How to visit Ko Rok from Koh Lanta, and when the park season opens

What you see at Ko Rok and Ko Haa

Ko Rok (Koh Rok) is a pair of neighbouring islands in Mu Ko Lanta National Park: Ko Rok Nok and Ko Rok Nai. DNP describes them as two steep-sided massifs. The west side of Rok Nai is a long cliff, the island is about 2.4 km long along its front and its highest point is 208 m, while Rok Nok peaks at 156 m. Between the massifs there are two flat areas, Hat Thalu and Ao Man Sai (Man Sai Bay). DNP dates the rock at 345-230 million years. Sources disagree on which island is Nok and which is Nai, and advertising also uses Rok Yai and Rok Noi, so go by the stops in your programme.

Ko Rok beaches. White sand along the shore. In the Koh Lanta Tours programme lunch is on Man Sai beach, and a clownfish-in-anemone spot is marked at Rok Nai. A DNP ranger post and a food shop stand on the island, and the park says the shop is open daily 8:30-17:00.

Ko Haa. A group of five small limestone islands that DNP also calls Tuk Nalima. Two of them have small flat tops and three look like rocks rising from the water. Operators from Lanta bring guests here for snorkelling and to a lagoon among the rocks.

Underwater. DNP names bubble, large staghorn, mushroom, flower and star corals among the park’s reefs. Photos from the reef at Ko Ha Yai show a clownfish in an anemone and a cuttlefish.

Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. Submerged rock pinnacles south of Ko Rok. DNP lets only dive boats go there, so they are not part of snorkelling tours.

How the day goes from Lanta

The order below follows the Koh Lanta Tours group programme on 18.10.2026. Other operators change it with the swell and the tide.

1. 8:00-9:00 hotel transfer on Lanta to the pier in the north of the island, Old Town hotels are collected earlier
2. 9:30 speedboat departs, about an hour to Ko Rok Nok
3. Snorkelling at two spots by Ko Rok Nok, about 40 minutes
4. 12:30 lunch on the beach and free time
5. 14:10 crossing to Ko Haa, 40 minutes, snorkelling by the islands
6. 15:50 return to Lanta and transfer to your hotel

The same operator’s private speedboat runs differently: pickup 7:30, Ko Haa first (30-45 minutes from the pier), then Rok Nai, optional lunch on Man Sai beach, Rok Nok last, back at the hotel by 16:30.

How long it takes and when to go

The day takes about 8 hours including the transfer (Koh Lanta Tours). DNP closes Ko Rok during the south-west monsoon: the Lanta area gets more than 2,100 mm of rain a year, and waves in that season are strong and make trips unsafe. The park page gives the season as 16 November to 15 May and closed from 16 May to 15 November. On 18.10.2026 the DNP status list has an entry closing Ko Rok, the zone 2 houses and the campsite from 31.03.2568 (2025), and DNP does not explain how to read it. The park announces dates for each season separately and they have changed from year to year, so check your date with the park (0 7565 6576) and your operator.

More on the island’s weather on the Koh Lanta page.

How to get there from Lanta and how far it is

There are no regular ferries to Ko Rok: you go in a group with an operator or on a chartered boat. DNP advises hiring a private boat from Ban Sala Dan pier on Lanta or from Hat Pak Meng pier in Trang Province.

• Sala Dan pier to Ko Rok. 47.5 km in a straight line to the northern island and 49.2 km to the southern one (calculated from OpenStreetMap coordinates). The Koh Lanta Tours programme gives about an hour by speedboat
• To Ko Haa. About 29 km in a straight line from Sala Dan pier and 30-45 minutes by boat, and about another 30 km in a straight line from Ko Haa to Ko Rok
• From Phuket. From Rassada pier to Ko Rok is about 102 km in a straight line, which is why the Tisland day from Phuket takes 12 hours
• Not Racha. Racha is an island group off Phuket and boats from Lanta do not go there, see the Racha Island page

The road and ferry route to Lanta itself is on the Koh Lanta page.

Park fee and what is included

Source: DNP table (edition of 02.06.2023), checked on 18.10.2026. Keep the ticket with you all day. With Koh Lanta Tours the fee is not in the price and is paid in cash on arrival, while the price covers the transfer, lunch, mask, snorkel, life jacket and accident insurance.

Options: group, private boat, from Phuket, overnight

What to do in rain or heavy swell

• Waves and wind. Koh Lanta Tours warns that the speedboat ride can be bumpy, and in dangerous weather the operator postpones or cancels
• Rebooking and refunds. Koh Lanta Tours allows free cancellation or a date change up to 24 hours before departure, and if it cancels for weather or safety it offers another date or a refund
• Closed season. From 16 May to 15 November DNP lists Rok as closed, so plan something else
• Land alternatives. The Old Town, the west-coast beaches of Lanta and the national park at the south end, details on the Koh Lanta page

Safety

• Life jackets. Koh Lanta Tours and Tisland provide life jackets and masks, and you should not stand on corals or feed the fish
• Pregnancy. Tisland does not take pregnant travellers, and Koh Lanta Tours does not recommend its speedboat for pregnant travellers, adults over 70, children under 1 and people after recent surgery
• Children. The child fare is ages 4-11 at Koh Lanta Tours and ages 4-10 at Tisland
• Jellyfish. Wikivoyage warns of jellyfish from late January to April. On 10.06.2026 the park reported Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis) on the beaches at the headquarters, Ko Ha and Ko Ngai and closed those places from 11.06.2026 until conditions return to normal (Thaiger). Ask the park for the status on your date
• Phone signal. Per DNP, TRUE and DTAC work in places on Ko Rok with a weak signal, and AIS works on Ko Ha
• Insurance. Koh Lanta Tours and Tisland include insurance in the programme, so check the terms with your operator

Who it suits and who it does not

• Suits. People staying on Lanta who want a day of snorkelling at Ko Rok and Ko Haa in season
• Not for pregnant travellers. A speedboat slams in waves, and operators do not accept or recommend it
• Not for small children. The child fare starts at 4 and the day has about two hours on the water
• Not for anyone prone to seasickness. An hour on a speedboat each way
• Not for trips in May-October. DNP lists the islands as closed, and on 18.10.2026 the season is not yet open

Found an error or outdated fact? Tell the editors, we will fix it and update the check date.