July 24, 2014---- Koh Lan is superb! It's a small island located in the Gulf of Thailand, off Pattaya's shoreline, only two-hours away from Bangkok. The sea water is clear and warm, and the sandy beaches are white and soft. Good for a day-trip or an overnight-trip from Bangkok or Pattaya.
Nathan and I took my mom and sister there for an overnight-trip because my sister had two days off from work, which is very rare. We took a van from the Victory Monument, Bangkok, which was only 100 Baht each, and the ride was about two hours to Bali Hai Pier. At the pier, we took a regular boat to the island, 30 Baht per person and it took about 30-45 minutes. Speed boats are also available, but they're very costly.
There are a lot of hotels, hostels, and guesthouses on the island. I would recommend you to book a room online ahead of time because they get filled up quickly on weekends, and I got better prices on Agoda.com. We stayed at Baan Rin Rak, which is right on the shore, and we got good view of Pattaya City across the strait.
There are many beaches on Koh Lan, but the most beautiful and most-visited beach is Ta Waen Beach. If you take a day-trip to the island, I highly recommend you to take the boat from Bali Hai Pier straight to Ta Waen Beach and hang out there to enjoy the warm, clear water and white sand beach. However, if you have more time to spend, you can rent a scooter and ride around the island.
My family and I just rented 4 beach chairs for 100 Baht each and hung out on the beach for the entire day. It was very pleasant and there were a ton of restaurants to buy fresh-made seafood and fresh coconut water.
In the evening we took a boat from Ta Waen Beach Pier back to Pattaya and took a van back to Bangkok. Make sure you check the boat and van schedules before making plans!
Bali Hai Pier ท่าเรือบาลีฮาย
Baan Rin Rak บ้านรินรัก
Puang Payom Kitchen ครัวพวงพยอม
Ta Waen Beach หาดตาแหวน
