If you’re searching for the best day trips from Koh Lanta, a boat tour through the mangrove forests is an absolute must. While most visitors flock to the beaches, these “green lungs” of the island offer a completely different, peaceful experience that feels worlds away from the tourist hubs.
Exploring the mangroves is a highlight of any trip to the region. If you’re just starting to plan your stay, make sure to check out our Koh Lanta island guide to discover our favorite spots and 5 reasons why this island should be your base in Thailand.
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Why Mangroves are a Great Day Trip Choice
Taking a longtail boat or a kayak through the Thung Yee Peng mangroves is one of the most accessible day trips from Lanta. You don’t need to spend hours on a speedboat; within minutes, you are surrounded by ancient trees, monkeys, and incredible wildlife.
This ecosystem isn’t just beautiful—it’s vital. Mangroves act as a natural shield for the coast and store more carbon than tropical rainforests. It’s a great way to show children (and ourselves!) how nature protects the world. For more practical tips on organizing family travels, head over to our Thailand with kids section, where we share our itineraries and life in the Land of Smiles.
Forest due to their nutrient-rich nature serve as ideal breeding grounds for countless species of fish, birds, mammals, and reptiles. Additionally, the intricate tangle of twisted tree roots provides a safe haven for the animals living there, protecting them from predators.
For instance, Everglades National Park in Florida is home to endangered bird and amphibian species, Australian mangrove forests host over 100 species of mollusks, and Caribbean mangroves shelter rare green turtles. On our Koh Lanta, you can encounter creatures like river snails, horseshoe crabs, and black crabs, among others.
Furthermore, mangrove forests protect the structure of coastlines. Tree roots filter water, trapping sediments, which slows coastal erosion, stabilizes shores, and prevents sediments from harming coral reefs and seagrass beds.
One of the most critical aspects, especially in the context of climate change we are beginning to grapple with, is that mangrove forests provide effective defense against events like storms and tsunamis. With climate change, we are experiencing more frequent extreme weather events, and sea levels are rising. Using mangrove forests as coastal defenses is five times more cost-effective than human-made alternatives.
In addition to this, mangrove ecosystems are potent carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in their roots and branches. What’s impressive is that they can sequester up to four times more carbon dioxide than a rainforest of the same size, and because they die submerged in tidal waters, the carbon is buried along with them.
You can learn more about this in the BBC Earth article “Could Mangroves Help Save our Planet?” by Martin Montague.
But despite all the good they “produce,” mangrove forests are under threat. According to BBC Earth, 35% of mangrove forest area has disappeared worldwide in the last 40 years. These forests are being destroyed faster than tropical rainforests!
It sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?
What can help save mangrove forests? Ecotourism
As indicated by the analysis of scientists studying mangrove forests, what can help stop the devastation of mangrove forests is sustainable and responsible tourism.
These forests, often located near coral reefs and sandy beaches, provide the perfect environment for activities like kayaking, boat trips, or bird watching expeditions. Thus, mangrove forests become a “local tourist attraction” – they are not cleared to make way for more resorts.
This is also the case on Koh Lanta.
Mangrove Forests on Koh Lanta – Thung Yee Peng Community
On Lanta, where we live, you can explore the mangrove forests in two ways: by kayak or by a large traditional long-tail boat. Tours are organized by the local community in the village of Thung Yee Peng. It is a Muslim community that has been living in this area for over a hundred years. The community’s main goal, as the residents themselves say, is to live in harmony with the ancient laws of nature and not to interfere with it. And these are the values they want to convey to people from all over the world who visit them.
And because in recent years Lanta has become an increasingly popular destination, the Thung Yee Peng community has been able to expand its tourism activities on a larger scale. In addition to kayaking or boating tours, you can also participate in Thai cooking workshops or have a meal at a small restaurant in the port, or even book accommodation with a traditional Thai Muslim family (which we haven’t tried yet :).
Thung Yee Peng – How to Get to the Mangrove Forests?
The village of Thung Yee Peng is located 7 kilometers from the Sala Dan Pier towards Old Town – simply enter “mangrove forest pier” into Google Maps, and you can easily reach it by car, tuk-tuk, or scooter. There is parking available on-site, as well as a restroom and a small restaurant. Typically, you don’t need to book the tour in advance – boats or kayaks are usually available on-site.
A long-tail boat tour will take about 2 hours. For kayaking, it depends on your pace.
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