Krabi town & Klang Island

Krabi is a town on the west coast of Southern Thailand. It is the capital of Krabi Province and Krabi District. The 8 districts include Ko Lanta Island as a district and also Mueang Krabi district which holds Ao nang and Railay bay. So to sum it up it is a huge province with some areas more popular than others.

Tourism is the main source of income here.

Unfortunately I did not have time to cover all the districts on this trip. Explored 3 and drove through an additional two. My trip to Krabi covers my short stay in Krabi town and my stay at Klang Island which is near the mouth of the Krabi River. Additional posts cover Railay, Ko Lanta, and Ko Phi Phi.

Travel tips for this District:

** Arrival to Krabi Town

There are 3 options here:

Krabi International Airport (KBV): Ideally located not very far from Krabi town or the surrounding districts. This serves as a convenient entry point.

Krabi boat piers:  Klong Jilad is the new pier 4km from Krabi town.  Chao Fah pier or Phi Phi pier is the old ones in the center of the town. Ferries run daily from Ko Phi Phi, Ko Jum, Ko lanta, and ko Yao Noi. There is also a Pier called Krabi Thalen 27km west of Krabi town where they have frequent speedboats. Buy your tickets at the pier to get a good price.

By Road: The roads here are good and easy to travel on. There is a bus service to Krabi town but do yourself a favor and take a private taxi. I did a taxi from Phuket to Krabi for ฿2500 and it took 2 hours through some gorgeous scenery.

**Krabi Town Expectations

This is a small town and much calmer than Phuket. The town is next to Krabi River and there are hotels and restaurants scattered all around. One of the few chilled out places for a Thailand town. 

Arriving there at 1pm there was some traffic but not much pedestrians about. Most of the tourist population use this location as a transit point to go to the other Islands in or simply transfer to Ao Nang or Railay further to the west. The highways around the area are very modern due to all the transportation needs in and out of town.

**Locations for accommodation

There are few hotels in krabi town ranging from backpackers to some 4 star hotels. There is one popular hotel called Maritime Park Resort & Spa, this is over booked most of the times and contains a lot of large travelling groups. So try to avoid this place or double check your booking status before arrival.

Most visitors staying in the Krabi Mainland head west to Ao Nang where all the fantastic hotels and resorts are located. The more adventurous get in long tail boats and head to Railay.

My situation here was different, arrived at the Maritime Park resort to discover they have overbooked so relocation meant a new adventure. The relocation option was to an Eco Village Resort on Klang Island, just south of Krabi town.

 The hotel staff drove us to Tara pier, located along Krabi River in Krabi Town. The local long tail boat then another 5 minutes cruising across Krabi River to Klang Island’s pier.  Then we jumped on a motorbike tuktuk and drove through the village across the island. A fun ride about 7 km through the narrowest of roads if we can call it that. Finally we arrived at the secluded peaceful Islanda Village Resort.

The Krabi Adventures: From Krabi town to Tara Pier, to Klang Island. The Drive to the resort. Boat out to Railay bay

**Islanda Village resort

Most of my travel friends don’t really like Krabi town after spending few too many days there so a relocation here was a sign from the travel gods looking after me. This was a hidden paradise. You have quite surroundings, luxury comfortable villas, a big swimming pool with Jacuzzi, good restaurant, and a manager who goes by the name Mr. Big. There is not that great of a beach or night life on this island but it is designed for relaxing & recharging. The only way to travel on the island is by tuk tuk or bicycle. Only way on and off the island is by boat or helicopter.

The Beachfront Villa and Pool	Arrival by boat and transfer by tuk tuk
Relaxing in the pool and Sunset view	Hotel Manager: Mr. Big

**Wildlife

While most people fought the mosquitoes and played with the cats at the resort, I found myself trying to convince more than save a cat from a snake. Both animals were safe from the drama that unfolded. So there are snakes on the island if you are lucky to see one.

Snake

Cat versus Snake

**Things to do on Klang Island

Daytime: I was here to relax and they have a big pool overlooking the beach to do that. You also have the option to borrow a bicycle and go check out the island. There was also a bathtub on the deck to watch the sunset. Limited activities so more of a “my time” place.

 Nighttime: Dinner and drinks followed by interaction with other guests. If you get bored you go look for snakes or other wildlife.

** Costs on the Island
Food is relatively cheap and will cost ฿200-300 a day at the resort. Water is quite cheap with big bottles 1.5 litres trading at ฿20. Beer is about ฿50 and cocktails can range from ฿100 to ฿150.

Accommodation price was ฿5000per night with breakfast for the Ocean Beachfront Bungalow. Other Bungalows start from ฿3000.
No Grocery stores here so buy you goodies in Krabi town.  No Medical centers or ATM’s either. I did mention it was a secluded Island with one awesome resort and a village.

** Conclusion

If you looking to stay in Krabi you can choose a hotel in Krabi town but options are quite limited if you looking for luxury. As an alternative for a night or two try this resort on Klang Island. It is quiet and peaceful. Getting away from the crowds helps in Thailand. On check out we took a 30 minute boat ride across to Railay.

South Thailand Island Guide
Boat options for Island Transfers

Phuket Tips
Phuket Map
South Thailand 13 Useful tips
Ko Phi Phi Don
Railay Beach 
Ko Lanta

Ko Phi Phi Don Island Travel tips

The most popular island on the Southern Thailand tourist radar. Situated in the middle of all the locations, east of Phuket, south of Krabi, and west of Lanta, this island welcomes a lot of traffic. I chose this as my last location to visit on the Island hopping tour as research indicated this place will be noisy. However my 2 nights here were fantastic but perhaps that is because I stayed away from the chaos that makes up Tonsai Bay and Loh Dalum Bay.

Here are some useful tips when staying on this beautiful island:

**Arrival to Tonsai bay

This is the main port on the island and the ferry pier is busy. We have your large ferries on the west of the pier and a small drop zone for private speedboats or long tail transfer boats on the east of the pier. This place is very crowded with travelers trying to exit and enter via one main pier.

Large Ferries: You can arrive via the large ferries from the neighboring islands but expect large crowds on the boats. A lot of day trippers use these to arrive early in the morning and then catch another ride to Ko Phi Phi Le Island to visit Maya bay where the movie “The beach” was filmed.

Private Speedboats: The recommended way to travel in all of South Thailand. Smaller crowds and faster journey time.

If you are staying at hotels on the other end, staff from the hotel greet you at the pier and place you in a long tail boat to transfer to your selected resort.

Comparison of both the options

Transfer via Long tail Boat

**Locations for Accommodation

There are many options around Tonsai Bay and Loh Dalum Bay. It is looking great and getting away from the European winter I would be happy to settle there and just use some good ear plugs when it comes to sleeping.

Ao Ling: Northwest of Loh Dalam bay is the hidden cove of Ao Ling (Moneky Bay). Home to a colony of not so shy monkeys. Popular spot for tourists who come for picnic and photo shoots with the monkeys.

Long Beach: At the Southern point of the island had a beautiful beach and some nice hotels. We went past this area by long tail boat and it was very nice so next time I might try this location.

Rantee Bay and Pak Nam: We also traveled past these two bays and they were okay. Pak Nam stood out the prettier bay if compared.

Loh Bagao Bay: When we were travelling past this bay, the jaw dropped and we all went wow. The magnificent sight of a white sand beach with lovely turquoise water filling the bay was breath taking. Secretly hoping that this is where our hotel is because we have seen some good beaches on the way here but this was the spot.

Then slowly the boat started heading into the bay and that smile on the face was locked in. We stayed here at Outrigger Phi Phi Island . There is another hotel next to this place called Villa 360 which looks great but does not have the beach front. The beach front belongs to Outrigger. Once we checked in here it was hard to leave.

Laem Tong Beach and Hin Poo bay: Due to the Outrigger hotel being so good I did not leave to explore any further so this means another trip to this island. They do have the Twin Palms and Holiday Inn at Laem Tong beach with good reviews so worth exploring.  

**Things to do on the Island

The best choice is chilling in the pools and on the beach or take a long swimming/snorkeling sessions in the beautiful waters of the bay. Alternatively PADI courses and scuba diving is very popular here.

There is also some hiking options to a view point near Loh Bagao in the north or Tonsai Bay view point to the west. Further to the west is the Wang Long Cave. Kayaking to the caves or around the bay is an ideal option.

Daily view that is hard to escape

** Excursions from the Island

The main excursion from the Island here is to Phi Phi le. There are hundreds of boats lined up to go to Ao Maya (Maya bay) every day. Each resort has its own speedboat to take you at a fixed time. At Tonsai bay there are many operators who offer the same trip for a fraction of the price. However the main objective here is to get to the island as early as possible and pay the extra bhats to persuade the driver to depart at 7am or earlier. After 9am Maya bay fills up with tourists and remains that way till sunset.

There is also the option of Bamboo Island heading north. Thirty minutes by long tail boat to this white sand island with lovely turquoise water.

Another island up north next to Bamboo Island is Koh Yung (Mosquito Island) which has good colorful coral reefs.

There is a diving/snoreklling site called Koh Hin Klang which is 2km in front of Laem Tong Beach. It is 90 meters long and 60 meters wide and one of the best places to dive and snorkel.

**Wildlife
Mainly mosquitoes but there was the odd harmless cockroach flying in the air. Relatively calm at the resorts with bugs since they have pest control but expect to see some wilder creatures on hikes. 

**Costs on the Island

Compared to the other islands this is the most expensive island. Due to the large amounts of tourists and demand for products, a greedy markup is placed on everything. Outrigger hotel is expensive but worth it. The best breakfast we have had on all the Islands. The seafood buffet dinner at this hotel was fantastic.

Food at the hotel will cost ฿400-1000 a day. Water is quite cheap with big bottles 1.5 litres trading at ฿50. Beer is about ฿80 and cocktails can range from ฿150 to ฿400.

Accommodation prices vary from backpackers to hotels. Hotels are roughly ฿7000per night with breakfast.

**Conclusion

This is a beautiful island and a good place to chill for several days. A popular option is to stay here while visiting Phi Phi Le. There are large crowds so expectation of being alone on the beach is not possible. 

However the east side of the island is more relaxed and quiet. Take the speedboat in and out of the Island. Travel to Maya bay super early. Bring your snack supplies as shops are limited and over priced.

Try the Outrigger hotel as the service and hotel is amazing. 

Outrigger Phi Phi Hotel: Only place I arrived with dry feet thanks to the small pier

South Thailand Island Guide
Boat options for Island Transfers

Phuket Tips
Phuket Map
South Thailand 13 Useful tips
Railay Beach 
Krabi 
Ko Lanta

Comparison of the two ocean transportation options in South Thailand:

SPEEDBOAT

Expect some drama but nothing crazy on the speedboats in comparison to the large ferries. Our speedboat ride "Bundhaya Speedboats" from Ko Ngai was delayed by an hour, it was supposed to travel to Koh Lanta to drop the passengers who were headed further to Phi Phi or Phuket on another speedboat.

Due to the delay of an hour some people waiting at Lanta went bananas and forced the driver to take the boat out to the ocean. So instead of waiting at the port now they waited on the water for a good 20 minutes.

The Thai staff bowing down to the clients’ pressure meant now when our boat met them mid ocean, it will become the new passenger transfer point.

Not the ideal place to do a transfer but this is how things are done in the Islands.

FERRY

I only took 2 large ferries and I can tell you that the ride from Phi Phi to Phuket was the most horrific messed up boat trip I have done to date. Due to timing issues I had to take a ferry instead of the speedboat. Expectations for the ferry environment are:

1. The first time travelers who have no knowledge of what sea sickness is.

2. Groups of day trippers who may die of loneliness if they get separated from their groups for more than 5 minutes

3. Overcrowded ferry travelling slowly.

To avoid the chaos inside the ferry I went to sit outside at the back of the boat. It was a great seat with fresh air, great views of the Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le islands behind me.

The first hour was fantastic but after that the worse thing imaginable happened. Someone from the top deck puked and some of that shit landed on my shorts with a few spots on the singlet. (Could have been worse and all over the head and face) Anyway I had to strip down and use a tea towel as a wrap around on the waist to cover the family jewels while washing the clothes in the bathroom. The bathroom is large and clean with a powerful hose pipe, so ideal setup for cleaning.

However I did get some raised eyebrows from passengers who saw my sexy tea towel wrap around. Luckily the damage was limited and washed off with ease. That was the last time I will ever take a large ferry.

Conclusion: Take the speedboat! :) Bundhaya Speedboats

South Thailand Island Guide

Phuket Tips
Phuket Map
South Thailand 13 Useful tips
Ko Phi Phi Don
Railay Beach
Krabi