Tourists returned to Koh Larn Monday when the Pattaya resort island reopened after a closure lasting more than two months.
Ferries carried domestic tourists and island residents from Bali Hai Pier June 14. About 400 people in all made Monday morning journeys, which began at 7 a.m.
All tourists visiting Koh Larn are required to show identification at Bali Hai screening points to prevent illegal migrants from going to the island.
Pattaya municipal officers and Marine Department officials checked passengers’ temperatures and explained coronavirus-control rules, including social distancing on board the boats.
While regular service has resumed to the Front Pier, the Tawan Pier ferry is operating only at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., returning to the mainland at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Koh Larn is a linchpin in Pattaya’s plans to reopen to foreign tourists. Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome said 80 percent of the island’s 4,000 residents and regular workers are now vaccinated against Covid-19, a far greater percentage than mainland Pattaya. Another 300 Koh Larn adults are scheduled to get jabs once Pattaya gets more vaccine doses, Sonthaya said.
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