Ko Lanta Yai is located in the Andaman Sea

Andaman Sea

The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....

 off the west coast of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, between the Phi Phi Islands

Phi Phi Islands

The Phi Phi Islands are located in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the western Andaman Sea coast of the mainland. The islands are administratively part of Krabi province...

 islands and the mainland. They are politically part of Krabi Province

Krabi Province

Krabi is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the shore of the Andaman Sea. Neighbouring provinces are Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang. The Phuket province to the west is also neighbouring, but without any land boundary...

, most of which is on the mainland.

Measuring 30 km long and 6 km wide, the island forms part of the Ko Lanta archipelago, which covers an area of 180 km². The area was designated as Park No.62 of Thailand in 1990.

Less well known than the neighbouring Phi Phi and Phuket islands, Lanta is relatively less developed with most of the accommodation available being basic bamboo huts

Thai stilt house

A Thai stilt house is a bamboo-made hut with sharp angled roofs and wooden floorboards. The ceiling is typically high to provide good ventilation. The mattress would be usually laid on the floor rather than on a bed. The house can be found along the beaches in Thailand, and some freshwater sources...

. There are very few paved roads on the island, mostly to the north, and they deteriorate gradually towards the southern end.

Ban Saladan, the main town and port, is located at the northern tip of the island and is served by ferries from Krabi, Phuket

Phuket Province

Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...

 and Phi Phi. The main beaches are located on the west of the island, the largest being Klong Dao, Pra-Ae (Long Beach) and Klong Khong Beach. There are other, much less accessible, beaches at the southern end.

Lanta escaped the worst of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

. Although there was widespread devastation along the west coast, significantly fewer injuries and fatalities were reported in comparison to the Phi Phi Islands. It is thought 11 people lost their lives. Assisted by tourists, most businesses were up and running within a few days.