Visiting Koh Lanta’s lighthouse and national park

Laem Tanod is where the road on Koh Lanta Yai runs out. The national park headquarters sits on the southern point, with a lighthouse on the rocks, a short beach and two marked forest trails. It makes a good half day, but the fee, the hours and the road all catch people out. Here is what the sources say, where they disagree, and how to plan the ride there and back.

From Khlong Toab

about 13 km, 31 min

Foreign adult fee

200 THB

Gate hours

08:00 or 08:30 to 16:30

Marked trails

1.2 km and 1.7 km

Figures checked on 18 October 2026. Distance and time are approximate OSRM routing estimates; fees and hours are explained below.

Where the Koh Lanta lighthouse is

The lighthouse stands at the far south of Koh Lanta Yai, on the headland of Laem Tanod (also written Laem Tanot or Ta Nod), inside the gate of Mu Ko Lanta National Park. Thai National Parks places it at the west end of Ta Nod Beach, a cove of about 300 m in front of the visitor centre. Travel writers describe a short climb up the rocks to it, taking only a few minutes, with a view over the beaches on either side.

Mu Ko Lanta National Park covers 83,750 rai (about 134 km²), according to the Department of National Parks, including 25 islands such as Koh Rok and Koh Haa. On Koh Lanta itself, “the national park” usually means this headquarters area. Sources disagree on whether the lighthouse is still working, and none we found says you can go inside it.

Getting to Laem Tanod by road

Follow Highway 4245 south along the west coast past Khlong Nin (Klong Nin) and Kantiang Bay, then past Khlong Jak (Klong Jark) to the end of the road. These are approximate driving distances and times from the public OSRM router:

Starting point	Distance	Driving time
Saladan pier	about 26 km	about 50 min
Our shop, Khlong Toab	about 13 km	about 31 min
Kantiang Bay	about 7 km	about 16 min
Khlong Jak	about 4 km	about 11 min

The last stretch is the slow part. OSRM needs about 16 minutes for 7 km from Kantiang, which reflects the climbs and bends. Sources describe it differently, so read them all before choosing a scooter:

• Wikivoyage says the last 8 km to the headquarters are “quite hilly” and not yet paved, so tricky when it rains. The page is crowd-edited and undated.
• Travelfish (2019) said the park opens year round except when the access road floods.
• The Department of National Parks warns that some sections of the route are steep and unsuitable for low saloon cars.
• Thai National Parks (June 2026) says the headquarters can be reached by car or motorbike.

Road surfaces change with roadworks and rain, so treat paving and flooding as unconfirmed and ask before you set off. In heavy rain, wait for a dry spell. If you plan to ride, read what to check before renting a scooter on Koh Lanta first.

Koh Lanta national park entrance fee

The fee depends on your visitor category and on the zone. These are the rates published for the Laem Tanod headquarters, checked on 18 October 2026.

Visitor	Headquarters, Laem Tanod	Status
Foreign adult	200 THB	DNP rates from 7 June 2022; listed June 2026
Foreign child, 3 to 14	100 THB	Same sources
Thai adult / Thai child	40 THB / 20 THB	Same sources
Car / motorbike	30 THB / 20 THB	Thai National Parks, June 2026

The 400 THB figure you may see online belongs to a different zone. Thailand Tested, citing the department’s fee table, lists 400 THB per foreign adult for the offshore islands: Koh Rok, Koh Ngai, Koh Haa, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. The article on Koh Rok, the 4 Islands or Phi Phi covers those fees. Travelfish quoted 400 THB at the headquarters gate in 2019, before the current rates. Carry cash, and keep your ticket on you: the department asks visitors to carry the receipt during the visit.

Mu Ko Lanta National Park opening hours

Plan on 08:30 to 16:30 and you will be inside the window every source gives. Thai National Parks lists 08:30 to 16:30 daily (June 2026). Thai Holiday Guide lists 08:00 to 16:30 (July 2026). The department’s own page gives 08:30 to 16:30 for the headquarters shop but no separate gate hours, and Travelfish gave 08:00 to 17:00 in 2019. The department lists 075 656 576 for visitor information; English may be limited.

Thailand Tested reads the seasonal closures announced each year as applying to the outer islands, not to the headquarters on Koh Lanta. Short closures still happen, as June 2026 showed.

1. 10 June 2026 After rangers find Portuguese man o’ war on its beaches, the park announces a temporary closure. Red flags were already up.
2. 11 June 2026 Laem Tanod, Koh Haa and Koh Ngai close temporarily, as reported by Nation Thailand and The Thaiger.
3. 13 June 2026 A park announcement reopens all three from that day, after conditions return to normal (FM91).

The nature trails, beach and swimming

The department lists two marked trails at the headquarters, which explains why guides quote anything from 1.7 km to 2.5 km.

• Pha Samet Daeng: about 1.2 km, about an hour, with 10 stations. It climbs a steep slope through rainforest and beach forest to a sea view, and starts and ends at different points.
• Marvellous Plants (Mahatsachan Phan Mai): 1.725 km, about an hour, horseshoe-shaped through moist evergreen forest, with 7 stations. Thai National Parks describes it as moderate, starting near the visitor centre and ending at the road.

The trails are shaded by forest; the beach and the lighthouse rocks are not. Wear shoes with grip and carry water.

Ta Nod Beach is short and shallow, and Travelfish rated the swimming highly in 2019. No source we found describes currents or lifeguards. Journey Era found rough, murky water outside the dry season, and the June 2026 closure shows that stinging jellyfish can arrive. Swim only in calm water, never past a red flag, and do not touch anything stranded on the sand: Nation Thailand notes that man o’ war tentacles can sting even when the animal is dead.

Monkeys at Koh Lanta national park

Expect macaques. Thai National Parks lists crab-eating (long-tailed) macaques and dusky leaf monkeys among the park’s common mammals. Travelfish described “fearless monkeys” across the park that may plunder food left unattended, and Journey Era wrote of a monkey jumping on their moped at the park office to grab a bag.

• Keep food and drinks in a closed bag that you hold, not in a scooter basket or under the seat lid left open.
• Close car windows when you park.
• Do not feed them. Park authorities treat feeding monkeys as prohibited under the National Parks Act of 2019, and in 2025 the Phi Phi park pursued tourists filmed doing it.

Facilities at the headquarters

There is a visitor centre, a small restaurant and shop (Thai National Parks says the menu is limited), a campsite with shared bathrooms and a few park bungalows. The department lists AIS as the only mobile network with coverage at the headquarters. Bring water and snacks.

A simple plan for the visit

1. Check the day Look at the weather and any park notice, and bring cash for the fee. evening before
2. Head south early From Khlong Toab, about 13 km by road. about 31 min
3. Pay at the gate Keep the receipt with you during the visit. a few minutes
4. Lighthouse and beach A short climb on the rocks, then time on the sand. about 45 min
5. One trail Pha Samet Daeng for the view or Marvellous Plants for the forest. about 1 hr
6. Leave before 16:30 The ride back takes as long as the ride down. about 31 min

That adds up to roughly three to four hours from Khlong Toab. It is our planning estimate, not a measured visit time.

Arranging the ride back from the park

Sort out the return before you leave, because the park sits at the end of a dead-end road and your phone may not have signal there. Agree a pickup time with your driver, or choose an outing where the same car takes you there and back.

Our Koh Lanta sightseeing tour is a day by car that can include the national park with Lanta Old Town and the west-coast beaches; ask us about waiting arrangements and how entrance fees are handled. For the park alone, book a Koh Lanta taxi for both journeys. If you would rather ride, see scooter rental. Staying further north? Our comparison of Khlong Toab, Khlong Nin and Khlong Khong shows the distances from each beach.

Message us your date, pickup point and group size, and whether you want time for a trail, and we’ll reply with the options, the price and availability.