the water assumes in the proximity of the cave.

Captain Bang Sod anchored the boat in proximity of the cave entrance, where one by one we jumped in the water. The exciting thing about this hidden lagoon is that in order to reach it you need to swim through a narrow fissure a few meters wide, a sea tunnel inside the majestic limestone rock, carved by the sea. Didier swam at the helm, holding the torch and making the way through the pitch-dark tunnel accessible only during low tides. At that time of that day the tide was so high tough that it forced us to lower our heads in order to avoid hitting the rock ceiling. After a short while, a ray of light filtered in from the end of the tunnel, and soon we entered the small lagoon.

A snorkeling destination

Enclosed in a shell of sheer rocks several hundred meters high covered in tropical vegetation, a small beach was lined with huge beech trees and plants that sprouted massive foliage from a red earthy ground. We got out of the water; the sand there had the consistency of powder. We spent some time in peace, had another swim, explored the jungle-ridded sides of the encircling mountain, and left for the swim back.

Captain Bang Sod was waiting for us, ready to cruise on. On the way back, we had lunch: a simple yet delicious rice and vegetable ratatouille, followed by fruit and soft drinks. During our trip back, we sailed along the West side of Koh Lanta, stopping to snorkel at a couple of destinations, and taking a break at a semi-desert bay along the coast.

We arrived back in Ban Saladan jetty at 5pm, tired from the several hours of boating but happy and content, amazed by this experience  out at sea in Koh Lanta.

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