Koh Lanta Old Town
A row of Chinese-Thai shophouses on stilts over the water on the island's east coast, with fishing boats and two good restaurants.
Koh Lanta Old Town is the island's original settlement on the east coast, a single street of wooden stilt houses built over the water by Sea Gypsy and Chinese-Malay families. It is free, takes two hours, and has the best food on the island.
Prices and hours are our current best information, not a published rate. Confirm on the day before you travel.
A row of Chinese-Thai shophouses on stilts over the water on the island's east coast, with fishing boats and two good restaurants.
Old Town was the island's port long before tourism, when Lanta was a trading stop for boats running between Phuket and Penang. The houses are built on stilts over the tidal flats because the east coast has a 3-metre tide and no beach; the sea comes in under the buildings twice a day. The community is a mix of Urak Lawoi sea nomads, Chinese traders and Malay fishermen.
It is the only place on Lanta with visible history — sea gypsy and Chinese trading families, teak houses, and a pace that makes the west coast look busy.
What you’ll actually see
- The stilt houses along the single street, many over 100 years old
- The Chinese shrine and the small mosque at opposite ends of the street
- The view across to Koh Mook and the Trang islands
- The restaurants on the water side, serving crab curry and massaman
How to visit it well
- Come for lunch or an early dinner; most places close by 9pm.
- Walk the whole pier — the stilt houses are the photograph.
- Combine with a mangrove kayak trip on the east coast.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Coming at low tide and finding the water gone — it is far more atmospheric at high tide
- Skipping it because it is 'just one street' — the food is worth the trip alone
- Coming in the middle of the day; most shops close between 1pm and 3pm
Is it worth it?
Worth two hours and a meal. It is the only place on Koh Lanta with real history and the crab curry at the water-side restaurants is worth the 20-minute drive on its own. Best at high tide, late afternoon.
Common questions
About 20 minutes by car from Long Beach, 30 from Kantiang. Songthaews run during the day for around 200 baht.
Crab curry with rice noodles, massaman, and the Chinese-Thai noodles at the older shops. The water-side restaurants are the reliable choice.
It shifts daily — check a tide table. High tide transforms the street because the water comes up under the houses.
Yes, as a half-day combined with the east-coast road and the mangrove forest at Tung Yee Peng.
Tours that include Koh Lanta Old Town
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Last updated: October 2026 · Prices and hours checked by Nattapong Srisuwan