Lanta 4 Islands + Emerald Cave Snorkeling Tour

Being able to say “snorkel. 30 minutes. There”(pointing), does not define someone as an English speaking guide. Due to the lack of an English speaking guide, we were given no information (other than the directions for each stop). Problems that occurred would likely have been avoided if we’d been properly informed of what to expect. On the boat, there was not enough covered seating for everyone, so some people had to sit in the sun. The “sunny” seats were more uncomfortable than the shaded ones. No one should be made to sit in the sun…it should be your choice. The snorkeling was mediocre. Sadly, plenty of dead coral with only a few colorful fish. Speaking of snorkeling…there was a basket with all the snorkels in it. There wasn’t a separate bin for used ones, so people returned them to the same basket as the clean ones. Later, with another snorkeling stop, people were taking those used snorkels to use again. There was no cleaner, wipes, disinfecting solution, nothing! 🤢. I have to wonder if they even get cleaned between trips. When we arrived at the cave, the guide pointed and said “go”. Swimming in the cave was awesome…until it wasn’t. There were a couple of guides with lights, but at times, I had minimal to no light and couldn’t see a thing. Some people were struggling to swim under the one opening, which, by the time they were returning, required an underwater swim to go back. While I waited for my turn to go, I asked a returning swimmer (who I thought was in our group) if the exit was that way. He said no, that you have to come back this way, so I decided I may as well just turn around and head back. If I’d known there was a beautiful lagoon on the other side, I would have done it, but again, a lack of English speaking direction and information caused me to miss a beautiful sight! There were also dangerous areas in the cave, especially when you had little to no lighting. One in our group had quite a goose egg on his forehead and another had a cut on his foot. Once back on the boat, the crew did tend to their injuries. There was also a problem with non swimmers having to take off their life jackets and swim underwater to get back. This created a delay of approx an hour for our boat. The lunch was surprisingly good! (I had doubts when I saw it being poured out of ziplock bags.) The ladder for getting in and out of the boat is rungs, not steps, and painful on the feet. I ended up wearing my sandals to make it easier. Overall, we found this tour disappointing, but as I said, the lack of an English speaking guide had quite a bearing on that.

Great experience. The crew were super friendly, caring and supportive. They have really taken a great care of us with a wonderful attitude.rain no rain, the trip was really nice.

The sea was WAY too choppy to be travelling out in. It was not safe, half of the people on the boat were throwing up from sea sickness and another person had a panic attack. They took us everywhere anyway. The sea at Emerald Cave did not look safe at all to swim in, even for a strong swimmer. The drivers spoke limited English so you didn't really know where you were going, how long you were there for, or any other safety instructions. There were not enough life jackets for everyone. On my life jacket, only one of the clips worked. Safety is not a priority and it's a death trap. Lots of waiting around at the start before you get on a boat (45 mins - 1 hr!)

Great guide ensuring no one was left behind. We even brought bake some people that were left behind from another company. Conditions got a bit rough at the end and there are alot of company's doing the same thing. But It is impressive on how everyone works together in tough conditions.

The four islands tour is very good. We recommend that you choose a tour with the Emerald Cave. It is stunning. Please note that you have to swim 100m through dark cave before reaching centre.

Excellent host & fantastic day. Only reason for 4/5 is the swim to the Emerald Cove. Guide dealing with a non swimmer and swam ahead with fins. It was pitch black without his torch and once he rounded a bend it was black and very difficult to avoid crashing into a wall - that was quite painful. Nice sized group of great individuals. Food lovely and guide was great

Great trip and very good value. Fish in the stops are beautiful even if the coral is pale, lunch was excellent and was great to Visit the other islands for future stay homework!

Beautiful trip, where especially the visit to the Emerald Cave was a highlight. Beach at Koh Ngai was disappointing, was very narrow due to high tide. Many different fish when snorkeling. Unfortunately, the coral is dying due to climate change.

We had absolutely amazing snorkelling in two different locations, and saw a wonderful array of colourful fish and corals. But sadly a visit into the emerald cave was not possible due to the presence of small but stingy jellyfish, which can’t be helped. However we could maybe have been offered another snorkelling or swimming stop, but instead spent an extra long time on the island where we had lunch. However here the waters were very shallow and full of tourist boats, making an after lunch swim less than enjoyable. Also, whilst we certainly don’t expect a perfect grasp of the English language, I do think anyone working as a guide needs a good enough grasp to enable basic communication.

The only thing really worth seeing was the Emerald cave though there was quite insane traffic! Snorkelling was a weird experience: few small fishes, not the clearest water (as hundreds and hundreds of tourists visit it daily), no living corals (actually the first snorkeling was my own mistake as I didn’t ask the guide where exactly is the m2 with promoted corals - maybe they still are there somewhere…) and really strict time schedule, always hurry to somewhere else, it is important to jump into the water very quickly right after the boat has stopped and also to swim quickly. One thing that made me wonder: there is no toilet on longtail boats and trip lasts 5-6 hours - though organisers seem to believe that ocean handles everything, this insane amount of tourists may be too much… I can control myself but not sure in others, so just in case avoided swimming in the Emerald Cave laguna more than necessary. But the place itself and experience of going there are really unique and magical. Last stop was a paradise beach and they magically managed to offer us a very tasty warm Thai meal, suddenly there was also enough time for sunbathing and swimming. It is a beautiful place and heavily overcrowded just as all previous islands. Guides are really nice, helpful and friendly, be prepared that their English needs to be translated into English ;)