Chiang Mai to Krabi

Thai AirAsia is the airline that flies Chiang Mai to Krabi every day. Its schedule has three flights, an A320 on each. FD3072 leaves at 07:55 and lands at 09:55, FD3076 leaves around 12:55 and lands around 14:40, and FD3074 leaves late in the afternoon, at 16:30 on some dates and 17:05 on others, landing about two hours later. The midday flight is the one most likely to be dropped on a given day, so check the date you want before planning around it. Fares change daily, and booking sites add a fee, so I'd compare the price on AirAsia's own site against any reseller.

Bangkok Airways flies PG246 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the cool-season schedule, leaving Chiang Mai in the early afternoon. When it last relaunched the route it left at 14:35 and landed at 16:30, on an Airbus. It flies one way only. There is no Bangkok Airways flight from Krabi back to Chiang Mai, so a return on that airline goes through Suvarnabhumi.

The flight I'd book is the 07:55. You're in Krabi by 10:00, at an Ao Nang hotel before lunch, and on a Railay longtail in the afternoon. The late flight lands around 19:00, which still works for Ao Nang and even for Koh Lanta, since the last airport van to Lanta leaves at 20:30. Railay is the one place I wouldn't aim for on the late flight, because the longtails from Ao Nang beach stop around 18:00.

Change in Bangkok. Flights from Chiang Mai to Don Mueang take 65 to 85 minutes and Don Mueang to Krabi about 1 hour 25, with Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Nok Air on both legs. Thai Airways and Thai VietJet do the same through Suvarnabhumi. Buy both legs on one ticket so a late first flight is the airline's problem, and allow at least five hours in total. Don't book two separate budget tickets with a short gap, because a missed connection on separate tickets means paying for a new flight.

Or fly to Phuket. Chiang Mai also has nonstops to Phuket, and from Phuket airport shared vans leave for Ao Nang and Krabi Town hotels at 08:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 17:00 for about ฿750, roughly three hours with the drop-offs. A private car is about ฿2,500–3,800 and two and a half hours. That's a long afternoon, so it makes sense only if the Krabi flights are sold out or you planned a few days on Phuket first. Our Phuket to Krabi guide has the speedboats and vans in detail.

No train or bus runs from Chiang Mai to Krabi, and Krabi has no railway at all, so overland means going through Bangkok. The plan I'd follow takes the Special Express No. 10 from Chiang Mai station at 18:20, into Krung Thep Aphiwat at 06:30, at ฿941 for an upper second-class berth or ฿1,041 for a lower. Spend the day in Bangkok, then take Lignite Tour's 18:40 night bus from the Southern Terminal (Sai Tai Mai, on the Thonburi side, 30 to 45 minutes across the city) for ฿715. It reaches Krabi's bus terminal at Talat Kao at 05:40, 4–5 km north of Krabi Town, in time for the morning boats to Phi Phi and Railay.

That's about 35 hours and about ฿1,700–1,800 in fares, two nights spent sleeping on wheels. The cheaper sleeper, No. 14 (17:05 to 05:55, ฿771–841), takes about ฿170 off. You can swap the bus for a second sleeper, No. 85 from Krung Thep Aphiwat to Surat Thani (19:50 to 06:23) and a connecting bus to Krabi, which arrives around mid-morning instead of dawn. I'd only go overland if a day in Bangkok is part of the plan. Otherwise the flight saves a day and a half for a fare in the same range.

Thai AirAsia flies back the same three times a day, with FD3073 at 10:25 and FD3077 at 15:25 among them, each about 1 hour 55 minutes. Bangkok Airways doesn't fly north on this route, so its passengers return through Suvarnabhumi. Our Krabi to Chiang Mai guide has the full return timetable, the ride to Krabi airport from Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta, and the through bus north.