Long Beach has the original Thai name Phra Ae Beach and is considered the longest beach on Koh Lanta, as well as the best. Based on what I personally saw on Lanta, riding around the beaches, yes – Klong Dao and Long Beach are indeed the best on the island.
Though for a seasoned traveller – they’re just ordinary beaches in the usual sense. Phra Ae Beach stretches for almost 2 miles (3 км) and you’ll encounter it second in order if driving from the bridge between Lanta Yai and Lanta Noi. During my visit to Koh Lanta I stayed at this beach in the Lanta Manda Resort, so Long Beach was my main beach.
Beach Overview
For clarity, I should explain: most beaches and areas on Lanta consist of a road along the shore and villages opposite the major beaches. All the space between the road and the sea is occupied by buildings: hotels, shops, resorts and everything else. In short, to get to the beach you need to walk either through alleyways or through hotel grounds that allow it.
I poked my nose in many places and didn’t really see as many prohibitions and “private” signs as, for example, on Samui. Here you can walk through almost everywhere without hassle. Specifically on Long Beach, I most liked the passage roughly in the middle where there’s a good asphalt road that ends in a large car park.
Around the car park there’s a whole park with casuarina trees, sala pavilions and toilets – somewhat reminiscent of a national park, and everything looks quite posh. I reckon this is the best spot for access to the sea, the most convenient on Long Beach. I saw Thais coming here with their families and having picnics under the huge casuarina trees.
And it also seemed to me that the central part of the beach has the fewest people, although in general all Lanta beaches still don’t have, thank goodness, the same number of people as Phuket beaches. After I visited all the beaches of Koh Lanta, my opinion of Long Beach was formed: the best beach on Lanta island.
Swimming
If you’re facing the sea, the leftmost section of the beach has lots of stones, and while this area is suitable for swimming, personally I think it’s better for snorkelling. Here I met many people doing it – swimming with masks.
The depth here is, to put it mildly, not great – shallow, even 33-50 feet (10-15 m) from shore it’s still not up to your neck. On Klong Dao the shore is a flat surface with a slight slope, but on Long Beach everything is quite noticeable, and when the water at low tide goes out about 30 feet (10 m), the beach still remains suitable for swimming. In short, in my view – it’s better than the neighbouring Klong Dao.
Somewhere in the middle of Long Beach and towards its right part it gets deeper. After about 30 feet (10 m) the depth reaches neck level and increases relatively smoothly. Overall on Long Beach the right part turns out to be slightly deeper than the left.
It’s important to note that on the left part of Long Beach on Lanta a decent-sized river flows in. It looks clean of course, but knowing that Thais love to drain things into rivers – I wouldn’t swim near it and would move far left from the river or closer to the central part.
At low tide the beach remains more or less swimmable. From the shore you can clearly see that it’s deeper than Klong Dao; the bottom at Long Beach drops away much more steeply.
Sunbeds and Shade
Along the entire length of Long Beach there are trees: casuarinas and palms. Tall, old, sturdy, they provide plenty of shade and you won’t have problems with this at least until noon while the sun rises from the east to its zenith.
Then begins the familiar scorching heat for all beaches located on the west coast – the sun shines in your face and you can hide from it either in the forest or, alternatively, in cafes that stand along the shore, private ones or belonging to resorts. There for a couple of drinks from the local bar they give you the right to use the private territory and sun loungers.
Beach Photos
Left Side
Central Part
Right Side
Amenities
Infrastructure is mainly developed along the main road. There are plenty of cafes, massage places, laundries, hotels, bars and so on. On that part of Long Beach which is closer to Klong Dao – everything is packed more densely, and the further from Klong Dao, the more spaced out the buildings are.
If you decide to stay during your holiday on Long Beach and for complete happiness you only need the beach and beach relaxation, you don’t need to bother renting a bike – everything is within walking distance.
The hotels have everything you need, you can snack in cafes, travel by tuk-tuks. By the way, local tuk-tuks are motorbikes with sidecars. Well, if you do decide to ride around, then of course you need to rent a scooter. But I’ll be honest – the roads here are so-so.
Accommodation
The area and geographical features behind Long Beach have created plenty of space for developers, so at Long Beach there are all types of accommodation. From shabby guesthouses to high-rated hotels. Many hotels on the front line where you can stay in either an expensive bungalow with sea view or in a straw hut with the same view.
Hotels are also built across the road, they’re a bit cheaper in price, but considering that the distance between the road and the shore is laughable, wherever you stay on Long Beach, the sea will always be within walking distance. Below I suggest looking at a selection of hotels that I wrote down for myself while preparing for the trip:
Right side of the beach
- Lanta Manda Resort
- Sayang Beach Resort Koh Lanta
- Lanta Sand Resort & Spa
- Rasa Sayang Resort
Central part of the beach
- Pana Long Beach Resort
- Eco Lanta Hideaway Beach Resort
Left side of the beach
- Thai House Beach Resort
- Mook Lanta Resort
Hotels on Long Beach Koh Lanta →
How to find the beach
Long Beach is located right after Klong Dao if you drive along the same road from the bridge. The marker for the beginning of Long Beach can be considered the beautiful gates of Lanta Resort, which you’ll see approximately 2 miles (3 km) after the T-junction.
