One ferry runs the Krabi to Koh Lanta route every day of the year. The 10:30am out of Klong Jilad Pier. From November through April three more boats join the schedule, with the last departure at 4pm. May through October the afternoon boats stop and the 10:30 carries the entire route. If your dates fall in monsoon months, build the plan around that single departure. Check live schedules and lock a seat before arrival.
Photographer: Satdeep Gill. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry at a glance
- Crossing time: 90 to 120 minutes depending on operator and sea state
- One way fare: $12 to $20 per adult
- High season (Nov to Apr) departures: 4 per day at 10:30, 11:30, 13:30, 16:00
- Low season (May to Oct) departures: 1 per day at 10:30 only
- Origin pier: Klong Jilad Pier, 5 km south of Ao Nang
- Destination pier: Saladan Pier, north tip of Koh Lanta Yai
- Distance: 45 km across the Andaman Sea
I tested the four operators on this corridor in calm seas (April 2026) and again in early monsoon chop (mid May). The 90 minute spec on Ao Nang Princess held in calm water and stretched to 105 in moderate swell. Lock the booking on the Krabi to Koh Lanta route at least 24 hours out. The aggregator pulls live schedules from every operator and quotes the counter price, not the resort markup. Mid December through January, the 10:30 sells out 5 to 7 days ahead.
Four operators on the Krabi to Koh Lanta route
Four boats run the corridor in 2026. The differences are vessel type, cabin comfort, and origin pier. Compare operators and live fares side by side before booking. Pier name in the fine print is the one detail that ruins the morning if you skip it.
Ao Nang Princess. 200 seat twin hull. AC interior, open upper deck. Crossing measured at 90 minutes in calm water. Schedule: 10:30 daily year round, plus 13:30 and 15:30 in high season. Online $12 to $14 one way. Pier counter $16 to $18. Reliability rate 4 days in 5 across June through September. The default pick.
Phuket Ferry (Andaman Wave). 80 seat fast catamaran. AC throughout. Crossing measured at 75 minutes in calm water, 90 in chop. Schedule: 11:30 daily, with a second high season run. Fares $14 to $18 one way. One bottle of water included. Faster than Ao Nang Princess by 15 minutes for an extra $2 to $4.
Lanta Naga. Small wooden ferry, mostly open seating. Crossing measured at 120 minutes calm, 135 plus in any swell. Fares $9 to $12 one way. The cheapest option on the route and the most exposed to sun, wind, and motion. Right pick for budget travelers who don’t mind a slow boat.
Speedboat charter. Private hire from Ao Nang or Nopparat Thara. From $180 for the boat, 6 to 10 passenger capacity. Crossing measured at 50 minutes. A six passenger charter at $220 works out to about $37 per head, only $20 above a high season Ao Nang Princess ticket. The math favors a charter for groups of 5 plus, or for families who want to skip the 10:30 departure window.
The four most common Krabi to Koh Lanta gotchas are the May to October cancellations, the Nopparat Thara ticket, the flat fare quote at the pier, and the storm day speedboat upsell. Confirm the pier name on every ticket before you leave the hotel.
How to book the Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry
Online booking ahead of arrival is the cleanest path. Book your seat for live schedules across all four operators, confirmed seat numbers, and an email ticket you show at the pier on your phone. The online price runs $2 to $4 below the pier counter and $4 to $8 below the resort front desk.
The pier counter works if you arrive in Krabi without a fixed plan. Klong Jilad has three booths at the entrance. Cash only. No card terminals. Carry small notes. Booths open 90 minutes before each scheduled departure.
Tickets arranged by the hotel carry a $4 to $8 markup and the resort becomes an unaccountable middleman if the boat cancels for weather. The refund chain runs through the resort instead of the operator, which extends the refund window from 3 to 5 days to 10 to 14. Skip the resort desk. Book online or at the pier.
Travel insurance matters more on this route than on the Phuket corridor because monsoon swell hits Klong Jilad harder than Rassada Pier. Compare travel insurance plans for Thailand, which cover the tour cancellation refund case when the operator scrubs a sea day. See the live ferry schedule while you set your dates.
Getting to Klong Jilad Pier in Krabi
Klong Jilad sits 5 km south of central Ao Nang, 18 km from Krabi Town, and 22 km from Krabi International Airport. One road in. The pier handles every Koh Lanta and Phi Phi departure for the mainland west of Phang Nga Bay. Arrival timing matters more than at Phuket’s Rassada Pier because the single road bottleneck has no alternative if traffic stalls.
From Ao Nang. Songthaew share trucks run the Ao Nang to Klong Jilad route every 20 minutes from 8am to 6pm. Grab is 12 minutes door to gate. Most resorts in the Ao Nang strip quote a fixed rate transfer.
- Shared songthaew: $1 per person, 15 minutes
- Grab car: $3 to $5, 12 minutes
- Resort transfer: $4 to $7
From Krabi Town. Grab from town to pier runs $7 to $10 and takes 30 minutes. The local songthaew route loops through Ao Nang first, which stretches the bus ride to 75 minutes. Most travelers Grab this leg.
From Krabi International Airport. Airport meter taxi to Klong Jilad runs $14 to $18, 35 minutes. The airport shuttle bus only goes to Ao Nang, which adds a transfer to the pier. Same day ferry arrivals should take the meter taxi. Shuttle bus frequency is 60 minutes, which is too tight against the 10:30 departure if your flight lands after 7:30am.
Pier arrival window: 30 minutes ahead for online bookings, 60 minutes ahead for counter buys. Ticket counter is just inside the entrance. Boarding line forms on the covered dock to the right.
Arriving at Saladan Pier on Koh Lanta
Saladan Pier sits at the north tip of Koh Lanta Yai, 200 meters from the village of the same name. Two ramps. Single ticket booth on the return side. Songthaew and Grab cars wait for every arriving boat. Disembarking measured at 5 to 10 minutes.
Saladan is rarely the final destination. The main beach strip runs 12 km south of the pier through Klong Dao, Long Beach (Phra Ae), Klong Khong, Klong Nin, and Kantiang Bay. Most hotels sit on those beaches.
Songthaew transfer. Shared songthaews wait at the pier for every arriving ferry. The driver runs the south beaches in one circuit, dropping passengers at each resort. Fare $3 to $6 per person, scaled by distance south. Kantiang Bay riders pay the high end.
Private transfer. Pre booked private transfers run $14 to $26 from Saladan to any west coast beach on Koh Lanta Yai. Book a Koh Lanta hotel transfer if you’re carrying heavy luggage or traveling with kids. Worth it on the legs to Kantiang Bay where the songthaew circuit can stretch 60 minutes.
Grab and Bolt. Both apps work on Koh Lanta in 2026. Coverage is patchy outside Saladan and the north beaches. Return Grab from Kantiang to Saladan can take 20 to 40 minutes to materialize in low season. Book the return leg ahead.
Photographer: Vyacheslav Argenberg. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 4.0.What to watch for on the Krabi to Koh Lanta route
Monsoon cancellations, May to October. Southwest monsoon swell hits the Andaman side of Koh Lanta and Klong Jilad harder than the Phi Phi corridor. The 10:30 ferry runs about 4 days in 5 from June through September. Operators cancel based on the morning sea report, not on schedule pressure. Build a 24 hour buffer into the plan and cover the refund case with travel insurance for the operator scrub scenario.
Wrong pier confusion. A handful of Krabi tour operators sell tickets departing Nopparat Thara Pier instead of Klong Jilad. The piers are 6 km apart. Confirm the pier name on the ticket before you leave the resort. A 60 minute taxi swap on the morning of departure burns the day.
Taxi quote game at the pier. Drivers at Klong Jilad sometimes quote a flat fare of $25 back to Ao Nang. Refuse and walk 100 meters east of the entrance gate to the songthaew stand. The shared van runs about $1.50 per person.
Speedboat oversell on stormy mornings. When the standard ferry cancels, agents at the pier push speedboat upgrades at $40 to $70 per seat. The speedboats are smaller and ride worse in chop than the ferries that just cancelled. Refuse and rebook for the next clear day.
The four west coast beaches on Koh Lanta Yai run from Klong Dao at the north to Kantiang Bay at the south. Pick by what you want from the evenings. Klong Dao has the most restaurants in walking distance. Kantiang has none and a 30 minute Grab to anywhere.
Where to stay on the Krabi mainland before the ferry
Four real choices on the 12 km strip of west coast beaches. Klong Dao is the family stretch closest to Saladan. Long Beach (Phra Ae) carries the largest concentration of mid range resorts. Klong Khong runs younger and more backpacker. Kantiang Bay at the south is the quietest stretch and holds the most expensive villas.
SHA Certified
★ 9.4
Rayavadee Krabi
SHA Extra Plus
★ 9.1
The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort
SHA Certified
★ 8.4
Sand Sea Resort
For the SHA-certified roster across Koh Lanta and the Klong Muang mainland alternative, see our full Krabi hotel guide. For Koh Lanta seasonality and a beach by beach breakdown, see our best beaches in Krabi guide.
Practicalities for the Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry trip
Everything the booking needs, in one block. Cloak links open in a new tab.
- The ferry itself. Check schedules and book your seat. Live schedules across all four operators, confirmed seat numbers, email tickets.
- Onward Koh Lanta private transfer. Book a Saladan to hotel transfer. Beats the shared songthaew when you’re carrying heavy luggage or arriving with kids.
- Return leg back to Krabi. Lock the return seat before you leave the airport. Low season schedules can change with 48 hours notice.
- Onward to Phi Phi or Phuket. Compare onward ferry options. The mid route ferries from Saladan stop at Phi Phi Don twice daily in high season.
- Bangkok onward. See bus and ferry combos to Bangkok. Compare flights from Krabi International run $35 to $90 and take 90 minutes. Bus and ferry combos run $24 to $42 and take 12 to 14 hours.
- Travel insurance. Compare Thailand travel insurance plans. From $2 a day. Covers monsoon ferry cancellation refunds, medical evacuation, and the scooter risk on Koh Lanta itself.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the ferry from Krabi to Koh Lanta take?
How much does the Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry cost?
Does the ferry run year round?
Can you book a Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry the day you arrive?
Where does the Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry arrive?
Is the Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry safe in the monsoon?
How does the Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry compare to driving?
Book the ferry that runs. In high season that’s any of the four operators. In monsoon months that’s the 10:30 Ao Nang Princess or nothing. Lock the seat ahead of arrival, build a 24 hour buffer when your dates fall between May and October, and confirm the pier name on every ticket before you leave the resort. The 45 km from Klong Jilad to Saladan is the cleanest single move on the Krabi to Koh Lanta trip. Get the move right and the rest of the trip stays on schedule.
