Krabi ferries: which pier, which island, which season

If you are sleeping in Krabi Town, your ferry almost certainly leaves from Klong Jilad pier; if you are in Ao Nang, from Nopparat Thara Pier, west of Ao Nang Beach. Between them, these two piers serve Phi Phi, Phuket and, in the season, Koh Lanta, and Nopparat Thara also serves Koh Yao. Railay and Koh Jum have their own ways in.

This page is the map, not the timetable. Timetables and fares change with every season and every operator, so we do not print them: check them with the operator or at the pier when you book. Where we have written about a crossing in detail, we link to it.

Which pier is yours

Klong Jilad is the ferry pier of Krabi Town, south of the centre. Ferries and faster boats leave from here for Phi Phi, ferries for Rassada pier on Phuket and, from November to April only, boats for Saladan on Koh Lanta.

Nopparat Thara Pier is the ferry pier of Ao Nang, west of the town beach. Ferries and speedboats leave from here for Phi Phi, Koh Lanta (mainly from November to April), Phuket and Koh Yao.

Two other boarding points are not ferry piers, and people mix them up. The longtails to Railay West leave from Ao Nang Beach itself, and the longtails to Railay East from Chao Fah pier in Krabi Town. Further along the coast, the car ferry to Koh Lanta leaves from Hua Hin pier, on the Krabi mainland, and the longtails to Koh Jum from Laem Kruat.

Phi Phi

Phi Phi is served from both piers, and the boats land at Ton Sai pier on Phi Phi Don, the inhabited island. Expect a small local fee in cash as you step off, separate from the national park fee.

From Nopparat Thara, the boats run all year, with fewer departures in the low season and cancellations when the sea is high. Some of them also call at Railay East on the way. From Klong Jilad, we have not been able to confirm that the ferry runs every month of the year: if you are travelling between May and October, check before you plan around it.

A ferry is the way to stay on Phi Phi Don. If you only want Maya Bay and a bed in Krabi the same night, a day tour is a different trip.

Phi Phi from Krabi: a day trip or a night on the island

Koh Lanta

Lanta is the one crossing where the season decides everything. From November to April, boats run from Klong Jilad to Saladan, in the north of the island, and mostly from Nopparat Thara too. From May to October, no boat runs from Klong Jilad, and sources disagree on whether any boat from Ao Nang does.

The road works all year: a van or your own vehicle to Hua Hin pier, the car ferry across to Lanta Noi, then the bridge to Lanta Yai. A bridge from the mainland was contracted in August 2026 and is expected around 2029; until then, every road journey still crosses by ferry.

Koh Lanta from Krabi: day trip or stay, by road or by boat

Railay, Koh Yao and Koh Jum

Railay has no road and no ferry pier of its own on the swimming side. You cross by longtail: from Ao Nang Beach to Railay West, where you wade ashore, or from Chao Fah in Krabi Town or Ao Nam Mao to the floating pontoon at Railay East, where you step off dry. That pontoon is also where some Phi Phi and Koh Yao boats call.

Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai, in Phang Nga Bay to the north, are reached by speedboat from Nopparat Thara Pier. Travel guides also describe a slower local boat from Tha Lane pier, on the bay of Ao Thalane, but sources disagree on how regular it is.

Koh Jum, between Krabi and Lanta, is reached all year by longtail from Laem Kruat on the mainland. In high season, some boats on the Krabi to Lanta route also stop off the island: check with the operator, as this is not a year-round service.

How to get to Railay, and back with your luggage

Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai from Krabi

Phuket

From Klong Jilad, ferries cross to Rassada pier on Phuket in about two hours, according to ferry booking sites. Boats for Phuket also leave from Nopparat Thara.

The other way is the road, round the bay by van: travel guides give about three to five hours, depending on traffic and on how many hotels the van stops at to pick people up. By boat or by road, compare the time from your door to your hotel's door, not only the crossing.

Getting to Krabi from Phuket

In the monsoon

The southwest monsoon brings rougher sea to this coast from May until October; in 2026, the rainy season officially began on 15 May. The boats that keep running do so with fewer departures, and any of them can be cancelled on the morning when the sea is high. On some days the harbour authority stops boats from going out at all.

Three habits help. Do not take the first boat back from an island on the morning of a flight: keep a spare day before it. Check on the day that your boat is running, with the operator rather than with an old listing online. And for Lanta between May and October, plan on the road from the start.

Krabi in the rainy season: what closes, and how to read an alert

Buying a ticket

You can buy from the operator, from a booking site online, or from your hotel or a travel agent in Ao Nang or Krabi Town. On Phi Phi Don, agents along the Ton Sai front sell the boats back.

Read what the ticket includes before you compare prices. Some tickets come with a van pickup from your hotel to the pier and some are for the boat alone, and the same crossing can be sold both ways. Check too which pier the ticket names: a boat "from Krabi" can mean Klong Jilad or Nopparat Thara, which are not next to each other.

We do not print fares or departure times: they change with the season, and the ones you find online are often out of date. Ask for the current ones when you book.

Your luggage

We have found no published rule from the operators on luggage size or weight, so ask when you book if you are carrying more than a backpack and a small case.

What we can say is where your bags get wet. On the longtail landing at Railay West, whatever you carry goes through the sea with you; at the Railay East pontoon, you step off dry. A speedboat is faster than a large ferry but wetter, and less steady in a swell. Pack anything that must stay dry in a bag inside your bag, and keep your passport, phone and money with you rather than in the luggage pile.

Read nextPhi Phi from Krabi: a day trip or a night on the island ▸

Read nextKoh Lanta from Krabi: day trip or stay, by road or by boat ▸

Read nextHow to get to Railay (and back with your luggage) ▸