paradise in krabi
I’ve recently started working and it’s been difficult keeping to my previous pace of traveling. I’ll probably write a thought post sometime in the future about navigating workplace expectations while maintaining wanderlust, but that will come when I figure it out. For now, I’m just grateful my friend Timo flew in all the way from Germany to hang out in Southeast Asia, convincing me to take a spontaneous trip to Krabi, Thailand. I’m reminded by how lucky I am to have all of this in my backyard in Singapore. Paradise is all around me.
I’ll caveat this post by saying that we definitely did not do everything you could possibly do in Krabi. That being said, I’m counting that as an excuse to come back and to add to this post. In this trip, we stayed close at Ao Nang Beach itself (instead of Krabi Town) so that we could enjoy the waterfront. Ao Nang is a quaint beach town that is very touristy but also in its own way charming. There are almost no locals who actually live here so don’t expect anything authentic but you will find your basic necessities all around. The beach is mostly occupied by resorts, all the way from the cheap hostel ones to the expensive luxury ones.
The beachfront is very much worth it though, especially with the sunset landscapes you get to witness. The swordfish statue (erected because they caught a huge number of these sometime back) is a good spot to catch the view.
Of course, you’ll want to spend as little time on Ao Nang itself. Grab a longboat from the eastern-most point of the beach (it’s a small shack) and head out to the beaches on the mainland. These boats also are an iconic Thai island shot for those Insta-travelers.
There are a number of beaches you can check out but we decided to hit up the famous Railay Beach. This is not only a beautiful beach to relax at but also a good one to go kayaking and hiking from. The best part is that the beach is on the mainland so it’s only a 10-minute boat ride away from Ao Nang. I’d highly recommend catching the sunset from the beach before heading back.
Alternatively, if you’re in Krabi for long enough, spend a night itself on Railay where there are a number of resorts, beach bars, and restaurants. Things on this island tend to be on the liberal end of life so if you’re looking to escape attention, here’s a good spot.
From Ao Nang, you can take a whole slew of tours out to the region. There is the 4 Island tour which looked really cool, but we prioritized the iconic Phi Phi (pronounced Pee-Pee) islands tour. You have the option to also book just the ferry to Phi Phi town itself, but I’ll assure you that you can bargain the price down (we got it 60% off) and make the tour comparatively more worth it. One of the things the tour does is to take you to a bunch of spots besides the town, including Bamboo Island above. Bamboo Island is just a giant beach-island but it actually had some of the best beachfront I’ve seen in my life. The rugged coast with fallen branches and flooded huts also make for great landscapes.
The highlight of the whole tour for us had to be visiting Phi Phi Lagoon. This was an absolutely breathtaking part of Thailand that I had only heard about before. As the boat makes its way through the towering forested rock islands, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of it all. There are very few places in the world that have had such an effect on me, and this joins that list. The lagoon is clear and pristine, and the good news is that you’re allowed to go swimming there. We definitely took advantage of all of that.
The tour package normally includes a number of other secondary activities and spots including a “Pirate Rock”, “Monkey Beach”, lunch and snorkeling. These are all cute and fun but for the lagoon and Bamboo Beach alone, I would have been very satisfied.
When it comes to food, it’s hard to distinguish between the touristy options and the legitimate Thai offerings. We were lucky enough to make friends with some of the staff and only went to the spots that were consistently mentioned. For street food, there’s a stall that dishes out a mean Pad Thai on the cheap. It’s difficult to find on Google Maps but look for the stall opposite the road from the Ao Nang Villa entrance. As for sit-down food, we visited Ao Nang Cuisine on our first night and kept coming back for our other meals. If you know me, that’s a high bar to beat so you can trust that this place is reliable. My top recommendations here are their Thai Shrimp Omelette and their Crab Glass Noodles.
If you’re looking to get a good but affordable Thai massage, there’s a spot opposite Slumber Party Hostel 2 called New Life Massage. The staff is very professional and definitely skilled. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated, albeit it was later wasted on our nightlife adventures.
Krabi is not necessarily the go-to destination for nightlife. The bars tend to be ok at best, and the clubs tend to be either sleazy or unimpressive. The only saving grace is Chang Bar which is an absolute riot and the heart of activity in the Ao Nang area. If you’re looking to complete your Krabi experience with a good night out, don’t miss this spot.
Here are some general tips for Krabi:
- You can take a shuttle bus (150 baht/per person) or taxi (600 baht/ car) to Ao Nang Beach. There’ll be people touting as soon as you leave baggage collection so just get onto whichever leaves earliest. The choice really depends on how cost-sensitive and how rushed you are for time. The taxis tend to be very comfortable though so I’d probably stick to that.
- Here’s something I wish I knew early on. The ATMs on Krabi charge exorbitant fees, up to 220THB. Avoid using the ATMs like a plague. Bring your own THB into Krabi or stick to card payments when possible. Unfortunately, only big businesses accept cards and even then, you’ll be lucky to find those that accept Visa or Mastercard. They do accept AliPay and WeChat a good amount surprisingly.
- Where to stay depends on how comfortable you want to be. Timo and I were looking for a cheap but fun spot and Slumber Party Hostel Beach was the best value for money. They host a number of social activities in the evening but that’s in their sister location slightly north of it. It’s not too far and we managed to hop between both pretty conveniently.
- When booking tours, remember to bargain hard. Most places will try to rip you off so making friends with the tour operator instead of pissing them off is your best bet on getting a good deal. We negotiated our package with Ao Nang GR Tour, a pink stall at the corner of the road, and felt like we got a good deal. We paid 2000THB each for the Phi Phi island package which was originally 4500THB. It could have been because we were there in the off-season (September) but you take what you get!
- Because it’s a resort town, crime is restricted to petty crime like pickpocketing and scams. Just be smart about your surroundings and stay in populated areas and Krabi will not cause any fear.
- Getting around with Tuk-Tuks is very easy. Just flag one down and you’re good to go for any short distance.
As I mentioned previously, there’s still so much of Krabi and the surrounding area I haven’t seen yet. If the rest is any much as beautiful as what I have already seen, I know I cannot avoid coming back. Krabi is paradise on earth, and you’d hate yourself for missing it.
