Krabi & Railay

The same limestone as Phang Nga Bay, except here it comes ashore — three-hundred-metre cliffs standing directly behind the sand, and a peninsula with no road into it.

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Krabi

A province, a town, and a beach with no road

Krabi is a province rather than a place, and almost nobody stays in Krabi town, which is a river port with a good night market and an airport twenty minutes away. What travellers mean by Krabi is the coast to the west of it: Ao Nang, the beach strip the boats leave from, and Railay, a peninsula on the far side of a headland with no road in, reached by long-tail in about ten minutes.

The landscape is the same drowned limestone as Phang Nga Bay, except that here it comes ashore. Cliffs of three hundred metres stand directly behind the sand, which is why Railay became one of the best-known rock climbing sites in the world and why the beaches look the way they do in photographs. Compared with Phuket it is quieter, much less built and a good deal less convenient, which for most people is exactly the trade they were looking for.

Limestone cliffs rise above a sandy beach as small waves roll in near Ao Nang, Krabi.

A wooden longtail boat rests on the shore near limestone cliffs at Railay beach in Krabi, Thailand.

Railay · Ao Nang

Choosing a base

Which sand, and what it costs you

Five bases, and the difference between them is mostly how easy it is to leave. Railay is the most beautiful and the least practical; Ao Nang is the reverse.

Railay West for the view and the sunsets. Boat access only, and the last long-tails run in the early evening, so a late flight means moving hotels.
Tonsai, next door, for climbers — a rougher and cheaper version of the same cliffs.
Ao Nang for convenience: every boat, every restaurant, a road to the airport. It is a strip, and it makes no pretence otherwise.
Klong Muang and Tubkaek, fifteen minutes north, for a quiet beach with the Hong islands sitting out in front of it.
Koh Lanta, two hours south by road and ferry, for travellers who want a week of doing very little indeed.

Limestone karst cliffs rise from turquoise sea near Krabi with a small boat passing by. — Ao Nang

Boat days

The islands, and how many to attempt

The standard four-island trip out of Ao Nang takes in Chicken Island, Tup, Poda and the beach at Phra Nang cave. It is pleasant and it is busy, and the single change that improves it most is going privately and leaving at eight rather than half past nine. The Hong islands to the north have a lagoon that empties and fills with the tide and make the better half-day. Phi Phi is ninety minutes west and is shared with the day fleet out of Phuket. Two boat days in four nights is the right ratio — by the third, they begin to resemble one another.

Towering limestone karsts rise from turquoise sea waters near Railay Bay in Krabi, Thailand.

Off Railay

Inland

Dry land, for the days in between

Two things inland repay a morning, and both are better before nine. The Tiger Cave temple outside Krabi town has 1,237 steps up to a summit shrine, takes about an hour in the cool of the early morning and lays the whole province out below you. The Emerald Pool and the hot springs at Khlong Thom, an hour east, are a short forest walk to a spring-fed pool that is genuinely the colour the name claims. Neither needs a guide, both need a car, and together they make a good half-day when the sea is rough.

Seasons

Swell, months and how long

November to AprilThe Andaman season: flat water, boats running to schedule, and the clearest visibility from January to March.

May to OctoberThe southwest monsoon. Ao Nang stays workable but boat days are cancelled without much notice, and the ten-minute crossing to Railay is occasionally rough.

SeptemberThe wettest month of the year here. Krabi is at its greenest and its emptiest, and we would put your beach nights somewhere else.

Three or four nightsTwo boat days, one inland morning, one day doing nothing at all. That is the shape that works.

Onward

Onward from the Andaman

Onward leg	How long	What to know
Bangkok	1 hour 20 by air from Krabi airport	Several daily; the airport is twenty minutes from Ao Nang.
Phuket	3 hours by road, or about 2 hours by ferry in season	Two airports within reach makes an Andaman leg flexible if a flight moves.
Koh Lanta	2 hours by road and ferry	The quiet extension, at its best in January and February.
Koh Samui	1 hour by air, usually via Bangkok	The Gulf runs on a different calendar, which is the only good reason to cross the isthmus.

Four nights on the Andaman.

Plan My Trip

Tell us your dates

We will tell you whether the sea will be flat, and whether Railay or Ao Nang suits the way you travel.

Plan My Trip

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Railay or Ao Nang?

Railay for the cliffs, the view and the sense of being cut off; Ao Nang for boats, restaurants and a road to the airport. A common compromise is two nights on Railay and two at Klong Muang, which keeps both.

Can I reach Railay by road?

No. The peninsula is closed off by cliffs and the only way in is by long-tail boat, about ten minutes from Ao Nang. The last boats run in the early evening, which is worth remembering if your flight out is a late one.

Krabi or Phuket for a first Andaman trip?

Krabi for the scenery and for quieter sand, Phuket for the flights and the range of places to stay. They are three hours apart by road, so a longer southern leg can use the airport at one and sleep at the other.

Journey ideas