Last year we stayed on Koh Lanta for low season, which falls between May and October. We imagined low season would bring days and days of nonstop rain, treacherous storms and very little diving. Despite how unappealing this prospect may seem, we were intrigued to see the change in nature and culture as the island flowed through the seasons from hot, dry and busy, to hot, wet, and quiet. In addition to this, everything is cheaper during low season, and the low cost of living bought us plenty of time for relaxing and contemplating over new projects and ideas.
As we moved from April into May, the rain became more frequent, the tourists started to dwindle, and the wind changed direction to blow on-shore along the west coast. The wind direction and temperament is the main problem for most dive operations during low season. The West coast is open to the Andaman Sea and faces the tail end of two monsoon seasons coming from different parts of Thailand. The monsoons transform the millpond tranquil waters everyone enjoys during high season, into a white peaked mass of waves, making it unsafe for boats to moor in the bays, and in the main harbour of Saladan.
We were diving with Scubafish, one of the only dive operations open during low season. Their shop is based in Kantiang Bay on the South West coast of Koh Lanta, but during low season they are able to harbour their boats in the well sheltered, South East port of Lanta Old Town.
While the waves are coasting up the beaches along the west coast and the sea looks like millions of tiny snow capped mountains, over in Old Town, the same sea is calm, flat and more a kin to liquid mercury. Despite the tranquillity of where the boats are moored, the dive sites on that side of the island are non-existent. For that reason, a reasonably calm Andaman is still required before the boats can venture out to the much loved dive sites of Koh Haa. In addition to the unpredictability of the weather, numbers of bums on boats are also limited due to the lower number of tourists. Everything has to come together for a dive trip to happen. The sea needs to be calm enough, and there needs to be enough customers at any one time to make the trip break-even financially.
The weather during low season was far less dramatic than we had envisaged. Sure, there were days of rain, and sure there were some major storms and down pours, but in general they were far less frequent than we had anticipated. The occasional outburst of stormy weather, delivered enough rain and water to transform the island from a dry, dusty, and almost arid landscape, into a burst of lush jungle and greenery. Moreover, in-between the rain, we were blessed with days and days of soaring temperatures, cloudless skies, and bright sunshine.
Kan Tiang Bay is one of the only bays on Koh Lanta that remains completely open all year round. Although May was very quiet, the number of tourists really picked up during June, July and August, and the boat was able to go out between twice a week, to almost every day.
So far so good – better than expected weather, enough tourists to enable frequent dive trips and a lush transformation of landscape. So – what about the diving? Well, now we move into the real HIGH of the low season on Koh Lanta. Koh Haa is a group of five limestone islands protruding out of the Andaman Sea, about an hour’s boat ride from Koh Lanta. During high season, this idyllic location is visited daily by most of the dive operations on Koh Lanta. Underwater it can sometimes be busy – it by no means resembles the thick diver soup to the extent of many other popular diving destinations – but still – you know – it can be just a little bit less than tranquil and exclusive.
During low season however, it’s another story, from May, all the way through to late September, we were the only boat there! It was beautiful! Turns were teaming up and flying around the limestone stacks resembling a scene from Jurassic park, and underwater, the visibility was surprisingly consistently great, averaging about 15m plus. For some reason, be it a seasonal movement or the absence of divers, schools of fish moved in to the dive sites. During high season the sites are rich in marine life anyway – but during low season different schools moved in. Schools of snappers tripled in volume, cuttle fish started mating frequently, and rainbow runners charged through the lagoon. Fusiliers picked up their pace moving from waltz tempo to salsa, and in general all of the marine residents seemed far more alive, excited, and rich in volume. Seeing the behaviour of the marine life alter as the season moved from high to low and back again, was an exhilarating, surprising and fascinating experience.
Koh Lanta offers fantastic diving during high season, and is usually closed for business during low season. Having seen the diving conditions and weather during low season – I see no reason why it couldn’t remain open all year. Less dive operations will be able to offer trips due to the mooring difficulties the rougher sea brings – but that’s a blessing. Other than that – the only drawbacks of low season are: less reliable weather, and fewer tourists. Both of these drawbacks mean that there are fewer things to do on the island, and many of the restaurants and tourist offices are closed, particularly in the North.
If you visit for a short break of a few days, expecting to go diving, bask in the sunshine, and join other tourists on tours and activities, you stand a risk of being disappointed. But if you plan a longer holiday of 2-3 weeks of more, you don’t want to do much else other than unwind and go diving, and you’re happy to risk a few days of rain, then, you may well find that LOW SEASON ON LANTA – ROCKS!
