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Krabi (southern Thailand)
Krabi province
The province of Krabi lays in southern Thailand between Phangnga and Suratthani in the north and Trang in the south. North of Krabi town the Khao Phanom Bencha mountains national park raise till 1350m. It is a landscape of hills, limestone rocks, mangrove swamps and forests of oil palm trees and rubber trees. Beside these two agricultural products the people live from fishing and coconuts. The Krabi river comes from the mountains and ends south of Krabi town in wide arms in the Andamansea. The shores a widely grown with mangrove forests. Typically for Krabi´s landscape are the Limestone hills and rocks, which especially shape the shores of the sea.
390.000 inhabitants live in the province of Krabi, that has 8 districts, of which Muang Krabi is the biggest (80.000). Krabi town counts 60.000 inhabitants. It is the main capital. In the year 2003 Krabi got its own national airport and a new boat terminal was opened in 2006 for all passengers, who want to travel to the islands nearby including Phuket.
Getting there
Airasia and Thai Airways offer daily 70 minutes flights from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) to Krabi. The small airport is connected to the town by taxi and mini bus. It’s a 10 minutes drive to downtown and about 20 minutes to the piers. Krabi can also be reached by overland busses from Bangkok in 10-12 hours. Busses connect Krabi with Phuket, Trang and Suratthani.
From southern Thailand Krabi can be reached also by boats from the islands Koh Lanta, Koh Jum , Koh Phi Phi and Phuket.
Places to see and things to do
The town of Krabi is not very attractive for tourists. There are some cheap hotels, but these are rarely used by travelers.
The main attractions are the beaches west of the town and of course the islands. For those who are interested in the nearby nature and the national park, there are caves, waterfalls and viewpoints worthwhile a visit. Especially The Tiger cave temple (Wat Tham Sua) should be must see. From the top of the hill a big golden Buddha oversees the landscape with spectacular views over the town, the river, the limestone mountains and the Andaman Sea.
More and more freestyle climbers come to Krabi to challenge themselves on the steep walls of the limestone mountains, risking not only to fall but to get heatstrokes.
Also divers can find attractive spots around Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi and the many smaller islands. And finally Krabi is an excellent place to start island hopping tours across the southern Anadaman Sea.
While driving from Krabi town to Aonang or Koh Lanta by Taxi or Minibus, one can get a very nice first impression of the unique and beautiful landscape.
Krabi islands
There are 130 bigger and smaller islands in the Andaman Sea near Krabi. Some of them are part of the national parks of Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi. The bigger islands Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Jum and Koh Ngai (Hai) are inhabited and have beach resorts and hotels. The island of Koh Ngai, will not be described here, because it belongs to the islands of Trang geographically (www.Trang-Islands.com). But we will describe both islands of Koh Yao, which belongs to the province of Phangna, for the same reason.
Most of the smaller islands are only good for daytime boattrips. These are for example Koh Poda, Koh Maipai and the Koh Hong archepilago. Almost all islands can be reached from the piers in Krabi, Aonang or Ban Saladan on Koh Lanta.
The boat traffic between the islands is well organized and also reliable in the rainy season, if the weather conditions are not too bad.
In addition, long tail boats will bring travelers on every island on an individual basis. But during the rainy season, smaller islands can hardly been reached by boat. Also resorts and hotels on Lanta, Jum and Yao may be closed during that time.
The Tsunami from 2004 destroyed many coastal regions and coral reefs, but nevertheless the diving spots of Krabi province belongs to the best in Thailand. And since then the region is covered and guarded by a Tsunami warning system.
Hotels and beaches on the mainland coast
Most of the coastal beaches of Krabi are as known and popular as the ones on the islands. In particular Nopparat Thara Beach in Aonang and Thongsai Beach and Railey Beach east of Aonang, and the lonesome Pranang Beach became synonymous for southern Thailand for many years and world famous. Here are many hotels and resorts, where everyone can find his special accommodation.
The beaches west of Aonang, like Klong Muang Beach, had just started to be developed. Luxury resorts have been opened to compete with the rest of the region. Their advantage are the daily sunsets, which can be seen behind the amazing scenery of the Phangnga bay. The mountainous forests in the backcountry are waiting to be discovered by trecking and nature friends.
List of Krabi hotels and resorts for online booking
Good to know
- Exchange rates:
- Time zone: CET plus 6 hours / CEST plus 5 hours
- Mobile phone: triband possible
- Voltage: 220 Volt with Euro or US plug
- Internet: cheap and available nearly everywhere
- Vaccination: not mandatory
- Visa: 30 days when arriving by plane; 15 days when coming from land or sea. Passport must be valid more then 6 month.
- Important holidays: Songkhran (thail. New Year 13-15.4.); Loy Khratong (first full moon after rainy season in November); King´s birthday (5.12.)
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