The northern beaches – Kaw Kwang, Klong Dao, and Phra Ae (Long Beach) – are all long, unblemished stretches of white sand and turquoise water, with the best conditions for swimming. As they are the closest to Saladan, the main entry point to the island, they also have the best (most developed) facilities, with a large choice of shops, dive schools, restaurants, bakeries and bars.
Map of Koh Lanta Yai Photo Gallery
At the edge of the plateau there is a steep wall down to the bottom at 12-15 metres, made up of small boulders often covered in sediment and rather dismal. From here the seabed gradually slopes away down in a northerly direction into 20 metres plus, with a lifeless-looking bottom. More or less out in the middle ofthe bay on the north side, in between the two Harcar islets, there are lots of undulating hills and valleys’ covered in kelp. Unfortunately, everything always seems coated in a layer of sediment, making the scenery dark and drab, and even the marine life is sparse except for urchins and an occasional crab. The reason may be because the area is in a type of tidal void, where there is not too much current but where what there is runs in two or three different directions on the flood; on the ebb tide at low water, there is no movement at all and maximum depth is around 12 metres. Keeny’s Bus s a long high reef facing west, commencing on the north side between Clove Car and Little Harcar and running parallel to Longstone for almost its full length. There is lots of everything amongst its boulders and crevices, including lobsters and crabs, cod and some fair- sized conger. Opposite the lighthouse, the reef almost touches the surface and in fact is only half a metre below the surface on a low spring tide. There are some very high reef walls covered in soft corals and it is also one of the few places around the Farnes where you can see the photogenic plumose anemone. Visibility is often good in the summer months and tidal streams are light to moderate, except at top half of the flood, and especially on spring tides.
