Krabi runs on boat days. Get on the right one.
Which four-island trip stops long enough to actually swim. What the Phi Phi speedboat costs out of Ao Nang. Whether Ko Lanta earns the ferry when you only have five nights. Reviews of every tour you can book on this coast.
Four days that decide the shape of a Krabi week.
A longtail hop, the run down to Phi Phi, one day inland and one after dark. What each costs, and what the people already on the boat said about it.
01The classic fourPremium 4-Island Day Trip by Longtail Boat with LunchChicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang on one longtail, with lunch on the sand and the tide walk between two of them.
02The long day southPhi Phi Islands Speedboat Day TourSpeedboat from Ao Nang to Phi Phi Leh, Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon, back on the beach before the light goes.
03The inland dayTiger Cave, Hot Springs and Emerald Pool Jungle TourA thousand-odd steps to a gold Buddha on a limestone stack, then a hot-spring waterfall and the emerald pool behind it.
04After darkKrabi 4 Island Sunset Snorkeling Cruise + Bioluminescent SwimSunset off Poda, dinner served on deck, then a swim through plankton that flares pale blue wherever you kick.
In Krabi the good day starts at a jetty at eight.
Longtail or speedboat, four islands or seven, half a morning or the whole thing. Four kinds of boat day, what it costs to get on each one, and which beach it leaves you on.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · Premium 4-Island Day Trip by Longtail Boat with Lunch
The four islandsChicken Island, the sandbar walk, lunch on Poda.
Hong IslandsA lagoon hidden inside the rock. Get there before the noon boats.
Phi Phi and Maya BayThe long run south to the cliffs everybody came for.
Sunset and planktonGolden hour off Poda, then a swim that glows.
All 130 days on the water →
Phi Phi is a day trip until you stay the night.
Maya Bay runs on a permit and a timetable, Pileh Lagoon fills by ten and the viewpoint is a twenty-minute climb in real heat. Go on the first boat, or take the sunset run and let the day trippers leave first.
Ko Lanta trades the crowds for a longer ferry.
Two hours south and the pace drops. Mangrove kayaking around Ko Talabeng, the Emerald Cave swum through in the dark on an inner tube, and Koh Rok water clear enough to count fish from the boat.
Every Ko Lanta day out →
Ao Nang: one beach, a boat rank, and everything behind it.
The strip runs on longtail timetables — Railay is eight minutes away by boat, the four islands about an hour. Behind it: mangrove kayaks at Ao Thalane, quad tracks through the rubber plantations, and a cooking school that shops the morning market before it starts.
- 1Premium 4-Island Day Trip by Longtail Boat with Lunchfrom $39
- 2Tiger Cave, Hot Springs and Emerald Pool Jungle Tourfrom $48
- 3Elephant Sanctuary (near Ao Nang) Visitfrom $22
The Krabi day that never touches the water.
A thousand-odd steps to a gold Buddha on a limestone stack, a hot spring that falls into sitting-sized basins, an emerald pool in the jungle behind it, and a kitchen that starts at the market at seven.
What a day out in Krabi actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by what you pay to get on it. Most of the Andaman comes in under the price of a hotel dinner.
Longtail hops, the temple-and-pool loop, kayak mornings and the ferry across to Lanta.
The full days: Phi Phi by speedboat, Koh Rok and Koh Haa, sunset cruises with dinner on deck.
Private longtails, chartered speedboats and the trips that take a whole island for the afternoon.
Three things that only happen on the Krabi coast.
Beaches and boat trips exist all over Thailand. A climbing wall you have to swim to, water that lights up when you kick it, and a hot spring that falls into a jungle pool do not.
The Railay Walls
Railay has no road in — you arrive by longtail off Ao Nang — and the cliffs behind the beach carry several hundred bolted routes. Ton Sai next door is the climbers’ side, cheaper and scruffier. Half-days for beginners start on the low walls at the eastern end, where the rock is grippy and the fall is over sand.
- 1Half-Day Rock Climbing at Railay Beach★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 671 reviews
- 2Beginner’s Half-Day Rock Climbing Tours at Railay Beach Krabi★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 163 reviews
- 3Ziplining with Abseiling and Rock Climbing Options★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 147 reviews
The Plankton Swim
On a dark night the plankton off Poda and Railay flares pale blue wherever the water is disturbed, so every kick leaves a trail behind it. Boats go out after dinner and the moon decides everything: the darker the sky, the brighter the water. The nights either side of a full moon are the weak ones.
- 1Krabi 4 Island Sunset Snorkeling Cruise + Bioluminescent Swim★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,861 reviews
- 2Bioluminescent Plankton, Snorkeling & Sunset Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 863 reviews
- 37 Islands Sunset Tour with Plankton Swim and BBQ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 808 reviews
Emerald Pool and the Hot Springs
Inland from Ao Luek the Khlong Thom springs surface at about forty degrees and run down worn limestone into basins the size of a bath. Twenty minutes further on, Sa Morakot is spring-fed and the colour of bottle glass. Do the pool first, while the water is still clear of the afternoon.
- 1Tiger Cave, Hot Springs and Emerald Pool Jungle Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 2,643 reviews
- 2Hot Spring, Emerald Pool & Tiger Cave Temple Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 576 reviews
- 3All day Krabi Jungle Tour (Hot Spring Water, Emerald Pool, Tiger Cave Temple)★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 323 reviews
Four Krabi bookings that will not wait for you.
Most of this coast can be arranged from a beach bar the night before. These four run on park permits, boat timetables and a moon calendar, none of which take any interest in when your flight lands.
- 01Morning Speedboat Tour to Maya Bay with SnorkelEntry runs on a permit with a daily cap, and nobody swims off the beach any more. Boats get slotted, and the morning slots go first.
- 02Adventure Sea Tour to Koh Rok and Koh HaaKoh Rok and Koh Haa sit inside a marine park that shuts to visitors from the middle of May until the middle of October. Out of season there is no boat at any price.
- 03Krabi 4 Island Sunset Snorkeling Cruise + Bioluminescent SwimThe plankton only shows on a dark sea, so the good nights cluster around the new moon and go weeks before the full-moon ones do.
- 04Half-Day Rock Climbing at Railay BeachRailay has a handful of instructors and no road in. Through high season the half-day sessions are gone several days ahead.
Krabi’s most booked days out.
Every Krabi review →The trips more travellers take than anything else on this coast, and what earns each of them the slot.
1
Premium 4-Island Day Trip by Longtail Boat with Lunch
Explore Krabi’s four island highlights by longtail boat, with snorkeling, sandbars, Thai lunch, hotel transfers, and private tour options.
From · $39
Read the review →
2
Hong Islands Day Trip by Speedboat with Lunch
from $43
3
Phi Phi Islands Speedboat Day Tour
from $51
4
7 Islands Sunset Tour with Buffet Dinner & Snorkeling
from $39
5
Tiger Cave, Hot Springs and Emerald Pool Jungle Tour
from $48
6
Kayak Adventure through Ao Thalane Mangrove Forest
from $38
7
Elephant Bathing Session at Krabi Elephant Shelter
from $48
8
Krabi 4 Island Sunset Snorkeling Cruise + Bioluminescent Swim
from $130
What to do in Krabi when the boats will not sail.
The southwest monsoon runs roughly May to October. It rarely rains all day, but the swell does what it likes and skippers cancel at the jetty, sometimes at eight in the morning with the bags already loaded. Everything below happens on land and runs whatever the sea is doing.
By place — the Krabi mainland and its islands
By kind of Krabi day — boat, jungle, kitchen or cliff
The newest Krabi tour reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
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Blue Dragon Cabaret Ticket Dazzling Night from Krabi
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Twilight Bliss 7 Islands and Plankton Night from Krabi
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Sunset Horse Riding Tour at Ao Nam Mao Beach Krabi
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Ao Nang to Koh Yao Noi by Green Planet Speed Boat
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Ao Thalane Bay Sea Kayaking Adventure from Krabi (SHA Plus)
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