After the peace of Khao Sok, Krabi was an assault on the senses. It’s a vibrant and bustling resort, with a stunning white sand beach, and countless islands easily reachable by longtail boats. There’s shopping a plenty – countless restaurants, bars, clubs and a small strip of ‘girlie bars’. But it is also small enough not to lose its charm and beauty. When people ask which is better – Phuket or Krabi – there is no competition – Krabi wins hands down. We would definitely return to Krabi – but avoid Phuket like the plague. You could easily spend a week in Krabi as there is so much to explore.
We stayed 3 nights – just enough to get a flavour of what Krabi has to offer. On the first afternoon, we checked into our hotel, had lunch, wandered along the beautiful beach and found ourselves watching the sunset go down while sipping cocktails on a luxurious sofa looking out across the bay.
On day two, we had breakfast and walked along the Ao Nang Monkey Trail to Pai Plong Beach. It’s a short walk – approximately 0.5km, starting at the far end of Ao Nang beach past the long tail boat booking office. While short in length, it is up and down lots of narrow, rickety wooden steps, with few passing points for walkers coming the other way. It leads to a secluded, pretty beach, that’s worth some beach/swim time. It has no facilities on the beach – so pack some snacks – unless you fancy paying a set fee to access the 5 star Centara beach resort – which owns the beach – you have to sign in on arrival. Watching the guests arrive by boat and have their luggage carried up the gangplank by an army of employees is like watching a White Lotus scene – very funny. It’s called the Monkey trail – for obvious reasons – there’s monkeys everywhere. Now we love monkeys – but they are wild animals and will bite, scratch and hiss should they feel like it. The ones on the monkey trail are predatory – looking for human food – which they are not shy to grab. So, it’s quite an adventurous half a kilometre navigating monkeys running along the handrails and jumping on the backs of peoples’ rucksacks, narrow passing points and rickety steps. Go early or late and wear the right footwear.
By mid-afternoon in February, we had downpours of rain – drenching rain. So, we explored the resort, did some shopping, did some well-needed grooming – nails for me and haircut for Nigel – great service and great prices. We even found an actual wine shop – selling a huge selection of lovely wine – so enjoyed choosing a light pink to drink while the rain eased off.
On day three, we caught a longtail boat across to the beautiful Railey Beach – which is not an island – it’s a part of the mainland peninsula but only accessible by boat due to its limescale cliffs. It’s easy to get there – simply buy a return ticket at the longtail boat office on the front – when they have enough people – the boat leaves and takes about 25 minutes to arrive. We went early morning, in horrendous rain – which somehow made it all the more special as it kept many of the throngs of tourists who normally go away. On arrival you will find some beach front hotels and a cluster of coffee houses. Most impressive on the beach are the large, colourful toucans living in the trees – see if you can spot them. It’s easy to navigate the whole area. West Railey has a beautiful beach facing the Andaman Sea – East Railey is more swampy with large mangrove trees and impressive hostels perched within the limestone cliffs.
Follow ‘Walking Street’ and the cute tourist maps, and even more helpful arrows. Everything is within walking distance. At West Railey, follow the signs to the caves and you will find an abundance of climbers scaling the cliffs – experienced and beginners alike. When we first arrived we found ourselves amongst one of the tour boats and a throng of about 50 tourists all snapping pictures. This was unsettling. Then as quickly as they had arrived – they left and the beach became spectacular. We watched the climbers – walked an almost deserted beach and managed a swim in aqua water before the rain started again. In the centre is a selection of tourist shops and cafes. We had an amazing meal at the first café to open at Railey, called ‘Local Thai Food Restaurant’. Basic café with the most amazing food, portions and low price. We ended up spending a leisurely lunch there – people watching and avoiding the torrential rain. Wonderful place.
What to do in the evenings in Krabi
What not to do in Krabi. It has something for everyone. Restaurants, clubs, bars, night shopping, beach fire shows and more. There is one street of girly bars – where we bought a beer and watched the girls play Connect 4 with old punters looking to part with their money. It’s busy and there are lots of couples and mixed groups which make the outward facing element of these bars feel ok.
Where to stay in Krabi
Krabi is an easy place to find accommodation for every pocket. We therefore went for a cheaper hotel to balance our accommodation ‘budget’ – see our blog on booking accommodation. The hotel was what I like to call ‘fur coat and no knickers’. It looked impressive from the outside and had a huge foyer – but the rooms were dingy, small and not particularly clean – though ironically used by Tui – the reps in reception each morning gave it away. What you couldn’t see from the foyer was that at night, the very loud strip was right next door – it’s a good job we like to enjoy nights out.
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. 