aerial view on blue water and ao phra nang beach

12 best beaches in Krabi, Thailand to visit in 2021 (with map)

Are you looking for the best beaches in Krabi? You don’t need to worry. Krabi is indeed a gateway to some of the best beaches in Thailand. We visited many beaches during our 10 days in Thailand trip and we found them super beautiful. Krabi province has many beautiful islands and they are more or less easy to reach. And some of the islands are perfect for day trips from Krabi Town. We would love to share with you the best beaches in Krabi province and why we love them. Exploring the beaches of Krabi belongs to one of the best experiences in Thailand we have had.

aerial view on blue water and ao phra nang beach
Ao Phra Nang Beach

BEST BEACHES IN KRABI PROVINCE

The Krabi region is very popular among tourists, if not, the most popular and perfect for anyone who is coming to Asia for the first time. We spent a lot of time in Thailand especially around Krabi and we will introduce you to the best beaches.

The most beautiful beaches in krabi
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Once you are in Krabi Town, you need to go to Ao Nang Beach (40 minutes from Krabi Town Airport) and stay there. You can either take a tuk-tuk or we would recommend you to book your transport ( minivan) in advance so you will be sure that you will get a spot.

BOOK YOUR TICKET FROM KRABI TO AO NANG ONLINE

There are also pick-up trucks that will take you from the airport to your hotel for little money. If you don’t stay near the beach in Ao Nang, you can rent the scooter to get there (1 Day around 250 Baht). 

READ MORE: 10 DAY THAILAND ITINERARY

THE BEST BEACHES IN KRABI YOU CAN REACH BY BOAT

You can take many trips with longtail boats to the best beaches in Krabi, especially from Krabi Town.

1. AO NANG BEACH

Here it starts getting a bit confusing especially for travelers who are not sure where to stay. Ao Nang Beach is actually the place located closer to the beautiful islands and beaches around.

You can join many tours or even look for a private tour. Just come to Ao Nang Beach and look for a booth where they sell tickets. Or even better, ask at your hotel. The boat ride to Railay Beach East takes 45min. Be aware that Railay Beach West is the famous beach everyone talks about if one talks about Railay Beach. More on that you’ll find further down in the article.

WHY CHOOSE A PRIVATE BOAT TOUR

Our host told us that this is one of the best beaches in Krabi so we decided to go on a private tour. We love Thailand because it is very easy to organize this kind of things. If you are in a hotel, hosts probably know someone who owns boats and offers tours. The private tour our host organized for us was 2.500 Baht for both of us. This doesn’t include the entrance ticket to the national park you will enter.

With a private boat, you have the advantage to start your day earlier. Our goal was to head off to the nearby islands as soon as possible so we could be the first ones on Tup Island. We love private tours especially in Thailand because they are really affordable and the guides are very friendly. You can create your own day according to what you like. Furthermore, you can also decide how much time you would like to spend at a specific location. We love it.

HOW MUCH IS THE TICKET TO  HAD NOPPHARATTHARA – MUH KOH PHI PHI?

Islands you should visit such as Koh Poda, Tup or Chicken Island are part of the Had Noppharatthara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park. The price for the national park varies for tourists and locals. In January 2018 we paid 400 Baht per person to enter this national park. That was during high season. During low season it will only cost you 100-200 Baht, depending on the time of your visit. 

2. TUP ISLAND

We were picked up at 7:30 a.m. at our hotel and drove with a tuk-tuk to Ao Nang Beach. When we arrived at Tup Island, there were only a few people, which was very nice and great for taking pictures. Tup Island is a very small island with a beautiful white sand beach and easily belongs to one of the best beaches in Krabi.

a thai boat anchored on a beach in front of a tiny island that is covered by trees
Tup Island

3. KO MOR

You can cross from Tup Island to another island called Ko Mor. On Tup Island we purchased our tickets to the national park (400 Baht per person). 

4. CHICKEN ISLAND (KOH KAI)

After Tup Island we continued to Chicken Island. You can spend some time on this island as well. During low tide, you can walk from Chicken Island to Tup Island. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that, as we had high tide. But we drove around Chicken Island as I wanted to see if the island really looks like a chicken. And it does! I was so excited and happy to see it. It was awesome and one of the coolest islands I have ever seen. I mean, chicken island. Can you believe that there is an island that looks like this? 😀 

a girl sitting on a thai boat and pointing at a rocky mountain that resembles a chicken
Chicken Island

5. KOH PODA AND SECRET BEACH

There many beautiful places in Thailand and Koh Poda is one of them. Koh Poda is a small beach referred to as “Secret Beach” with surprisingly few people. Most of the tours and boats stay on Chicken Island or go straight to Railay Beach. Because we wanted to see other beaches which are not that known, our awesome guide took us there. When we arrived at Koh Poda, we said: “This is it, this is the Thailand we love.” The water was crystal clear. You can snorkel too as there are many cute fish around. However, be careful. They look cute, but they might bite your butt 😀 (don’t worry, they are harmless).

a girl walking in clear, blue water in front of a rock wall nearby secret beach one of the best beaches in Krabi
Koh Poda

Little tip: If you climb up the rock you will get to a small cave where you can have an amazing view on the little cove of Koh Poda. Honestly, we would love to go back there. One of the most iconic Thai islands in Krabi province.

the view on thai boats anchoring at secret beach on koh poda
Secret Beach, Koh Poda

6. AO PHRA NANG BEACH

After beautiful Koh Poda, we headed to Ao Phra Nang Beach. It was super crowded and too many people around for our taste. If you walk to the end of the beach, you will get to a very interesting cave called Princess Cave. For tourists, it is a funny place but for the locals, it is a monument to fertility. At least our captain said that. We didn’t want to share a picture as it somehow doesn’t fit 😀 but google it and you will know what we mean. If you pass by the cave and continue, you will get to big rocks. If you are interested in climbing, you can do some climbing there or just observe climbers hanging in the rocks. This photo of Ao Phra Nang belongs to our article: Our best drone shots we took in Southeast Asia.

a drone photo of Ao Phra Nang Beach with forest and several big rocks in the water
Ao Phra Nang Beach

READ MORE: CHECK OUT OTHER DRONE SHOTS HERE.

Ao Phra Nang Beach is not necessarily one of the best beaches in Thailand, as it is hard to chill there due to the number of people around. But it is a great stop-over if you are hungry. Many longtail boats offer quick snacks and lunch for reasonable prices. 

READ MORE: 37 BEST EXPERIENCES IN THAILAND YOU CAN’T MISS OUT ON.

WHERE TO STAY AT AO NANG BEACH, KRABI

We stayed a bit outside of Ao Nang Beach and we highly recommend a beautiful place called Rangsiman Resort (4,9 on Google Reviews). We didn’t really like the idea to be exposed to the touristic overkill in Ao Nang Beach (Lonely Planet calls it “a little trashy”) and we didn’t want to splurge neither. In retrospective, it was a good decision.

CHECK THE LATEST RATES FOR RANGSIMAN RESORT

corn, chicken and spring rolls displayed during lunch time on a beach in Krabi region
Lunchtime on Ao Phra Nang Beach

7. RAILAY BEACH (WEST)

There are two Railay beaches: Railay Beach West and Railay Beach East. The one which you see below is Railay West. Many people consider Railay as one of the best places to be in Krabi. We can see why. The beach is broad and surrounded by beautiful rocks which is absolutely breathtaking. There are a resort and some small restaurants too. But for our taste, there were just too many people.

However, the typical Thai boats make this place really iconic. We are glad that we visited but we would rather go back to little paradise, Koh Poda 🙂 

a girl standing in front of many thai boats and cliffs in the background on Railay Beach one of the best beaches in krabi
Railay Beach, Krabi

TOURS KRABI

Here are some other suggestions for tours you can take in Krabi:

WHERE ELSE TO GO IN KRABI REGION? 

8. MU KO HONG GROUP

This is another day trip which you can do from Ao Nang Beach. We didn’t go for it as we heard from our host that Ko Hong is very touristy and we wouldn’t enjoy it much. Unfortunately, we also didn’t have so much time in Krabi so we had to choose between Ko Hong and Chicken Island. We chose Chicken Island 😀

Ko Hong belongs to 13 small islands which are located in Than Bok Khorani National Park. All 13 paradise islands form the Mu Ko Hong group. Ko Hong (Room Island) is the largest island among them and often referred to as paradise island. It is surrounded by beautiful limestone cliffs, turquoise waters and lagoons. To enter this park you will be asked to pay around 300 Baht the person. Travelfish (one of the best travel guides for Southeast Asia) describes the classical boat tours as a bad experience and definitely not as something enjoyable. They also suggest you to take a private tour. And honestly, we would do that as well.

Travelfish says“arranging a private boat will allow you to leave earlier and reach some of the islands before they’re overrun. This way you can also decide where to go. Rather than follow the big tour boats, you might ask to stop at less-frequented islands, like Ko Lao Riam, Ko Pakka and Ko Daeng.”

We do believe Ko Hong group is still worth a visit. Just make sure you take a private boat to choose when and where you want to go.

If you would like to explore another beautiful island, head to Koh Kood Island.

9. KO LANTA

After exploring beautiful Krabi, we recommend you to head to Ko Lanta from Krabi.

This is not a day trip and if you decide to go to Ko Lanta it makes sense to stay at least for a couple of nights. There are many companies that organize shuttle buses from Krabi Town. It takes around 3 hours to get to Ko Lanta.

Ko Lanta is one of these islands which still fly more or less under the radar. It is a very nice island with a laid-back atmosphere and many beautiful beaches. Just rent a scooter and drive around to find your little piece of paradise.

view on a  beach on Ko Lanta island in thailand
Beach on Ko Lanta

10. KO PHI PHI

Probably everyone knows Ko Phi Phi and famous Maya Bay. Ko Phi Phi is another group of islands which are located in the Krabi Province. You can also reach Ko Phi Phi from Krabi town. But the easier way to get to Ko Phi Phi is actually from Phuket. Ko Phi Phi is a nice place but, unfortunately, it became super touristy. But we can’t blame anyone for that or can we?

Thai boats on a small beach surrounded by cliffs and trees nearby Ko Phi Phi
A beach nearby Ko Phi Phi

11. LOH MOO DEE BEACH

We recommend you to spend some time on other islands which are not that overcrowded. We did a boat tour around Ko Phi Phi and we really loved the Loh Moo Dee Beach. There was absolutely no one.

12. MAYA BAY

a girl lying in the water in Maya Bay with high cliffs partially covered by green plants in the background
Maya Bay Beach

This place belongs to one of the most famous beaches in Thailand. If it wouldn’t be so touristy, probably one of the best beaches in Thailand and maybe in the world. However, as everyone knows it’s a tourist trap. “The Beach” is currently closed and remains closed at least until mid-2021 to give nature a chance to recover and protect it from the masses of tourists and boats. Especially the idiotic speed boats are a threat to marine life. 

A girl looking down on turquoise waters near Krabi on an island hopping tour
Island hopping nearby Ko Phi Phi

HOW TO GET TO KRABI TOWN?

Krabi Town has an airport and it offers many affordable flights from Bangkok and other Thai cities. We flew to Krabi from Bangkok. The transportation from Krabi airport to the city is quite okay. You can take a taxi which is more expensive than the shuttle bus. Shuttle buses take more time but if you are on a budget then this is perfect for you. The shuttle bus will take you straight to your hotel in Krabi Town but be aware that it might take some time (as the bus might be dropping other passengers first).

We stayed in a place called Krabi Pitta House. It was solid and they were generous enough to store our luggage. They also helped us with transport to Ko Lanta which we appreciated.  

WHEN TO VISIT KRABI?

The Krabi region is located on the west coast of Thailand. The best time to visit Krabi is in the dry season which lasts from the end of December through April. The rainy season starts in May and lasts into December. Rainy season is not that bad neither, for once the hotels are cheaper. Furthermore, you still have plenty hours of sunshine per day and fewer tourists around. 

Hope you enjoyed our article.

Which beach is your favorite? Let us know!

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Best beaches in Krabi, #thailand#thailandbeautifulplaces#thailandb#thailandbeaches#thailandabeachesislands#thailandbeachesparadise#thailandkrabibeach#thailandkrabiaonang#thailandkrabithingstodo#krabibeach#krabibeachthailand

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DISCLAIMER: This article contains several affiliate links. We paid all the accommodation and all the tours ourselves. If you use our link to booking.com to book your stay at Rangsiman Resort and Krabi Pitta House or click and purchase something with some of the other links we will earn a little commission at NO EXTRA COST FOR YOU.

About The Authors

About the author
Since I was little I always wanted to see the world. Travel to new places, get to know new cultures, see how other people live. I love beaches and I love discovering tropical destinations. That is why, together with my partner Nico, we created this blog to share with you the most beautiful beaches and stunning holiday destinations which we visited during our travels.

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