Two weeks in Krabi: a plan with three bases

Two weeks is enough to see Krabi's islands from the inside rather than from a day boat. The plan below takes our one-week plan and adds a third base: five nights in Ao Nang, four on Koh Lanta or Koh Yao Noi, and four on Phi Phi Don or Railay, with day 13 kept for the weather and day 14 for the way out.

Every tour suggested here is one we list. The table comes first, then each base, then the monsoon version, and who should do something else.

The fortnight at a glance

Every tour suggested here, except the mangrove kayaking day from Lanta, is shown as running every day of the week on its booking calendar as of October 2026, so the order of the days is set by the sea, the tide, the park closures and the weekend market, not by departure days.

The plan is written for November to April; the monsoon version comes at the end.

Days 1 to 5: Ao Nang

The first four days are the first four of our one-week plan, in the same order and for the same reasons: Railay on foot, the long day at sea early in case the sea moves it, the Tiger Cave Temple and the Emerald Pool inland, then the four islands or the Hong Islands. Read the days there; they do not change.

Day 5 is the one a week does not have. Three ways to spend it, each from Ao Nang:

Khao Sok. The day trip to Cheow Lan Lake, out of Krabi province, with a boat, a cave, a hike and a kayak. It lasts 10 to 14 hours, most of it on the road: take it only if you are not going to stay at the lake on another trip.

The mangroves. Half a day kayaking at Ao Thalane, north of Ao Nang, then an afternoon on the beach.

A cooking class, if the sea has been rough and you would rather spend a day on land.

One week in Krabi: the first four days, in detail

Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok, from Krabi

Kayaking in the Ao Thalane mangroves

Three bases, and which ones

Ao Nang comes first because the boats leave from its beach. The second base is an island to stay on, the third a last stretch by the sea. Each comes in two versions.

Koh Lanta for beaches to stay on, the old town, and its own days out: Koh Rok and Koh Haa, one of two island days to the south (Koh Mook or Koh Kradan), or a day kayaking in the mangroves. It is reached by road all year.

Koh Yao Noi for quiet: farms, fishing villages, a kayak and early evenings, in Phang Nga Bay, in another province. Most islanders are Muslim, and there is no nightlife strip.

Phi Phi Don for nights on the island the day tours only pass through: the viewpoint at dawn, the village in the evening, and Maya Bay by boat from the island. The village is loud at night.

Railay for the cliffs, the evenings once the day boats have gone, and a climbing class on your doorstep, a short boat ride from Ao Nang.

Lanta then Phi Phi, or Koh Yao Noi then Railay, are the pairs that link most easily, as the next sections explain. If you would rather unpack fewer times, drop the third base and give its nights to the second.

Where to stay in Krabi: the areas side by side

Days 6 to 9 on Koh Lanta

Day 6 is the move. By road it is about three hours from Ao Nang, by van and car ferry, all year; from November to April, boats also run from Ao Nang and from Klong Jilad, near Krabi Town, to Saladan in the north of the island. The car ferry has no fixed timetable, so leave in the morning and give the afternoon to a beach.

Three full days give you what a week cannot: a day at sea, a day ashore and a day for nothing. At sea, the snorkelling trip to Koh Rok and Koh Haa runs 7.5 to 8.5 hours by speedboat; Koh Rok is closed from 1 June to 30 September, and Koh Haa has been reported closed since 11 June 2026. The other two days go south to four islands: by longtail to Koh Mook and the Emerald Cave, about 7 hours, or to Koh Kradan, about 8. Ask which islands are open on your date. There is also a day of mangrove kayaking with Koh Talabeng, about 7 hours, which does not run on Fridays, by its booking calendar.

Ashore, go to the old town on the east coast by day, for the stilt houses of its merchants.

Koh Lanta: the island, its corners and its seasons

Koh Rok and Koh Haa, from Koh Lanta

The days out from Koh Lanta

Or days 6 to 9 on Koh Yao Noi

Day 6 is a speedboat from Nopparat Thara Pier, west of Ao Nang Beach, to Manoh pier on Koh Yao Noi. Ask your hotel to meet the boat. Koh Yao Noi is the smaller and more developed of the two islands, with a hospital and cash machines; Koh Yao Yai is larger and quieter, and you depend on a scooter or your hotel to get anywhere.

There is no list of sights. The days go on a kayak among the limestone islets, a bicycle or scooter between villages, and a swim when the tide allows: ask your hotel what its beach is like at low water. Dress modestly away from the beach.

Leaving, some Koh Yao boats call at the pontoon at Railay East, which makes Railay the natural third base. If you are flying out of Phuket instead, boats also run from the islands to Bang Rong pier on Phuket.

Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai: which one, and how to get there

Days 10 to 12: Phi Phi Don or Railay

From Lanta, Phi Phi is the easier third base. Ferry booking sites list direct boats from Saladan to Ton Sai pier on Phi Phi Don, run by several operators, but they disagree on how often they go and in which months: check with the operator before you plan around one. Otherwise, go back through Krabi and take the ferry from Klong Jilad or Nopparat Thara, about two hours, or about one on the faster boats.

On Phi Phi Don, the days there give you the viewpoint early, a morning at Long Beach and Phi Phi Leh by boat from the island, on a private longtail or a tour that aims to reach Maya Bay with the first group. Maya Bay is closed from 1 August to 30 September, and you cannot swim there. Sleep away from Loh Dalum if you want to sleep.

From Koh Yao Noi, or if Phi Phi does not appeal, go to Railay. The boats from Koh Yao that call at Railay East land you at a pontoon, with dry feet and your bags. Give one day to a beginners' climbing class, about four hours, and one to the peninsula: Railay West early, Phra Nang Beach, and the viewpoint trail only in dry weather and if you are steady on steep mud.

Where to stay on Phi Phi Don, bay by bay

Maya Bay with the first group, from Phi Phi

A beginners' climbing course at Railay

Days 13 and 14: the margin, then the way out

Book nothing on day 13. In two weeks, a boat day is likely to move, and this is where it goes; if nothing moved, it is a beach day.

Day 14 is the way out, and the base decides it. From Phi Phi, the ferry back to Krabi takes about two hours: never plan it for the morning of a flight, and sleep on the mainland the night before an early one. Phi Phi also has boats to Phuket, if you are flying from there. From Railay, every departure starts with a boat, then the road to the airport. In both cases, check on the day that your boat is running.

Krabi Airport: getting to and from each base

Krabi to Phuket, by road or by boat

The monsoon version, and who should skip it

From May to October, the southwest monsoon reaches this coast. Go to Lanta by road, since the boats from Krabi run from November to April only; leave Koh Rok out from June to September and Maya Bay in August and September; and keep two loose days, not one, for the boats to Koh Yao and Phi Phi, which are fewer and can be cancelled at short notice. On a day when the boats stay in, take the inland day.

Not you if four moves in two weeks sounds like work: keep two bases, five nights in Ao Nang and the rest on Lanta or Railay. Not you if boats make you ill: this plan has a long day at sea and two island crossings. And not with very small children: pick one island base and stay there.

Krabi in the rainy season: what closes and what runs

Krabi with kids: what works, and what does not

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