Ko Lanta

The longest beach on the west side, over an hour to walk end to end. Fine sand on a slope so gentle that deep water is a long way out. It faces the sunset, and the front seats go early in the evening.

The northernmost beach, so shallow that families with small children end up here, the bottom flat enough that there is almost no surf, low tide baring a wide stretch of sand, and the pier near enough to walk from the boat.

At the southern tip, where two seas meet below the white lighthouse. Macaques come down to the car park and go for whatever is in a vehicle, so shut the windows. A forest track runs two kilometres behind it; check the closing time at the gate.

One row of timber houses stands on posts over the water with the tide running under them, and Chinese-run shops and Muslim households share the same street. This was the island's administrative centre, so prices sit below the beach side and evenings are quiet.

Half an hour in on foot, through rubber plantations and then forest. Late in the dry season it runs almost empty, so December to February is when there is water to see. A bat cave sits above the falls and needs a guide to enter.

You cannot go in without a guide. There are gaps you push through and a bamboo ladder to climb down. Bring something to change into, because your clothes come out wet with mud. A pool sits at the lowest point, two hours in.

Ninety minutes out, a national park island where the coral lies shallow enough that a mask is all you need. The park shuts from mid-May to mid-October and no boats run at all. Nothing is sold on the island, so water and food come with you from the boat.

A village of Urak Lawoi people down at the far south of the island. They built boats and fished for a living, and wooden hulls still stand on the shore in front of the houses. People live here, so ask before looking into a house or taking a photograph.

The island the bridge crosses, and most people just pass through it. It has no beaches, only mangrove channels and rubber plantations that a few people ride round by bicycle, and in the eastern villages crab traps are still woven by hand.

A bridge went up in 2016 and the boat between the two islands stopped. The mainland crossing to Lanta Noi is still a ferry, and it carries cars. It runs to no timetable, leaving when it fills, and a weekend afternoon means a long wait at the ramp.

A southwestern bay tucked between ridges, with fewer places to stay than the big beaches and quiet for it. Getting there means a hill road, so shaky scooter riders call a songthaew. People snorkel beneath the rocks at both ends.

A small beach right at Lanta's bottom end, just short of the national park gate. A steep dirt track for the final part, which keeps numbers down. A few bamboo-hut restaurants sit behind the sand.

A beach midway down the west coast, looking dead west over open sea. Beach bars spread cushions over the sand once the evening crowd turns up. Between May and October the currents run strong, and many days are poor for swimming.

Two pinnacles south of Ko Rok: Hin Daeng breaks the surface at low tide, Hin Muang stays submerged. Red soft coral covers the walls, and with luck manta rays and whale sharks pass. Boats mostly run in the dry season and pause in the monsoon.

A sea cave in the cliffs of Ko Mook off Trang; swim through the pitch-dark tunnel and you come out on a hidden beach walled in on all sides. High water floods the entrance, so trips are timed to low tide. It is part of the four-islands tour from Lanta.