Koh Lipe/Langkawi or Koh Lanta?
We have 10 days spare at the end of a long and busy trip to Malaysia and Borneo.
We’re currently deciding between splitting the time 5 x Langkawi then 5 x Koh Lipe or spending the entire 10 nights lazing at a resort in Koh Lanta.
We’re looking to relax, eat nice affordable food and go for walks. We’re birders so that would be a bonus but will have been the focus of the trip beforehand. We both drive and have experience with scooters. Neither into parties.
We’ve previously been to Phuket and Khao Lak - loved the latter, not so much Phuket.
We’ll be there in October.
What would you do?
I wouldn't recommend Koh Lanta as a food destination – or any island really...perhaps a mainland where you can drive around to find decent food.
Birders flock to Kaeng Krachan National Park summit – access by 4WD, no motorbikes permitted.
Sam roi yot, Pranburi and Hua Hin are the nearest beach resorts
Edited: 5:28 am, August 08, 2025Where are you coming from - KL? Flying or overland (+ferry) to Langkawi is much easier than Koh Lanta. Also, not sure if the Ko Lippe ferries from Langkawi wil be running in October.
I've spent a fair bit of time on Langkawi as my sister used to live there. It's got a very beachy/touristy area, but there's lots of the island that's local. There are wetlands/mangroves with birds and boat trips.
4 or 5 days on Langkawi then ferry to Satun, then overland to Koh Lanta is an option. You also have your pick of the South West Islands if you prefer.
Thank you for the replies. We’re pretty set on the two options we have but will keep the food/birding recommendations in mind for future trips.
We’ll be flying in from KL and have checked the ferries are running from Langkawi - Lipe for our dates.
