Krabi, the island paradise in Southern Thailand

Neither hustle and bustle as Phuket, nor a paradise on earth as the Maldives, Krabi brings in itself something very private, gentle and peaceful of a mountainous and sea region of Southern Thailand with the beautiful islands and smooth white sand beaches, people of a tourism region but always hospitable, smiling friendly and honest, impressing me – a tourist who have traveled quite a lot of places – still found new things. So, what to do and how to spend 4 days in Krabi perfectly? Let’s check out our Krabi blog (Krabi travel blog, Krabi trip blog, Krabi island blog, Krabi island travel blog) with the fullest Krabi guide (Krabi travel guide, Krabi island travel guide) and the detailed Krabi itinerary 4 days (Krabi 4d3n, 4 days 3 nights in Krabi) from how to get Krabi, where to stay, things to do, what to eat.. to find out the answer!

The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort
The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort
island hopping krabi thailand
Island hopping in Krabi Thailand
Ao Nang – one in the two famous spots in Krabi | krabi blog

Krabi travel blog: When is the best time to go to Krabi?

Krabi is located in the hot tropical region of Thailand where outdoor temperatures rarely go below 27 degrees Celsius. This region has only two main seasons: The dry season (from December to May) and the rainy season (from June to November).

Koh Tup

The best time to visit Krabi is in late January to March, when the outdoor temperatures are acceptable, quite pleasant, the sky is clear and avoid the peak months of Christmas and New Year. In contrast, many visitors prefer to come in the rainy season, simply when Krabi is very cool and also less touristy.

Kayaking
Krabi Night Market

Krabi travel guide: Getting to Krabi

If you going from Vietnam, there is currently no direct flight to Krabi but still have to transit in Bangkok. From Bangkok, there are many ways to get to Krabi such as plane, train or bus. In the above ways, the plane and bus are more popular because the train looks quite bad but more expensive than the bus. During my last trip, I took a Nok Air flight from Bangkok to Krabi, when return to Bangkok I took the bus.

krabi island thailand
Longtail boats
Railay beach

Read more: Bangkok to Krabi — How to go to Krabi from Bangkok?

By plane

I fly with Nok Air, the airline I think is very good because of the quality of service, cheap price and free checked baggage up to 15kg, they also serve a light meal. Nok Air is based at Don Muaeng airport, but if you fly with this airline, you can refer to the article on how to getting around Bangkok to know how to go from central Bangkok to Don Mueang Airport. If you buy cheap tickets of Nok Air to Krabi, the ticket price is only 1,000 Baht. In addition to Nok Air, there are many other airlines with routes to Krabi such as Air Asia, Thai Airways, etc. You should check the fare often and early to hunt cheap tickets.

Krabi-island-thailand3
Nok Air

If you traveling by plane, you will landing at Krabi Airport, about 20km from Krabi Town and 25km from Ao Nang Beach. To getting from the airport to the above two locations, the best way is that you take the shuttle bus with the corresponding fare of 90 Baht to Krabi town and 150 Baht to Ao Nang, the shuttle buses park right outside the door of the airport terminal. Note that when you come to Krabi and want to take the boat to Koh Phi Phi island, you can buy tickets of the travel agency right at the airport, then take the bus to the ferry pier. The bus from the airport will not go straight to the pier but take you to the travel agency office in the center of Krabi, from here you take a break for a while, close to the departure time of ferry they will take you to the pier by Songthaew.

go to krabi by bus-krabi-thailand2
Shuttle bus ticket booth at Krabi Aiport

By bus

Bus in Thailand is big car, very convenient and good service, bus tickets can be bought in advance via the website https://12go.asia/en, priced at over 600 Baht and can be reserved seat. Return from Krabi by bus you can buy tickets directly from your hotel at 600 Baht/way. There is air conditioning, warm blankets on the bus, free snacks are two boxes of milk, water and cakes. It takes about 12 hours to traveling, departure time you can free to choose, in the middle of the road they also serve a free meal. Although the meal is not very good for me because of Islam food is not suitable, but I appreciate their service quality, completeness and comfort. When taking the bus, I choose the night bus running from 4:40pm and arrive Bangkok at 5pm, sleeping on the bus to save a night at the hotel.

go to krabi by bus-krabi-thailand
Bus to Krabi
bangkok to krabi bus
Inside bus

How to get to the bus station

  • If you take the bus from Bangkok to Krabi, you will have to go to Bangkok Southern Terminal, also known as Sai Tai Mai (with the location on the map on page https://12go.asia/) located quite far on the other side of Chao Phraya River from the city center, by taxi (cost about 200 Baht) or take the bus number 28, 35, 66, 146, 507, 511. To get to Krabi bus station you can take Songthaew for 60 Baht to Ao Nang or Krabi town.
go to krabi by bus-krabi-thailand1
Krabi Bus Terminal
  • If you take the bus from Krabi to Bangkok, you can take Songthaew from Ao Nang or Krabi to the bus station (the bus always runs on the road, so you can stand and wave or ask your hotel helps you). When the bus arrives in Bangkok, it will usually drop off at Mochit, the bus station is close to Chatuchak market, you can take the bus from the station to catch the Skytrain (about 2km from the bus station) into the city center or if you are familiar with the bus, you can take a bus go straight to the hotel (bus 515 to Khao San and Rachatewi BTS station).
long neck women of Thailand-chiangmai-thailand25-songthaew
Songthaew in Thailand

Krabi blog: How to get around Krabi?

The most convenient means of transportation on the island and getting around the main areas is by motorbike. You can rent a motorbike right at your hotel at the price of 150 Baht/day, very cheap, add more fuel, you can riding comfortably. If you buy a tour, usually the tour agents will pick you up at the hotel, and after the tour they also will take you your hotel.

Motorcycles rental in Krabi
| krabi blog

When getting from Krabi airport if you buy bus tickets to go to the pier to get to Koh Phi Phi island, the bus will take you to Krabi Town first and drop you right at the transport company office, then the bus continues take the others to Ao Nang. You stay here for a while until before the ferry runs, they will have Songthaew to take you to the pier (free). Ferry tickets to Koh Phi Phi you can buy at the airport is also OK, price at 400 Baht/way and round-trip is 700 Baht but the return ferry trip will take you to the wharf in Krabi Town. If when you return from Phi Phi and you stay in Ao Nang, you should only buy one-way tickets for the departure trip, and for the return trip you can buy right on the island only 300 Baht/return-trip that go straight to Ao Nang. There are Songthaew or minibus at every pier, you can bargain freely, do not hear any people, they often say incorrectly.

Songthaew in Krabi | krabi travel blog

To traveling between the islands in Krabi, you just go to the piers in Ao Nang, Krabi or islands in this area, if you travel between the remote islands, you will go by high speed boat (ferry), and the near islands, the bays then take the longtail boat. For longtail boat, you just buy a ticket of around 100 Baht/way to the nearby islands and bays. When return, you also take these longtail boats. Details of each island will be mentioned below.

| krabi island travel blog
Longtail boat

Krabi travel blog: Where to stay in Krabi?

beach villa krabi thailand
Beach villa, Krabi | krabi island travel blog

Krabi has two main areas, Ao Nang and Krabi town (about 20km from each other). Ao Nang is more bustling in town (in the evening in the town, only has the night market is noticeable) but hotel room rates will be a bit more expensive, but actually wherever you stay, you have to rent a motorbike to getting around, because these areas are very wide, the beach is also long, so walking only around the area you are staying and can not going far. You do not have to hesitate because wherever you stay, there always will be shuttle transfer service of the travel agents pick up at your hotel.

Holiday Inn Resort Krabi Ao Nang Beach
Holiday Inn Resort Krabi Ao Nang Beach (Agoda.com or Booking.com) | krabi island travel blog

In Krabi Town

You can choose stay at Hotel Sleep Whale Express (Agoda.com or Booking.com) that is rated 9.0 scores on Booking.com with beautiful and very clean rooms, room rate is not too high, decorated in modern style with full amenities of the best hotel, prime location because it located only 200m from Krabi night market, 300m from Vogue shopping mall. There are coffee, tea, hot water, hairdryer and private bathroom. On the ground floor, there is a separate bar area serving cafe and restaurant. Alternatively you can choose many other rooms in Krabi Town on Booking.com or Agoda.com.

Sleep Whale Express | krabi island travel blog

In Ao Nang

Ao Nang has a lot of hotel options that stretch all along the coast, but the best location is that you should choose hotel on the main road that runs perpendicular to the beach, where tourists often choose to swim and catch boat to getting to Railay beach. The Nine Hotel @ Ao Nang (Agoda.com or Booking.com) with the room is quite nice, given a high score on Booking.com, only 5 minutes walk to the beach, clean private bathroom. Other hotels in Ao Nang you also can booking via on Booking.com or Agoda.com.

Nine Hotel @ Ao Nang

Stay on Phi Phi Island or Railay Beach

Railay Beach thailand guide
Railay Beach, Thailand

In addition to the two main areas above, tourists come to Krabi often choose to spend a few nights on Koh Phi Phi island or Railay beach. On Phi Phi island, the room rate is a bit higher than in Ao Nang, the hotels are located near the pier, so it is quite convenient. I stayed at the Marine House hostel (Agoda.com or Booking.com), the room rate is good on the island, like a stilt house, a beautiful clean wooden room, a 5-minute walk to the pier. And Railay beach is an isolated area you have to take a boat if you want to stay here, this area many visitors like because there is a beautiful beach to watch the sunset.

Marine House

Below we recommend more best cheap, budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

Dusit Thani Krabi Beach Resort, a top rated 5-star hotel with room rates from $134/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Railay Bay Resort & Spa, a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $41/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Pakasai Resort, a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $38/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Beyond Resort Krabi, a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $60/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

| krabi island travel blog

Avatar Railay Krabi, a top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $29/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

| krabi travel guide

Aonang Phu Petra Resort, a top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $67/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Deevana Plaza Krabi Aonang, a top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $65/night (Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

| krabi travel guide

In addition, you can refer to one of the best Airbnb in Krabi: Private LUX FAMILY VILLAS with pool. House #1of15 at $41/night or Ao Nang Krabi private pool villa Ton Yaang at $62/night.

–> The Airbnb link that discount up to $35 for the first booking here: https://www.airbnb.com/c/anht5185

All hotel reservations you can book on reputable booking websites such as Booking.com, Agoda.com or AirBnb.com. I still recommend booking at Booking.com because the interface is clear, friendly, easy to book, loyalty guests get 10% discount and the room rate is always show full from the beginning unlike Agoda.com, you only know the total room rate at the final step.

Krabi trip blog: What to eat in Krabi?

In Krabi Town in the evening you can go to the night market for eating and drinking, during the day there are also quite a lot of restaurants open with pretty good food right near the night market area near the lake. In general, the food in Krabi are similar to those in Bangkok, the most popular is still Pad Thai.

krabi food
Pad Thai

If you stay in Ao Nang, you will have to ride a little far away if you want to have many options and cheap. In general, Western food, fast food such as Mc Donald, KFC, Burger King have a lot on the main street in Ao Nang, but traveling, after get boring with local food, then you should eat fast food. The streetfood stalls in Ao Nang you can find on the main street perpendicular to Ao Nang Beach (at the end of Ao Nang Beach, turn left), passing Mc Donald is a short distance is an area with quite a lot of restaurants on the right. Another area is near Wang Sai Seafood, a row with lots of good streetfood restaurants and good prices, but this area is mostly bustling at night.

Krabi cuisine | krabi travel guide
Grilled dishes at Ao Nang Beach

krabi thailand nighlife

Krabi travel blog: What to do?

Traveling to Krabi is still mainly going to the beach, taking island hopping tours or you will go to Koh Phi Phi island and taking tours there. Krabi or Ao Nang tours you can book in advance via the website of Klook or buy from your hotel. The most popular tour in Krabi that people often buy is the 4 Islands Tour, in addition to many other tours such as Hong Island, Koh Phi Phi Island, etc. Some tourist attraction in Krabi as below.

Krabi Town and around

Tiger Cave Temple: In Krabi Town during the day you can go to some tourist places such as Tiger Cave Temple about 30km from Krabi Town, to reach here you will have to climb the top of the mountain with 1300 steps to see a temple and a quite large Buddha statue that formerly was a cave with footprints of tiger, from the top of the mountain, you can see whole majestic and peaceful scenery of Krabi. Come here to watch the sunrise to see the beauty of Krabi mountains.

Tiger-cave-temple-in-Kanchanaburi,kanchanaburi travel blog,kanchanaburi day trip,kanchanaburi blog,kanchanaburi travel guide
The Tiger Cave Temple in Kanchanaburi | krabi travel blog
Kanchanaburi-Wat-Tham-Sua,kanchanaburi travel blog,kanchanaburi day trip,kanchanaburi blog,kanchanaburi travel guide
Tiger Cave Temple

Hot Springs and Emerald Pool: In addition you can visit the hot springs and blue pool, one of the specialties of Krabi, but to getting to Emerald hot spring and Tiger Cave Temple you will have to go quite far. In town there is also the longtail boat service on the Krabi River, the river is located at the edge of the town but also near the center.

Blue Lake, Khao Pra Bang Khram wildlife sanctuary, Krabi province, Thailand | krabi travel blog

Fossil Shell Beach: About 8km from Ao Nang beach, this beach has many ancient fossils, the entrance fee is 200B/person. Nearby there is a restaurant called 7HEAVEN (Agoda.com or Booking.com) built as a fun playing and staying complex, quite nice, which is also suitable for watching sunset, but the food here is also quite expensive.

| krabi travel blog
7Heaven

Krabi Town: In the daytime in Krabi town (the center of the town) is quite peaceful, before I go, I thought Krabi was just a small village, but when I came here, it was different, quite bustling, many shops, especially there are many nice hostels combine cafes. In the evening you can walking around the lake (which looks like a long but quite small and narrow river), duck pedal boat, explore the crowded and interesting night market. The roads in the town are as wide and as many vehicles as the medium-size cities, it’s gentle and quiet.

A fair in Krabi Town | krabi travel blog
Krabi street food
Krabi Night Market | krabi travel blog
Krabi cuisine

Ao Nang Beach

Ao Nang is a large area with beaches stretching for many kilometers, restaurants, hotels or resorts are often concentrated here. You can imagine the beach in Ao Nang is similar to Mui Ne beach in Vietnam, but it seems more concentrating and Mui Ne is more spread.

Ao Nang – one in the two famous spost in Krabi | krabi travel blog

Some main beaches in Ao Nang:

Ao Nang Beach: The main beach in Ao Nang, a gathering point of tourists and is the most bustling spot in Krabi. The beach is quite beautiful and there are many eateries, with a pier to take longtail boat to get to Railay beach.

Ao Nang beach
| krabi travel blog

Nopparat Thara beach: Located on the upper part of Ao Nang, a bit more peaceful and quiet than Ao Nang beach, in the afternoon when the tide recedes, you will see shallow white sand beaches and you can reach the very beautiful limestone mountains nearby. At this point, you will have to walk to the shallow beach, so you can leave your motorbike at the beach embankment without having to worry.

Noparathara

Railay Beach: This is a beach located in the South and isolated from Ao Nang. To getting here, you have to take a speedboat or longtail boat, the fare is about 100B/way and can be bargained, coming to Railay you can play, sun bathing, swimming and come back to Ao Nang at anytime because there are many longtail boats ready to take you to Ao Nang. This area is also known as Railay Village because here is actually a village in Krabi, with rocky mountains, caves, thrilling activities like climbing. The beach is more beautiful in Ao Nang and especially Railay is the only place to watch the sunset fully because the sun is not obscured, so that is why the Western backpackers love to come here to relax. In Railay, there are many sports such as skydiving, kayaking… For skydiving tours, you must be present before 9 am to start, the tour price is 1000 Baht including lunch. Near Railay beach, there is also Ton Sai beach which is also very beautiful, if you like you can take a boat to the beach to have fun.

Railey Village
Railey beach | krabi travel blog
Most beautiful beaches in Thailand to visit Railay Beach — Krabi (1)
The wild beauty of Railay.
Most beautiful beaches in Thailand to visit Railay Beach — Krabi (1)
Railay panoramic view from above. | krabi travel blog
snorkelling adventure-railay1
Snorkelling
krabi thailand things to do
Railay rock climbing | krabi travel blog
railay-kayak-thailand1
Kayaking
krabi thailand things to do
Rock jumping
railay thailand
Sunset | krabi travel blog

Koh Phi Phi

The island is so famous and a highlight destination when traveling to Krabi, where the hotel price and all living costs are more expensive than in Krabi or Ao Nang. From Koh Phi Phi, you can buy tours to visit nearby beaches, islands such as Bamboo Island, Long beach, Monkey Island, etc. On the island, it is always bustling, vibrant, especially at night filled with bar, fire dance performance, pool party extremely fun. During the day you should try climbing the island’s highest mountain to reach the Viewpoint points to see the whole island. There are 3 Viewpoint points according to the higher level, the ticket for all 3 viewpoints is 30 Baht.

[SALE] Krabi to Phi Phi Day Tour by Speedboat or Speed Catamaran (Operated by TTD)

koh phi phi island thailand

phi phi island tour koh lanta
| krabi travel blog
Koh Phi Phi viewpoint | krabi blog

Long-tail-boat-in-Koh-Phi-Phi-Island
Long tail boats
Monkey Beach in Koh Phi Phi3
Monkey Island | krabi blog

Phi Phi Islands and Maya Bay Day Tour in Phuket

Tours in Krabi

In Thailand in general or in Krabi in particular, they are mainly strong on private tours, that is, you come to Krabi to play, visit the beaches in Ao Nang, in addition you have a multitude of tour options to explore the sea, ​​islands in this land. It can be mentioned here as 4 Islands Tour, Hong Island Tour, Krabi Nature & Adventure Tour, …. All about the tours you can find on Klook. Phi Phi Island is the largest and most famous island in Krabi, you can buy a daytrip to explore Phi Phi or take a ferry and spend a few nights on the island.

Krabi 4 Islands Day Tour by Speedboat or Longtail Boat

koh nang yuan koh tao (2)
| krabi blog
koh nang yuan koh tao (2)
| best beaches in thailand
koh nang yuan,koh tao (1)
Koh Nang Yuan is famous for the road crossing the middle of the sea. | krabi blog

Discover all tours and activities in Krabi here.

I just experienced the 4 Islands Tour, the tour pick up me from the hotel at 9am and returned at 3pm, generally they would take you to some islands near Krabi by Longtail boat, not much special things compare to the island tours in Vietnam like Binh Ba island tour or Cu Lao Cham island tour. These islands are very small, not so beautiful, you can snorkeling to watch corals, corals here are also quite beautiful, and the beach is normal (maybe because of I had been to the Maldives, so I see any island is ugly now, LOL!). Anyway, with the tour price of 600 Baht/person with pick up and drop off service and have fun for all day like that is too good already.

Krabi 4 island tour
| krabi travel blog

Lunch meal in the tour | krabi blog

Suggested Krabi itinerary 4 days (4 days in Krabi) for you refer to

Traveling to Krabi, you can spend 4 days 3 nights is just beautiful for the trip, if you have plenty of time, you can stay longer because Krabi has so many islands that you should explore. Details of my trip you can see in the article: My field trip to Bangkok – Krabi – Phi Phi.

Here I summarize the Krabi itinerary 4 days as follows:

Day 1: Hanoi/Bangkok – Krabi

  • 11am: Fly Nok Air to Krabi Airport, take the bus to Krabi Town
  • 1pm – 3pm: Take a ferry to Phi Phi island
  • 3pm: Check-in my hotel, go to the beach to play. Evening: Walking around the island, watching fire dancing, go to bar, ..
Maya Bay, Phi Phi island | krabi itinerary 4 days

Koh Phi Phi nightlife
Fire dancing | krabi itinerary 4 days

Day 2: Koh Phi Phi – Ao Nang

  • In the early morning I go to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise in Koh Phi Phi
  • 9am: Explore some nearby beaches and islands such as Bamboo Island, Long Island, ..
  • 1pm: Take a ferry to Krabi, if you go to Ao Nang can take the later ferry.
  • Afternoon: Rent a motorbike to watch sunset at Nopparat Thara beach, wandering around Ao Nang beach and enjoy BBQ.
Koh Phi Phi viewpoint
Nang Thong Beach — Khao Lak (2)
Ao Nang beach | krabi itinerary 4 days

Day 3: Ao Nang and take the Krabi 4 Island Tour

  • 8.30am: Tour agent pick up at my hotel to start 4 island tour, lunch on the island.
  • 3pm: Return hotel, take motorbike to Ao Nang beach.
  • Evening: Go around Ao Nang beach, enjoy Krabi cuisine, or you can ride into Krabi town to hang out and explore the night market.
koh nang yuan,koh tao (1)
The charming scenery. | krabi itinerary 4 days

Krabi 4 Islands Day Tour by Speedboat or Longtail Boat

Day 4: Krabi – Bangkok

  • Morning: Check-out the hotel, send the luggage and then take the motorbike to Krabi Town to play.
  • Lunch at Krabi or return to Ao Nang early, take the longtail boat to Railay beach.
  • 4pm: Take Songthaew to get to the bus station to back to Bangkok.
railay-beach
Railay Beach | krabi travel blog

Ao Nang Princess One Way Ferry Ticket between Koh Lanta and Railay Beach (with Transfers)

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Krabi you can refer to

Krabi-island-thailand

Are you looking for more Krabi travel guide and top things to do in Krabi: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Krabi Itinerary — 3 days to fully explore the island paradise of Krabi Island, Thailand.