Ao Nang Krabi is the main tourist center for the Krabi Province, Southern Thailand. It’s a perfect base for adrenaline hunters, thrill-seekers and those who happily wake up to adventure on their doorstep. For example, the rock climbers, island hoppers, sea kayakers, hikers, snorkelers, and scuba divers all get their fix right here! Moreover, a fleet of long-tail boats provides a constant ferry service to and from the nearby Andaman Islands. The hard to reach Ao Nang mainland beaches are also serviced this way. However, if you’re all topped up on adventure just sit back and take in the views of the Karst Limestone coastal cliffs. Or take a long tail boat through the nearby mangrove forest. This exotic coastal town can be whatever you want to be, and it’s only 20 minutes by road from Krabi Old Town, and the airport. In this post I’ll show you how to make the most of a three-day trip.
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I arrived in Ao Nang, Krabi for a three-day trip. In hindsight, time was a little short, but I was determined to go see the beaches, do an island-hopping tour and check out the town!
You’ve only got 3 days, so the smart move is to check out the town on your first day/night. And then, get yourself booked on an island-hopping tour of the nearby islands. After that, grab a kayak and or scooter, and go see as many beaches as you can. If you have any time left sit back chill and just enjoy the views!
Ao Nang Town
The Ao Nang Beach Road (4203) is central to the coastal town and parallels the beach and promenade. In fact, 4203 is also the main drag down from the village to central Ao Nang Beach. So, if you’re arriving from Krabi airport, this road joins the beach road section at a Tee Junction. Here, turning left by foot will take you southeast along the foot promenade.
While turning right, takes you northwest along the beach road by car for ~475m, or by foot along the promenade. Eventually, the road will leave the beach, heading north around the Krabi Resort headland to arrive at Hat Noppharat Thara.
The Beach Road, the main drag down from the village, and the side streets are lined with hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops. So, it has all you’d expect from a tourist center. However, the foot promenade covers the entire length of the beach. You’ll, therefore, find some resorts, restaurants, bars, shops, and even kayak rental southeast of the Tee Junction as well.
Ao Nang Day-Time
A beachside tourist vibe exists in Ao Nang during the day for sure. For example, you’ll see people strolling up and down the prom in their bathers, and others sunbathing. While lunchtime will be a rush to their favorite street food kiosks. But if it’s pretty quiet, as in this photo, you can assume the islands are busy. You’ll also hear the constant sound of long-tail boats commuting in and out from the islands and nearby mainland beaches.
Ao Nang Night-Time
Nighttime starts with the classic Ao Nang sunset. After that, if not before, you can grab a beachside restaurant, walk the prom, watch a fire show, and finish up in one of the many town center bars. Or maybe just have a quiet night back at your resort. Yes, Ao Nang nightlife can be the wild party action or the complete opposite, the choice is yours.
Ao Nang Krabi Mainland Beaches
There are six mainland beaches around Ao Nang. Four of which can easily be accessed by motorbike/scooter, car if not on foot. The other five are usually accessed by speed boat, kayak, or longtail boats.
Ao Nang Beach
Your most likely staying in Ao Nang, I was, so check out your first beach.
Ao Nang beach is a gently sloping 1.4 km straight beach with no curves at all, facing southwest. The sand is a little rough, but nice and the water is ‘not too bad’. The north end of the beach sits below an elevated promenade with no shade and is accessed by steps. While at the southern end the promenade sits level to the beach with some palm-trees providing a little shade. Moreover, many restaurants, shops, cafes, and hotels line the promenade to form the coastal town.
You’ll find much better beaches out on the islands. That said, although not spectacular it’s a pretty beach, with a few palm trees and a little shade.
The noise from the long-tail boats is a big problem for the Ao Nang beach. It pretty much sounds like a loud diesel engine truck at full blast and a lot of them. Long-tail boats park up pretty central on the beach and look quite nice, but you won’t be nodding off to sleep beside these things.
Sunsets at Ao Nang beach are top-notch, due to the beach orientation and very shallow tide. Get there at the right time and you’ll catch the ripples stretching out to the horizon.
Pai Plong Beach
Further south from the Ao Nang beach around a rocky head you’ll find your second beach, the gently sloping 340m long Pai Plong Beach. Again, it’s pretty straight and faces southwest. It’s also more of a private beach to the beachfront Centara Grand Resort. That said, there’s no such thing as a totally private beach, they all belong to the government. And so, the general public can access Pai Plong in one of three ways.
First, a long-tail boat from Ao Nang Beach for 100 baht will get you there. Secondly, you can actually walk at low tide from the southern end of Ao Nang Beach around the rocky head. And finally, you have a 15 min trail up the hill from a parking lot at the southern end of Ao Nang Beach. You’ll also have beaut views over the Pai Plong Bay at the top before descending down to the beach. Monkeys are often spotted along the trail, and so it’s also known as ‘Monkey Trail’.
Located within a mountain bay right beside karst limestone cliffs this fine sandy beach has stunning views. Moreover, this beach is well maintained by the resort!
The vast array of restaurants bars and cafes are missing here, but that adds to its tranquil ambiance. However, you can bring your own snacks and drinks with you.
Pai Plong Beach is easily spotted from the sea while kayaking in the area, especially around the Ao Nang ‘Rock Climbing’ Tower, ~480m offshore.
Nopparat Thara Beach
Your island-hopping tour will take off from the Nopparat Thara Beach which is ~600m north-west of the Ao Nang beach. It’s a gently sloping wide coarse sandy beach, 2.5 km long, slightly curved with a south to southwest orientation. At the far northwest of this beach, the Son River Estuary pours out to sea. And this is where many of the Ao Nang boat tours and cruises take off from, including the Ao Nang to Koh Phi Phi ferry.
The beach itself is popular with the Thai locals. However, tourists mainly use it as a launching platform for the islands.
Phra Nang Cave Beach
On the four-island hopping tour, the Phra Nang Cave Beach on the mainland is your first stop! Located ~3 km southeast of Ao Nang Beach it can also be reached by long-tail boat or kayak. Furthermore, it’s a scenic cove with a 480m stretch of gently sloping fine white sand facing west to southwest. Added to that, karst limestone cliffs dominate the landscape, while a towering feature rock sits right in front of the beach. Yes, the Phra Nang Cave Beach is an absolute example of exotic beach perfection. It’s secluded, sheltered, picturesque, tropical, and more!
At the far southeast end of the beach, you’ll find the Cave, where visitors can view the shrine of penises …. Apparently, this represents a gift of thanks to the gods for children local people prayed for and actually got!
When the long-tail boats arrive at Phra Nang, it can get a bit overcrowded at the ‘cave end’ of the beach. So, if you don’t like crowds pick a better time to go, say very early morning or late evening. And better still, take a kayak. However, you can head to the northern end of the beach where it’s a bit quieter.
Tonsai Beach
Tonsai beach is 2.5 km southeast from Ao Nang Beach by long-tail boat or Kayak. It’s a curved shaped sheltered bay, 0.5 km long, facing south to southwest with fine to coarse-grained sand. Tonsai and Railay Beach are located just north of Phra Nang Cave beach. And so, the karst limestone cliffs are also a feature of this area. Tonsai similar to Railay is set up for rock climbing and both have a long history with backpackers, kayakers and rock-climbers. Two companies operating in the area are Tonsai Rock Climbing and Krabi Rock Climbing.
Railay Beach
The main Railay Beach is about 300 – 400m south of Tonsai around a rocky headland. It’s also 0.5 km long, very slightly curved, and facing southwest. And with a similar karst limestone landscape … it’s another beauty. However, a lot busier with tourists than the Tonsai beach next door. As mentioned, popular with backpackers, kayakers and rock climbers.
If you’re all beached out, a 400m walk east will take you to the eastern side of Railay (East Railay beach). East Railay is not such a pretty beach but has a shoreline path that makes for a good hike. Following the path south will take you to the Railay Viewpoint and back over to the south end of the Phra Nang Beach. You’ll likely see monkeys along the way.
Ao Nang Krabi Island Hopping
Ok, smart move, you’ve booked that island-hopping tour. I now believe it’s pointless going anywhere, without booking some sort of tour! Thailand’s also got its fair share of tropical islands, with a staggering number of around 300 in total. And the Ao Nang Krabi region is a perfect spot to visit a few of them.
I choose the four islands Sea Eagle Tour which starts from the mouth of the Son River Estuary at the Nopharat Thara Beach! It’s about a 7-hour tour, and it’ll have you back at your hotel by 4:00pm. A minibus will pick you up ‘early’ from your hotel and drop you back.
This tour was super useful because it took me to the Phra Nang Cave mainland beach. Besides that, it covered the islands of Talaywaek, Poda Island, and Tup Island. While passing Chicken Island. Now if I hadn’t booked the tour, I wouldn’t have seen any of that!
Phra Nang Cave Beach
The first stop was the Phra Nang Cave Beach, check that out under ‘Ao Nang Krabi Mainland Beaches’. We stopped at Phra Nang for about an hour, but the time went quickly.
Chicken Island
This island we passed by en-route to Poda. It’s about the same size as Poda ~600m long and ~600m wide. Furthermore, it’s located just over 1 km south of Poda with Talaywaek and Tup Island in between. In fact, if the water level dropped far enough, all four islands would be connected by the shallow sandbars. From the photo, you’ll clearly see why it’s called ‘Chicken Island’
Snorkeling en-route To Poda Island
Snorkeling off the back of the boat en-route to Poda Island was fun, and the water as you’d expect out here was clear. Moreover, the tropical fish swim around you, and it’s great for swimmers not heavily involved in diving.
Poda Island
The second stop was Poda Island about 4.5 km southwest of Phra Nang Cave Beach. It’s a 1 km strip of white sand that wraps the northeast corner of the Island. A gently sloping very wide beach that also has some remanent karst limestone features.
In particular a towering islet just off the beach very similar to Phra Nang Cave Beach. On Poda flat-lying scrub sits just back from the beach. Here, we stopped for lunch, and that was included with the tour.
The water was very clear, and you could see fish everywhere! Next up was Talaywaek and Tup Island.
Talaywaek & Tup Islands
Talaywaek is a ~130m long crescent-shaped sand bar that’s connected to Tup Island and becomes accessible at low tide. So, the tour operators must be aware of the tide levels in the area at all times. Parking your boat at the wrong time could see you ‘beached’ and stuck till the water rose again for instance. That’s why boat skippers keep a close eye on the tide.
With clear water and white sand, out on a deserted island, it is indeed a little piece of paradise! However, given there’s only a certain time to access the sandbar it’s always going to be busy!
Son River Estuary
We finished the tour on time around 4:00pm returning up the Son River Estuary at Noppharat Thara Beach.
Where To Stay In Ao Nang Krabi
Affordable Luxury
Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas are located privately fronting the Pai Plong Bay. There is no other resort within the bay. Access is also via boat or up and over the monkey trail. The resort boasts two outdoor pools, a spa, rooms with private balcony and garden or ocean views, with Thai décor, seafood restaurants, and more. Added to that, a free speed boat service to Noppharat Thara Pier, and free kayaks and Wi-Fi. It’s 30 km to Krabi International airport, an airport shuttle can be arranged.
What I Like
I kayaked along the Pai Plong Beach, and the view back to the resort said it all. Private, secluded, and yet with access to the Andaman Sea on your doorstep, and free speed boat service to Nopparat Thara Pier, for your island hopping. Fifteen minutes up and over the monkey trail and you’ll be into Ao Nang town, that’s not so bad. So, I like this place!
Mid-Budget
The Ao Nang Villa Resort is well fitted out with all you would expect from a beachside resort. A super location featuring views of the Andaman Sea, a spa, and two large free form pools. Added to that, free afternoon tea, Wi-Fi, fitness center, and spa. It’s 30 km from Krabi International airport, an airport shuttle can be arranged.
What I Liked
I stayed here and really loved the central location, while at the same time being slightly off the main drag, yet still beachfront!
Budget
Ao Nang Princeville Villa Resort is an exclusive boutique resort on the main road, just across from the beach, with an open-air restaurant, and traditional Thai style decorated rooms and an outdoor pool. It’s 40 mins from the airport, and close to all the action, bars, the beach, restaurants and more.
What I Like
The location, the style, and the value! It’s also right in the center of the action!
How To Get To Ao Nang Krabi
If you’re coming to Ao Nang on an international flight, from overseas you’ll land at the Krabi International Airport. The same goes for any domestic Thailand flights. Ao Nang is ~ 30 km from the airport and 25 km from Krabi town itself.
A taxi from the airport to Ao Nang will cost you ~ 650 baht. A minibus ~ 800 baht and the journey will take ~30 mins.
I recommend booking your travel in advance through 12GO Asia – an online travel agent that makes traveling around Asia very easy. The rome2rio.com website has the latest info on best methods and routes of travel from point A to point B.
There are other ways to get to Ao Nang. For example, driving in through the Krabi town, or arriving at the ‘Nopparat Thara Pier’ from one of the islands. But for the most part, you’ll likely be arriving on a jet to Krabi, followed by a minibus or taxi.
How To Get Around Ao Nang Krabi
Walking is by far the best method for getting around Ao Nang. If you intend to go out of the town to say Krabi for example, you can easily get a scooter. You can also hire a car if you need to. However, always remember you must have your international driving license before you leave your home country. I’ll bet your time in Ao Nang though, will be spent on Long-tail boats, speed boats, kayaks, and your feet.
Best Time To Visit Ao Nang Krabi
The best time to visit Ao Nang is the high season which is from November through to March. This is also the coolest time of the year. However, October, just before high season starts, can be a very smart move. Because the beaches won’t be overcrowded and it’s not going to be too hot. You’ll also pay reduced costs for your accommodation. I was there in March … but I recon October is the smart move.
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