Which Koh Lanta snorkeling trip should you choose?

Every shop on Lanta sells roughly the same handful of trips, which makes the choice harder than it should be. Here is how they actually differ.

If you want the best water

Koh Rok and Koh Haa. Both sit well offshore inside the national park, and visibility there regularly beats anything closer to the island. You need a speedboat to reach them, so it is a faster and noisier day, but the water is the reason people come back.

If you want the most variety

The four islands and Emerald Cave trip. Five stops, each a different kind of place: a soft-coral rock island, a swim-in cave, a lunch beach, a shallow coral garden. The longtail pace means you spend more time in the water and less time in transit.

If you have half a day

Koh Haa half day. Forty minutes out by speedboat, three stops, back on shore for lunch. It works on an arrival or departure day and it is the easiest introduction if you have never snorkeled before.

If you are travelling with children

Either the mangroves and Monkey Point, which is calm water and wildlife with no swimming required, or a private longtail charter, where you set the pace and can go home when the youngest has had enough.

If you want the famous places

Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Monkey Beach. Be honest with yourself about what you want here: the scenery is genuinely spectacular and the snorkeling is the weakest of the trips on this page. Go for the cliffs, not the coral.