When Koh Rok and Koh Haa are open for snorkelling

Koh Rok and Koh Haa are the two snorkelling stops furthest offshore from Koh Lanta, inside Mu Ko Lanta National Park, and they close for part of every year. The dates move from year to year, and older dates keep circulating online. This page sets out the 2026 dates from the department’s own notice, what has changed since, and what decides whether a boat goes on your day. Every date here was checked on 18 October 2026.

Is Koh Rok open right now?

Yes, on the official schedule. The Department of National Parks’ 2026 notice closed Koh Rok from 1 June to 30 September and Koh Haa, with the Hin Daeng and Hin Muang dive sites, from 1 August to 30 September. Both closure periods ended on 30 September, so both islands are scheduled open from 1 October 2026.

As of 18 October 2026 we found no notice extending either closure. We also found no separate reopening announcement for 2026, which is normal: the annual notice already sets the dates. Treat the islands as scheduled open, not as guaranteed open on a given morning.

Koh Rok closure dates 2026, month by month

The strips below come from the annex to the department’s notice, signed on 18 December 2025 and published in the Royal Gazette on 9 January 2026. Koh Haa’s June entry reflects a two-day temporary closure covered further down.

1. Jan Open
2. Feb Open
3. Mar Open
4. Apr Open
5. May Open
6. Jun Closed from 1st
7. Jul Closed
8. Aug Closed
9. Sep Closed to 30th
10. Oct Open from 1st
11. Nov Open
12. Dec Open

Department of National Parks notice of 18 December 2025 (Royal Gazette, 9 January 2026). The closure covered the island, accommodation zone 2 and the Koh Rok campsite. Scheduled dates can change with weather and park conditions.

1. Jan Open
2. Feb Open
3. Mar Open
4. Apr Open
5. May Open
6. Jun Closed 11–12 June
7. Jul Open
8. Aug Closed from 1st
9. Sep Closed to 30th
10. Oct Open from 1st
11. Nov Open
12. Dec Open

Scheduled closure from the same notice. The June closure was reported by Nation Thailand and The Thaiger on 11 June 2026, and the reopening from 13 June by FM91. Checked 18 October 2026.

The department’s status sheet, which TAT links to, shows the same two rows for Mu Ko Lanta, both marked as annual closures. Koh Rok is 1 June to 30 September; Koh Haa with Hin Daeng and Hin Muang is 1 August to 30 September. The sheet says its data is as of 7 January 2026, so it does not record later changes.

Scheduled, confirmed or running today

Three different things get called “open”, and mixing them up is where most confusion comes from.

Layer	Who decides	2026 status, 18 Oct
Scheduled	The department’s annual notice	Both open from 1 October
Confirmed	The park, through notices on the day	No change to the schedule found
Running on your day	Boat operators and the weather	Check a day or two before

TAT’s notice of 15 January 2026 says park closures depend on weather and park conditions. The park can close a site at short notice, as it did in June. Operators can also sell a narrower season than the park’s. Some booking sites and hotel guides still list 15 October to 15 May for these trips. That is not wrong as a selling season, but it is not the park’s 2026 schedule.

Why Koh Haa closed in June 2026

On 11 June 2026 Mu Ko Lanta National Park temporarily closed three sites: Laem Tanod (the park headquarters at the southern tip of Koh Lanta), Koh Haa and Koh Ngai. Officials had found large numbers of Portuguese man o’ war washed up on the beaches. The tentacles can sting even after the animal is dead. The closure was to last until conditions returned to normal. Koh Rok was not named.

Two days later the park judged that conditions had returned to normal and reopened all three sites from 13 June, FM91 reported. Koh Haa then entered its scheduled closure on 1 August, and the schedule has it reopening on 1 October. If you see a red flag on a beach, stay out of the water and tell a ranger.

What changed in 2026, date by date

1. 18 December 2025 The Department of National Parks signs the 2026 closure notice, effective from 1 January 2026.
2. 9 January 2026 The notice and its annex are published in the Royal Gazette.
3. 15 January 2026 TAT republishes the schedule and notes that dates depend on weather and park conditions.
4. 1 June 2026 Koh Rok closes, with its accommodation zone and campsite.
5. 11 June 2026 Koh Haa, Koh Ngai and Laem Tanod close temporarily after Portuguese man o’ war wash ashore.
6. 13 June 2026 The park reopens Koh Haa, Koh Ngai and Laem Tanod.
7. 13 July 2026 A Thai Meteorological Department advisory for a strong monsoon spell gives 2–3 m waves in the Andaman Sea and tells small boats to stay ashore.
8. 1 August 2026 Koh Haa, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang start their scheduled closure.
9. 1 October 2026 Both closures end on schedule. No extension found by 18 October.

Koh Rok season and the best time to snorkel Koh Haa

The snorkelling season is the open season, October to May. PADI says the Koh Lanta area and the Hin Daeng and Hin Muang pinnacles are best dived between October and May. Within that window, the months furthest from the southwest monsoon, roughly December to March, are the safest bet for a calm crossing. That is our reading of the sources, a typical pattern rather than a forecast.

What you see in the water depends on that day’s swell and plankton. Thai National Parks describes Koh Rok’s reef as mostly about 5 m deep, with visibility up to about 30 m on good days. Koh Haa’s limestone islets give some shelter, but the crossing to both is open sea, about 26 km south of Koh Lanta Yai. For how the day compares with other island trips, see Koh Rok, the 4 Islands or Phi Phi.

Is Koh Rok open in October, and is it worth going?

It is open on the schedule, but October is a shoulder month. In October 2025 the Thai Meteorological Department recorded the southwest monsoon still prevailing over the Andaman Sea in the first half of the month. It also logged gusty wind in Krabi province on 16 October and above-normal rainfall on the southern west coast. A late-October or November trip is usually a safer bet than the first days after reopening.

If October is your only window, go early in your stay and keep a spare day. The article on what stays open on Koh Lanta in the rainy season covers the rest of the island in those months.

Park fees and camping on Koh Rok

National park fees are paid per person, separately from any tour price, and the rate depends on the zone. These are the figures we found, with how sure we are.

What	Rate	Status
Offshore zone, foreign adult (Koh Rok, Koh Haa, Koh Ngai, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang)	400 THB	Department fee table, via Thailand Tested, 18 Sep 2026
Offshore zone, foreign child	Not found	Ask before you go
Main park, foreign adult and child	200 THB and 100 THB	Thai National Parks, as of June 2026

There is a campsite and an accommodation zone on Koh Rok Nai, and both closed with the island for 2026. Thai National Parks reported in June 2026 that the department’s online booking system was unavailable for the season. The booking site did not respond when we tried it on 18 October 2026, so contact the park headquarters directly before planning an overnight stay.

Before you book a Koh Rok and Koh Haa day

We arrange Koh Rok and Koh Haa trips, joined or private, and we can tell you which boat and format are running on your dates this season. See the Koh Rok and Koh Haa tour page or compare all the island days on Koh Lanta boat tours. If your group wants its own schedule, read when a private boat trip makes sense.

When you message us, send:

1. Your preferred date and a back-up date, ideally early in your stay.
2. Your hotel or area on Koh Lanta.
3. The number of adults and children, with children’s ages.
4. Everyone’s swimming confidence, and anyone prone to seasickness.

We reply with what runs that day, the boat, the departure arrangement, the price, which park fees are included and what happens if the weather stops the trip.