I had a bit of a hiccup with Klong Toab Beach. The complexity of the coastline, which changes from hills to flatland, interrupted by a river and rock formations, the tricky road, and a poorly drawn tourist mapβall these factors combined led me to see only half of the beach. And it was the worse half at that, yet I was absolutely convinced that this was the entire Klong Toab.
When writing this post, I discovered the discrepancy and initially even decided to remove the draft until my next trip. But then I thought that my mistake could serve as a positive message for readersβdon’t repeat it. And I didn’t want to miss an excellent opportunity for genuine interaction with my followers, especially those who have already visited the area and might offer something useful for my return visit.
Beach Overview
The main feature of Klong Toab Beach is its location relative to road 4245, the main highway on Koh Lanta island. The beach stretches from north to south for almost 1 mile (one and a half kilometres), but only the first half is visible from the road. Starting from Lanta Corner Resort where the highway runs right next to the shore and up to the Coconut Grove restaurant where the road turns inland, you’re treated to a rather dismal view of the sea.
The shore is packed with concrete and tiles which the waves erode every rainy season, so don’t be surprised when you see parts of the promenade full of holes and washouts. If you rely solely on the paper tourist map, you’ll end up exactly on this promenade as I did and be left wonderingβwhere’s the beach? Just rocks everywhere.
However, after Coconut Grove Restaurant, the road makes a loop, enclosing an area of about 1,300 x 1,300 feet (400×400 metres), which accommodates about a dozen hotels and resorts, and even these occupy only half the territory. The rest consists of empty lots and jungle, plus a river with a wide estuary that’s quite large by local standards.
Klong Toab Beach here is frequently interrupted by rocks, so sandy swimmable sections are only found in front of certain hotels, which are listed below.
Swimming
There’s no access to the water from the promenade, not that anyone would fancy swimming there anyway. The depth isn’t very significant for about 300 feet (100 metres) and at low tide, a lunar landscape and pile of rocks on the seabed are exposed. Closer to the centre, there’s an approach channel for longtails and speedboats underwater.
The small sandy strips on the second half of Klong Toab look much more appealing, where the main beach infrastructure and accommodation are concentrated. Judging by the state of the shore on the promenade, there must be waves, but most likely during the off-season.
Unfortunately, I didn’t personally inspect the beaches of the second half of Klong Toab. Therefore, photos will only be from the Klong Toab promenade.
Sunbeds and Shade
In the second half of Klong Toab Beach, which I didn’t reach, there’s everything necessary for a tourist holiday. But since I don’t have photos of this half, I’ll leave the descriptive part for another time. Based on what I saw at the neighbouring beaches, I dare say that the sandy beaches of Klong Toab have umbrellas and sunbeds, but natural shade might be scarceβthe beaches are very wide, especially at low tide.
Beach Photos
Amenities
There’s no infrastructure in the first half of Klong Toab. There are literally just two purely Thai cafes and that’s it. On the left side, where Moonlight Exotic Bay Resort or its restaurant, or both, stand at the edge of the beach… in any case, in my opinion: whether it’s the restaurant or the resort with such a “splendid” view of the rocksβit’s a questionable pleasure.
After Moonlight begins a built-up patch with hotels where the infrastructure is mainly hotel-based, minimalistic: bar, restaurant, swimming pool, massage, equipment rentals. This is if we’re talking about the beachfront.
And driving along the main road, I saw petrol stations, many cafes, a couple of serious restaurants, many Thai shops, a mosque, equipment rentals and repairs, and even a lawyer’s office, not to mention street travel agencies. I didn’t discover any major attractions nearby.
Accommodation
There are no houses on the deserted part of Klong Toab, except for the resort at its very beginningβLanta Corner Resort.
But on the patch further south, there’s plenty to choose from. Pay attention to these options in particular:
- Moonlight Exotic Bay Resort
- Lanta Palace Resort And Beach Club
- Rawi Warin Resort and SPA
- Lanta Sand Resort & SPA
I didn’t see any private accommodation that might interest winter visitors or long-stayers. And the infrastructure of the area around Klong Toab itself is such that you wouldn’t really fancy staying here for a long stay.
Hotels on Klong Toab Beach β
How to Find the Beach
From Saladan (where ferries from Krabi arrive) to Klong Toab is about a 20-25 minute drive. If you’re travelling independently and heading straight here, you can buy a minibus ticket at the pier.
The minibus fare is around 500 baht.
If you’ve arrived on Koh Lanta with your own transport, drive along road 4245 until you come out into an open area where the sea is splashing 30-50 feet (10-15 metres) from the roadβthis section on the western shore of Lanta is one of a kind, hard to miss. This will be the beginning of Klong Toab Beach.
