How to Get to Koh Lanta: Airport, Ferry and Road Options

Koh Lanta doesn't have an airport. Every visitor arrives the same way everyone else on the island does - by ferry across the water or by minivan over a bridge that didn't exist twenty years ago. Neither is complicated once you know which one you're doing and why.

The quick answer

Year-round, the way in is by road: a minivan from Krabi or Phuket, one short car ferry crossing at Ban Hua Hin, then a drive over the Siri Lanta Bridge onto the island itself. In high season, roughly November through April, a direct ferry or speedboat from Phuket or Krabi is also running and can be faster. In the wet season, the boats often aren't, and road is what's left. The rest of this page breaks that down by where you're flying into.

From Krabi Airport

Krabi is the closer airport and the shorter transfer, which is why most of the traffic to Lanta comes through it. A shared minivan covers the whole route: about an hour and a half on the road, a car ferry crossing at Ban Hua Hin that runs roughly 6am to 10pm, then another stretch of road over the Siri Lanta Bridge into Saladan. Door to door, budget 2 to 3 hours once you're through immigration and baggage claim - checked 2026-09-10, and worth treating as a range, not a fixed promise, since ferry queuing in high season adds time the schedule doesn't show.

Shared minivan-and-ferry tickets run cheap, roughly 300 to 600 baht depending on the operator and where on the island you're headed. A private transfer costs several times that and skips the shared-van stops. Book either through 12Go, which bundles the ferry ticket into the same fare so you're not sorting out a second payment at the pier.

From Phuket Airport

Phuket is the busier international airport, and for a lot of travellers it's the one their flight lands at, even though it's further from Lanta than Krabi. In high season, a direct ferry from Phuket's Rassada Pier to Saladan takes around 4 hours, or about 90 minutes by speedboat - both landing you within walking distance of central Saladan, without a second transfer tacked on.

Outside high season, that direct boat option thins out or disappears, and the road route through Krabi becomes the way in regardless of which airport you flew into - a longer trip, generally 5 to 6 hours door to door, but one that runs every day of the year. 12Go lists both the boat and the road combo. Check which one is actually operating before you book - the ferry may not be running the week you fly in, even if it was the last time someone posted about it online.

From Krabi town, Ao Nang, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lipe and Trang

Krabi town and Ao Nang both sit closer to Lanta than either airport, and the transfer from either is mostly the same road-and-ferry route described above, minus the airport leg. From Ao Nang, expect 2.5 to 4 hours depending on whether you're on a direct minivan-and-ferry combo or a slower shared service with multiple stops - checked 2026-09-10.

Koh Phi Phi is the shortest hop of the bunch in high season: a direct speedboat to Saladan Pier runs about an hour, with multiple daily departures between roughly December and April. Koh Lipe and Trang sit further south, on the same seasonal route as each other - a Bundhaya or Satun Pakbara speedboat threads between Koh Lipe, Koh Ngai, Koh Muk and Koh Kradan before reaching Koh Lanta, a trip of around 3 hours from Koh Lipe and somewhat less from a Trang pier boarding partway along that line. None of these routes run outside high season, so anyone travelling from the southern islands or from Trang in the wet months should plan on backtracking to Krabi and taking the road instead.

By ferry (high season only)

The direct ferry and speedboat services connecting Koh Lanta to Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lipe run roughly November through April, when the Andaman Sea is calm enough for a comfortable crossing. Boats dock at Saladan Pier on the island's north tip, which puts you closest to Saladan and the northern beaches and furthest from the southern end of Lanta Yai.

Seasickness tablets are worth having on the speedboat routes even in good weather - the smaller boats move a lot more than the slower ferries do. Luggage space is limited on speedboats specifically, so a large check-in bag is easier on the ferry or on the road route instead.

By road (year-round)

The road route is the one that never stops running, and it's the only option from roughly May through October, when the direct boats are suspended for the monsoon. It's the same route whether you started at Krabi or Phuket once you're past Krabi town: minivan to Ban Hua Hin, one car ferry crossing to Koh Lanta Noi, then a drive over the Siri Lanta Bridge - built in 2016 to replace what used to be a second ferry - onto Koh Lanta Yai and into Saladan.

That bridge is the reason this trip is a single overland run today, not two separate boat queues. Before 2016, the crossing from Lanta Noi to Lanta Yai was its own ferry, with its own wait. Now it's a road, and the only water crossing left on the whole route is the one at Ban Hua Hin.

Once you're on the island, most people either arrange a pickup through their accommodation or book a taxi in advance - Taxi Mun Lanta and VIP Taxi Lanta both run pier transfers, and are worth messaging ahead if you're arriving late or need a specific drop-off. Several accommodation owners double as transport operators, which is common enough on Lanta that it's worth asking your guesthouse directly before booking a separate transfer.

Which way should you go?

If you're flying into Krabi, take the minivan-and-ferry combo regardless of season - it's the shortest route in either way, and it's the one running every month of the year. If you're flying into Phuket during high season, the direct ferry or speedboat from Rassada Pier is worth the extra planning, since it skips the Krabi leg entirely. Coming from Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lipe or Trang, the direct high-season boat is almost always faster than backtracking to Krabi first, provided it's running that week.

If you're travelling between May and October, plan on the road route no matter which airport or island you're coming from, and check the current status before booking. Schedules that were live in April can vanish by June without much notice, and a page that isn't updated for the season is worse than no page at all. The rainy season guide covers which routes hold up in the wet months, in more depth than a single paragraph here can.

Once you're across and settled, sorting your own transport is the next thing on the list - browse Transport & Transfers for pier pickups and taxis, or Motorbike & Scooter Rental if a bike makes more sense once you know which beach you're staying on.