Island Life
Riz Hits Koh Larn

Island Life: Riz Hits Koh Larn

koh larn

Koh Larn had always been on my travel checklist- not only because of its proximity to Pattaya beach but also because it’s a coral island for which I always have had an obsession. The name Koh Larn actually originated from the word coral. In Bangladesh, where I come from, we have St. Martin’s island, which is the only coral island there and definitely, my favorite.

Previously I had visited Pattaya several times but I had never set my mind to travel to the nearby islands, including Koh Larn. Just a short trip and the water is crystal clear there. The location is in the Gulf of Thailand and the distance is about 7.5km off the coast of Pattaya beach. The sea beaches are very clean compared to some on the mainland.

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My girlfriend and I planned to visit Pattaya first, to stay there overnight. The next morning we set out for a day trip to the island.  We walked to the Bali Hai pier, which is just a few minutes by foot from the Walking Street. First question: speedboat or ferry boat? We decided to travel by ferry because it’s cheaper, at only 40 baht per person. A speedboat will cost you around 250-300 baht per person.

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Koh Krok island

One of the coolest spots in Thailand is out on the water with a nice breeze! We spotted Koh Krok island along the way.  It took around 45 minutes to reach the Nabaan Pier of Koh Larn Island.

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After getting down to the port town, we decided to eat something and both of us were starving! As nearby restaurants were a bit more expensive, we discovered a cheap duck noodle shop (35 baht) that was located nearby the pier and the motorbike taxi stop. The noodles were yummy!

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The best way to roam around Koh Larn is to rent a motorbike for a day. It cost us 250 baht for a day to rent an auto gear bike. Pay first and leave your ID card with them. It’s all yours now!

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Koh larn has six main beaches- Samae, Tawaen, Nual, Tien, Tonglang, Taiyai beach. We went to every beach except Taiyai beach because we were running out of time, as we planned to return to our hotel in Pattaya by evening. All of the beaches are very clean and beautiful, are of white sand and clear azure waters. We liked Tawaen beach most because it was full of visitors and the beach was quite big, larger than the other beaches. But be careful while driving your motorbike because you often have to travel along mountain roads (especially when you visit Tawaen beach).

We decided to drive more around the beach areas to see the local area, resorts and food stalls. We stopped along the road and suddenly a gang of cute puppies jumped out of nowhere and started to cuddle my girlfriend. It was one of the best moments so far (and we were lucky they were puppies)!

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Of course, we got hungry again and found this local seafood shop. Vendors were selling seafood, som tam with grilled chicken and sticky rice, clothes and spice products. We bought somtam boo pla ra and grilled chicken (my favorite) to kill our appetite. It cost only 35 baht for somtam and 40 baht for Gai Yang (grilled chicken).  A great deal!

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The quantity and choice of fresh seafood is the best on the islands!

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We even had a chance to spend some time relaxing on the beach and swimming in the beautiful water. We were both tired after a full day of roaming around the island. We drove back to the port bike station, returned the bike and the keys and got our IDs back. Ferries are available 24 hours so we bought the 40 baht tickets and got onto the ferry quickly, no need to wait!

It was really a memorable trip to the amazing coral island. We are planning to visit there again!