Few things are as calming as the colour green. With vast irrigated lands, and an unmatched green that is the sea, you can be assured that Krabi is the relaxing break you need. A part of the Andaman Sea, Krabi province comprises of a number of islands which have the prettiest beaches. White sands, green water, rocky mountains surround you in this gorgeous city which is 3 hours away by car from Phuket, or a 1 hour flight from Bangkok.
Made popular by the movie The Beach, Krabi is every bit the paradise you would expect. The more commercial Ao Nang is great for restaurants and night life, and the more private Railay is perfect to stay. The only way to reach the islands other than Ao Nang is a beautiful longtail boat ride. Railay was all of 15 minutes away and the perfect introduction to the beauty that surrounded us.
TO DO:
Beach fun of course. The main water activity in Krabi is enjoying the waves and kayaking. Because of its rock formations jet skiing, banana boat riding and water skiing are not common in Krabi. Some of the islands boast great diving & snorkelling, so that’s a must do. Rock climbing is another perfect adventure activity if you aren’t too scared (I was).
Walking around and discovering our island was a brilliant way to spend one day, we realised the east side and the west side of Railay are just 15 mins away by a small path, and both had a charm of their own. A little beach on the west side had the prettiest rock formations and mountains you could either climb or swim under. A makeshift cave-temple dedicated to fertility was a fun picture opportunity.
Island Hopping:
The island hopping tour is a must. There are 3 options- The Phi Phi Island Tour, The Hong Island Tour, The 4 Island Tour
Phi Phi Islands is supposed to be the prettiest, 4 Island best for kids, while Hong Islands the most adventurous. We chose to visit the Hong Islands. I cannot imagine a better way to spend the day. We booked a private longtail boat for the 2 of us, and were picked up right by our hotel beach. The beautiful expanse of sea, peppered with mountains surrounded us with its perfection.
We reached Hong island first, a small beautiful strip of a beach, some kayaks for rent, and a national park just beyond. Teeming with fish you could see even from outside the water, we figured snorkelling was a super way to start the day. Unfortunately, the excessive plankton came in our way making the view foggy, so snorkelling was something we finished with quite quickly. Our short walk on the beach turned quite eventful when we saw an iguana come and rest right on to the main beach. Next it was time to kayak. A beautiful ride around the rock formation, it took us just 20 minutes to reach a little cave made us feel like the only people in the world.
We followed up the main Hong island with two beautiful tropical islands, one where we saw a natural beach connecting one tiny island and another right in the middle of the sea. Last came our favourite- the Red island – a tiny marvel with no beach, just rock formation, and fantastic marine life all around. We jumped right in with our snorkelling gear and instantly we were transported into the underwater world. We saw clownfish, and spotted fish and even found Nemo. The tour was perfect – at 5000 THB for the 2 of us- they let us choose suitable times for when we wanted to leave each island, packed our lunch, and organised kayaking. Our helpful guide gave us the history of some of the islands we passed and showed us the island the King has his home on in close to perfect English. All in all, it was a day in which we saw so much, with every sight more interesting than the last.
TO STAY:
Raylay Village was absolutely perfect. Little cottages that surrounded a pool, a superb massage parlour, a location on the beach where the longtail boat landed made it the best option around. The food besides breakfast was not upto the mark, but all of 5 minutes away we had fantastic authentic Thai restaurants, so this didn’t bother us much.
TO EAT:
Everything Thai- the massaman curry, thai curry, basil chicken, coconut ice cream were my favourites. The nicest restaurant we found on Ao Nang after quite a bit of searching was Bussaba. On Raylay a tiny restaurant in a lane not more than 5 minutes away from our hotel- Mangrove restaurant was our favourite.
TO SPEND:
Krabi like the rest of Thailand is not very expensive. Meals are anywhere between 200 to 500 THB per head. The better hotels are approximately 5,500 THB per night for 2 persons. Activities like the Island tours cost anywhere between 1500 THB a day to 5000 THB a day.
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