First time in Krabi
Start here
Krabi is a coast, a peninsula without a road and a sea full of islands. Make seven decisions and the trip is mostly planned.
Ideal first stay
3–5 days
Best months for the sea
November to April
Where to base
Ao Nang
Railay
By boat only
Book ahead
Your island day, little else
How long do you need?
Three days if that is what you have. Five if you can, because the sea does not always cooperate.
Three days covers the coast without rushing: one day on the islands, one day at Railay, and one inland day or a slow one on the beach.
Five is the better trip, and not because it adds sights. Island tours can be cancelled when the sea is rough, and a spare day is what stops one bad morning from costing you the day you came for. It is also the only way to fit in a long day out, such as Phi Phi or Phang Nga Bay, without giving up Railay.
Plan your days
5 days in Krabi
A slower trip, with Phi Phi or Phang Nga Bay and a day the sea can take back.
When should you come?
November to April, if the sea is the point. The monsoon months still work, with slack in the plan.
Krabi's coast faces west, onto the Andaman Sea, and that is the side the southwest monsoon comes from. It brings the rains from about May to October; in 2026 the rainy season officially began on 15 May, and October is, on average, the wettest month.
The parks do not close as a whole for the monsoon. Tours keep running, but any departure can be cancelled when the sea is rough, and the longtails from Ao Nang to Railay can be suspended. A few places close on fixed dates; the one a first trip is most likely to meet is Maya Bay, on Phi Phi Leh, shut every year from 1 August to 30 September. Phi Phi tours run in those weeks, without landing there.
Month by month
- Dry season
- Shoulder months
- First rains
- Southwest monsoon
Where should you stay?
Ao Nang, for a first trip. The others are for particular reasons.
Ao Nang is not the most beautiful base, but it is where the boats to Railay and the islands leave from, and that saves time every day. Pick another place only if one of these reasons is yours.
Four reasons to sleep somewhere, and where
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First trip, several boat days
The boats to Railay and the islands leave from the beach. Busy, and convenient for exactly that reason.
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The cliffs, and quiet evenings
No road, so quieter once the day boats have gone. Every outing, and your luggage, comes and goes by boat.
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A Thai town rather than a beach strip
Markets and river life, and the weekend Walking Street. The beaches are a drive away.
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A quiet stay built around the hotel
A calmer coast west of Ao Nang. Plan on transport for the boats and the restaurants.
What should you actually see?
Four things. You do not need to see everything.
Most of what Krabi sells comes down to a few kinds of day. Do each of them once, properly, rather than squeezing in three versions of the same day at sea.
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01
One island day, chosen properly
The four islands by longtail for a first day close to Ao Nang; the Hong Islands for the lagoon; Phi Phi or Phang Nga Bay only if the name is why you came.
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02
Railay, on foot
A longtail to Railay West, a walk across to Railay East, and the path under the cliffs to Phra Nang Beach. Leave the viewpoint trail to the sure-footed, in dry weather.
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03
The inland day
The Tiger Cave Temple staircase, early or late, never at midday, and a swim at the Emerald Pool. Forest and fresh water instead of sand and salt.
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04
An evening market
The Walking Street in Krabi Town from Friday to Sunday, or the Landmark market in Ao Nang on any evening.
How do you get to Railay?
By longtail. There is no road, and the pier you leave from decides where you land.
Limestone cliffs cut Railay off from the mainland. Everyone and everything arrives by boat, and on the Railay West side you step off into shallow water. It is a short crossing, but it shapes the day, and the night if you are sleeping there.
- From Ao Nang, Ao Nam Mao or Krabi TownThree piers, and two different landings: Railay West from Ao Nang, Railay East from the other two.
- With your luggageAt Railay West your bags go through the water with you. With heavy luggage, land on the pontoon at Railay East.
- Coming back after dinnerThe shared boats from Ao Nang run until about 6 pm. After that, sources disagree on what is left.
- In the monsoonThe Ao Nang boats can be suspended in a rough sea. The crossing from Ao Nam Mao, on the sheltered side, is the one to try.
What should you book?
Your island day, and not much else.
The Tiger Cave Temple is free and needs no booking. The shared longtails to Railay are bought for cash at the counter on the day. The markets need nothing at all. A good part of a first trip to Krabi is walk-in.
What is worth arranging is the day at sea: the boat, the route, and whether the day suits you. Every tour we list shows departures on every day of the week, so the date matters less than the weather. Place the island day early in the trip, with a spare day after it.
What is worth booking, and what is not ▸
Before you arrive
A few things worth sorting before you arrive.
Since 15 September 2026, the visa exemption for tourists from many countries, France and the United States among them, is 30 days rather than 60: check the rule for your own passport. Fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) in the three days before you arrive. It is free, and only the official immigration website issues it.
- Getting here from BangkokThere is no railway station in Krabi. Flying is by far the quickest way down; the night bus and the train with a van are for those with time.
- The national park feesUsually not included in the tour price and paid in cash on the day. Bring cash on every island day.
- Check the tide for your datesIt changes the sandbar, the Railay East mudflat and the walk out to the boats at Ao Nang.
- Jellyfish and red flagsBox jellyfish come closer to shore in the monsoon. Know what to do before you need to.
- Dress for the templeShoulders and knees covered, shoes you can climb in, and your own water.
- See how it all fits on a mapAo Nang, Railay, Krabi Town and the islands, and where each sits against the others.