Klong Dao Beach isn’t stretched in a single line, but rather resembles a semicircle with strongly curved edges. It’s a bay whose right edge curves quite dramatically, forming a deep wedge of land into the sea. There’s no point staying on the far right section of Klong Dao, because the beach is more for strolling than swimming.
Few tourists, and people mainly come here to walk and sunbathe. You often see Thai families coming for picnics. There are also a couple of pricey resorts on Klong Dao that look rather lovely, but to swim you’ll need to head closer to the centre. The rest of this beach on Koh Lanta is magnificent, but very shallow.
Beach Overview
After driving around and seeing all of Koh Lanta’s beaches, I have a clear opinion about Klong Dao – peaceful, beautiful family beach. Length-wise, despite not being Long Beach, you couldn’t call Klong Dao short either. It stretches for 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres), and in my view that’s quite a long beach. I even had to set myself three shooting points, so I’m posting beach photos in sections.
Visually the whole area is rather flat, like Long Beach. Beauty-wise, compared to other small islands like Phangan, Klong Dao is less appealing – it’s somehow not tropical. Ordinary Thai buildings predominate here, the shore is dotted not with palms but deciduous trees, very simple-looking and understated externally.
The sand on the beach is yellowish, but when it dries it becomes very light.
Swimming
Klong Dao is very similar to Long Beach in terms of depth gradient: depth increases gradually. After about 30 feet (10 metres) you’ll be up to your shoulders, provided you’ve come swimming at high tide.
Low tides dramatically change Klong Dao for the worse: the beach becomes unswimmable and the sea retreats 330-490 feet (100-150 metres), then you need to walk quite far through water. So the standard swimming scheme here is: people walk until they’re about waist-deep and just plop into the water. After all, you don’t need six feet of depth underneath to swim. Waves happen on Klong Dao with a following breeze, but due to shallow water it’s usually calm here.
Sunbeds and Shade
There seems to be less shade on Klong Dao though. There are trees, but mainly they stand on private territory, strictly in a line, and give free shade more in the first half of the day, while the sun rises to zenith and casts long shadows from trees. In the second half you need to move under the trees themselves, and that’s already some establishment’s territory where they might not let you in.
Many cafĂ©s have their own loungers, so some tourists set up near a bar and for drinks get the right to lie on a lounger like civilised people. The beach doesn’t have many people, which is nice. There are genuinely fewer than on Long Beach.
Beach Photos
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Amenities
The area structure is fairly standard: the main island road runs along the shore, and between the road and sea the entire beachfront is occupied by resorts and bungalow complexes. To reach the beach, you need to go either through resort territory or along one of the paths between these resorts that lead directly to the beach.
Distance from road to shore, meaning the beachfront width, varies: in the right part it’s quite wide and could fit not just the first line of hotels, but second and third too. But in the left part it’s so narrow you can practically see the beach from the road.
Klong Dao has all necessary infrastructure for beach holidays: cafĂ©s, restaurants, bars, massage parlours, a small clinic, several 7-Eleven chain minimarts and a proper petrol station. Right at the beginning of Klong Dao, in its right section, there’s practically a mini-town (considering Lanta’s format, of course).
Generally, the first impression of Klong Dao immediately shows you’ve arrived in a resort village that’s just starting to develop. Everything around is very low, one or two storeys, lots of space between buildings, wide roads and you constantly encounter construction sites or empty plots.
Klong Dao is the area with the most developed infrastructure on the island, and to be specific about my opinion of the beach, personally it seemed no worse than Long Beach, which is considered the best here. In my view both Long Beach and Klong Dao are quite similar to each other, and perfectly suited for family beach holidays.
Accommodation
Thanks to excellent infrastructure and a large choice of accommodation, the area around Klong Dao Beach is considered one of the best on the island. Before the trip I carefully checked hotel reviews and noted several for myself in case I decided to stay at Klong Dao. Due to the beach’s decent length, I’ve split the selection into three parts, like the photos.
Right half of the beach:
- Costa Lanta – Adult Only
Central part of the beach:
- My Home Lantawadee Resort
- Laguna Beach Club Resort
- D. R. Lanta Bay Resort
- Khlong Dao Sunset Villa
- Lanta Summer House
Left part of the beach:
- Lanta Bee Garden
- Lemonade Boutique Inn
In the right part of Klong Dao it’s better to stay not near the main road (quite noisy after all), but on the little streets that lead to the sea. Loads of hotels here and much quieter.
Hotels on Lanta →
How to Find the Beach
You won’t need to look for it. Klong Dao Beach is the very first beach you encounter when arriving on the island, as soon as you cross the bridge between Lanta Yai and Lanta Noi. You’ll definitely notice the Klong Dao signpost at the T-junction (after the bridge), which is only 0.6 miles (one kilometre) away. For doubters – you can print the map below, or save the necessary markers on your smartphone.
