Krabi is not one place but a coastline: a provincial capital on a river, a beach strip facing a scatter of limestone islands, and a climbers' peninsula no road reaches. This guide lands you at Krabi International, puts you in the right base, and sequences the first days the way the coast rewards them: the beachfront and Railay first, the famous islands on the calmest morning, and the inland temples when the sea says no.
You just landed in Krabi. The airport is small and the coast does the rest: the move is the THB 150 shuttle bus or a fixed-rate taxi (about THB 600) to Ao Nang, the beach base, with an eSIM live before you leave the terminal, small baht notes ready for boats and park gates, and the island days booked a day ahead through GetYourGuide once you have seen the sea forecast.
Find your arrival stop, hotel, and first meal. Stays, sights, and landmarks in Krabi — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
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Land at KBV and treat the first hour as logistics: this is a province of piers and boats, not a city break. The terminal is small, the counters face arrivals, and you can be on Ao Nang beach inside the hour.
Set up data before you leave the terminal: an Airalo eSIM loads a Thailand plan in minutes, so Grab, boat times and the sea forecast work from the kerb. Comparing plans, check Saily and Yesim too.
Run the arrival checklist in this order:
Check the small print on resort rates. Thai hotels often price "++": 10 percent service and 7 percent VAT added on top.
If a delayed or cancelled flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation.
Journey times are approximate and refer to the listed stop — not necessarily your hotel. Allow extra time for waiting, walking, and connections.
Buy at the arrivals kiosk; buses leave when full, so waits can stretch towards an hour at quiet times, and the run serves Krabi Town stops before Ao Nang hotels
Pay at the official counter in arrivals and keep the coupon; fares are fixed by zone — about THB 500 to Krabi Town — and no meter runs
App pick-up point outside arrivals; supply is thinner than in Bangkok or Phuket and prices surge on peak-season afternoons
The driver waits in arrivals with a name board and the price is fixed before you fly; the sensible pick for late arrivals and groups
Two bases share this coast: Krabi Town, the provincial capital on the river, and Ao Nang, the beach strip 28 km west. The airport sits between them:
Choose the bus in daylight with light bags — it drops at most Ao Nang hotels. Choose the taxi or a pre-booked car with dive bags, kids or a late arrival.
Compare a pre-booked transfer when the hour demands it — a Kiwitaxi transfer or Welcome Pickups puts a driver in arrivals at a fixed price. Driving yourself, price the pickup on AutoEurope first — and know that Railay has no road at all: longtails run there from Ao Nang beach for about THB 100 a person each way. Songthaews link town and beach for about THB 60.
Walk the Ao Nang beachfront first, while the light is good. The strip runs from the longtail pier at the south end past the beach bars to quieter Nopparat Thara, and sunset over the islands is the town's daily appointment.
Ride a longtail to Railay on your first clear morning. Fifteen minutes by boat lands you at Phra Nang Beach, the postcard cove under the cliffs; walk through to Railay West for lunch, and climb to the viewpoint only if you are steady on ropes and roots.
Climb the Tiger Cave Temple steps if your legs allow. Wat Tham Suea sits 9 km from Krabi Town: the cave shrines at the base are free, and the staircase counts 1,260 steps to a golden Buddha and the province's widest panorama. Start before nine; cover shoulders and knees.
Book the headline island days once you have seen a forecast, because the sea here cancels plans without apology. Browse the Krabi listings on GetYourGuide, and compare Klook when you are stacking activities into one pass.
End one evening in Krabi Town: the riverfront at Thara Park, the crab sculpture, and street food along the water as the fishing boats come in.
Stay at 155 Moo 2, Nong Thale, on Klong Muang Beach, about 40 minutes from the airport. Expect 240 rooms in gardens on a private beach, two pools, four restaurants and the Linger Longer Spa — book it for the serene end of the coast; guests rate it 9.4 out of 10 on Expedia.
Sleep at 123 Moo 3, Ao Nang, across from Nopparat Thara Beach and a seven-minute walk from the Ao Nang Landmark Night Market. Expect 173 rooms, three pools with a waterslide and a kids club — book it for families who want the strip without the noise; it rates 8.4 out of 10 on Expedia.
Bed down at 87 Utarakit Road in Krabi Town, running since 2010 and still the province's social headquarters. Expect wooden-bunk dorms, private rooms, a rooftop bar and its own tour desk — book it for dorm beds from about US$10.
Sleep in Ao Nang for a first visit — boats, beach and restaurants on one walkable strip. Choose Klong Muang, 15 minutes north, for the resort version, and Krabi Town for local prices and budget beds.
Book ahead for December to February, and confirm the quoted total includes service charge and VAT.
Eat southern on day one — this is Thailand's spiciest regional kitchen, built on turmeric, chilli and the day's catch. Three first stops:
Sit down for the southern canon: sour curry with sea bass, melinjo leaves with egg, dishes from about THB 100. Open 11:00 to 22:00; the queue at seven is part of the review — go early.
Climb the hill above the bay for grilled snapper, soft-shell crab and the sunset table everyone books for. The splurge dinner of the trip — reserve, and let the restaurant's shuttle run you back down.
Graze the Walking Street stalls Friday to Sunday evenings: satay, roti, juices and mango sticky rice at local prices. Cash only.
For cooking classes and food tours, browse the Krabi listings on GetYourGuide and book a slot for your first free evening.
Three escapes cover the coast: the famous archipelago, the near islands by longtail, and the lagoon island to the north. All leave from Ao Nang with hotel pickups; park entry — a few hundred baht in cash — is usually on top.
Leave at dawn and the speedboat earns its price: Maya Bay's white arc nearly empty, a swim in emerald Pileh Lagoon, snorkelling over reef fish, then Bamboo Island and a Thai buffet lunch. About nine hours, rating 4.9 out of 5 from 3,512 reviews, from about US$79. Check availability →
Ride the wooden boat: Phra Nang Cave Beach under Railay's cliffs, the Thale Waek sandbar linking Tup and Mor islands at low tide, snorkelling off Chicken Island's famous rock, and a mini-buffet lunch on Koh Poda. Six to six and a half hours, rating 4.6 out of 5 from 2,154 reviews, from about US$22. Check availability →
Cruise north by speedboat to Koh Hong, where a cliff passage opens into a hidden emerald lagoon and a stairway climbs to a full-circle viewpoint. Lunch lands on the twin bays, with stops at Lao Lading and the Pakbia sandbars. Six to seven hours, lunch included, from about US$45. Check availability →
Come in the dry season, November to April, for the full deck: calm seas, every boat running, the islands at their clearest. December to February is the peak inside the peak — book beds, boats and dinner tables ahead.
Come in March or April for the hot shoulder. The sea stays mostly kind, prices soften after February, and the heat is the trade — swim early and late.
Come in the monsoon, May to October, with your eyes open. Rain arrives in bursts, the Andaman roughs up, and island days cancel on the morning's forecast; Maya Bay usually closes for about two months in this season — August to September in recent years — to let the bay recover. Rooms and tours are cheapest.
Budget Krabi by the fixed costs. The bus runs THB 150, a taxi about THB 600, a longtail to Railay about THB 100 each way, park entry THB 300 to 400, island days from about US$22 to US$79, and a local restaurant plate from about THB 60. Two island days can add THB 700 or more in gate fees, so keep small notes separate.
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Pack for boats, wet landings and limestone shade — you will get splashed here on purpose. This is the full list:
Add reef-safe sunscreen and a dry bag: longtail spray soaks an unprotected phone fast. Swim shoes help on rocky entries, and a poncho earns its space from May to October.
✓ Visa-free entry for eligible passport holders
Thai runs Krabi, and a little of it goes a long way — a greeting and a thank-you change the temperature of every transaction. English covers Ao Nang, hotels and tour boats.
Four phrases do most of the work:
Sort your entry paperwork before booking anything non-refundable. Most visitors — Americans, Europeans, Britons and many others — enter Thailand visa-free, and the exemption is 30 days: it was cut from 60 in September 2026, so do not plan around the old number.
Complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within the three days before you land. Mandatory for foreign arrivals since May 2025, free on the official immigration site, and the airline may check for it at the gate. Carry proof of onward travel — officers can ask.
Do not pay a lookalike site for the TDAC; unofficial sites charge real money for the same free form. Extensions are handled at Krabi immigration in town for about THB 1,900 — a formal process, never a pier-side fix.
Monsoon swells close beaches and cancel boats without negotiation: obey red flags, wear the life jacket on longtails even for the short Railay hop, and never swim at a deserted beach in rough water. Jellyfish appear in the wet months — treat stings with vinegar and fast medical help.
Motorbike injuries are the classic Krabi hospital story. Wear a helmet every ride, carry the licence your rental and insurance require, and photograph any rental bike or jet ski from every angle before starting the engine.
Airport coupons and Grab have fixed the arrival, but songthaews and private boats run on negotiation. Whole boat or whole car, one price, agreed on the sand — and buy boat tickets at pier counters, not from touts.
Macaques at Railay and the Tiger Cave Temple grab food, bottles and anything shiny — keep everything zipped and never feed them. The 1,260 temple steps in midday heat are a genuine workout; climb early, carry water, and dial 1155 for the tourist police.
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Asia & PacificThe questions every Krabi arrival asks, answered from checked local sources.
Answers checked October 2026.
The airport shuttle bus is the budget move: about THB 150 per person from the arrivals kiosk, 45 to 60 minutes, dropping at most Ao Nang hotels. Buses leave when full, so waits can stretch.
For speed, the fixed-rate taxi from the official counter runs about THB 600 per car, 30 to 40 minutes. Grab serves the airport too.
Ao Nang for a first visit: the beach, the island boats and the restaurants sit on one walkable strip, and Railay is 15 minutes by longtail.
Krabi Town for local prices, the weekend night market and the best budget beds, including Pak-Up Hostel. The two are about 30 minutes apart by songthaew or Grab.
Most visitors enter visa-free; the exemption is 30 days, cut from 60 in September 2026. Check your passport's terms, and carry proof of onward travel — officers can request it.
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) has been mandatory since May 2025. Complete it free on the official immigration site within three days before you land — never on a paid lookalike.
The national park closes Maya Bay for roughly two months most years so the bay and its blacktip reef sharks can recover. Recent closures ran from 1 August into late September.
Boats reroute to Pileh Lagoon and Bamboo Island during the closure. If Maya Bay is the point of your trip, travel in the dry season, November to April.
Budget about THB 400 per adult for the Phi Phi park and about THB 300 for Hong Islands' park, paid in cash at the gate or collected by your tour crew.
Tour prices usually exclude the fee, so two island days can add THB 700 or more per person. Keep small notes separate.
November to April is the dry season: calm seas, every boat running, the islands at their clearest. December to February peaks — book ahead.
May to October is the monsoon. Rain comes in bursts, the Andaman roughs up and island days cancel on the morning forecast — but prices are lowest.
Fares and fees move — confirm at the counter or gate before you pay.
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One email with your Krabi PDF (guide version: Oct 2026). Fare changes and new guides after that. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Transfer fares against Welcome Pickups' Krabi airport pages, gobytaxi's 2026 fare table and October 2026 route reporting — the shuttle bus is consistently THB 150 to Ao Nang; taxi bands vary by source (THB 600 to 900) and the guide prints the most-quoted counter rate. Visa exemption at 30 days against immigration reporting of the change effective 15 September 2026; the TDAC requirement against the bureau's notice in force since 1 May 2025; the postponed entry fee against ministry reporting through October 2026. Tiger Cave step count against October 2026 visitor reporting. GetYourGuide products opened and read: the Phi Phi early bird, the 4 Islands trip and the Hong Islands trip; hub krabi-l2174 confirmed. Hotels against Expedia pages opened this session (Dusit Thani, Holiday Ao Nang) and the properties' own sites; Pak-Up Hostel is not on Expedia, so its booking URL stays an open item. Last verified October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.