For the best beach in Krabi, Phra Nang. For sunset, Railay West. For a quiet stay, Tubkaek or Klong Muang. Eleven beaches on the Railay peninsula, the Ao Nang coast and the islands offshore.
Phra Nang is the best beach in Krabi, a cove of white sand under an overhanging cliff at the tip of the Railay peninsula, and Railay West next door is the one to stay on for sunset. Neither has a road, so you get there on the ฿100 longtail from Ao Nang. For a quiet stay I'd look north to Tubkaek and Klong Muang, and for an island beach, Ko Poda on the Four Islands tour. Ao Nang itself is where you sleep, eat and catch the boats rather than where you swim. The driest months are January to March, and September and October are the wettest.
Best overall, and the one I'd see first. White sand under a huge overhanging cliff at the tip of the Railay peninsula, with the Princess Cave shrine at its base. Take the ฿100 longtail from Ao Nang, then walk about 10 minutes from Railay East or 5 from Railay West. Be there before 10:00, when the island-tour boats start landing.
Best for sunset and swimming. The main Railay beach, a long arc of sand between limestone walls where the Ao Nang longtails land, ฿100 each way by day and ฿150 after dark. A 5-minute path crosses to Railay East.
Best for convenience. The town beach, with the restaurants, the night market and the longtail counters for Railay and the islands. The sand isn't the reason to come, but every boat starts here.
Where to stay
My pick at each price level in Krabi, going by Google's hotel class. Hotels from my ranked list of the 10 best come first, then the best-reviewed. Each button opens the hotel on Booking.com with your dates filled in.
#1Luxury · 5-star
Dusit Thani Krabi Beach Resort4.7 (4,946 reviews)
Upscale beachfront resort in Nong Thale offering spa facilities, multiple pools, and direct Andaman Sea access.
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#3Mid-range · 4-star
Sea Seeker Krabi Resort4.5 (3,332 reviews)
A large beachside resort in Ao Nang offering spacious rooms, sea views, and easy access to Krabi's coast.
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Best island beach. The first stop on the Four Islands tour, a short longtail ride off Ao Nang, with white sand and a sea stack offshore. It's inside the national park, so bring ฿400 in cash for the fee. Walk away from the landing point and the crowd thins fast.
Best for climbers and cheap beds. The cove around the headland north of Railay West, with bolted routes off the sand and bungalows in the jungle. At low tide it's a 10 to 20 minute scramble over the rocks from Railay West, and at high tide you take the jungle trail or a longtail.
Best for a long walk. The beach 3 km west of Ao Nang, quieter than town, where low tide lets you walk out to the small islands offshore.
Best for the lagoon. A day trip by longtail or speedboat to Koh Hong's enclosed lagoon and its small beach. It's in a different national park, Than Bok Khorani, with its own ฿300 fee.
Best for snorkeling. The island with a rock shaped like a chicken's head, a stop on every Four Islands tour from Ao Nang, with snorkeling off its reef. It's in the same park as Poda, with the same ฿400 fee.
Best at low tide. Two small islands joined by a sandbar you can walk across ankle-deep at low tide, the Four Islands tour stop next to Chicken Island. Tours time this stop to the tide, so check that yours does.
Best for a quiet resort stay. A long, calm beach with shallow water and views of the islands offshore, about 16 km (25 minutes by car) northwest of Ao Nang, with a few upscale resorts and very little else.
Best for families and calm water. A long, quiet beach about 11 km (around 20 minutes by car) northwest of Ao Nang, backed by resorts, with sunset over the islands.
Phra Nang, the cove under the cliffs at the tip of the Railay peninsula. Railay West next door is the best for sunset, and Tubkaek is the pick if you want somewhere quiet to stay.
Railay if the beaches are the point, since you have them to yourself before and after the day boats. Ao Nang if you want more choice of hotels and food, lower prices and the boats to everywhere else on your doorstep.
No. Cliffs cut the peninsula off, so you take the longtail, ฿100 per person from Ao Nang beach by day (roughly 08:00 to 18:00, leaving when about eight people gather) and ฿150 after dark. Boats also run from Ao Nam Mao pier, about 6 km east, for about ฿100–150.
September and October, the wettest months, with around 340–350 mm of rain and 19 rain days each in an average year. May to October is the southwest monsoon. January to March is the driest stretch.
Phra Nang and Railay West. Railay East isn't a swimming beach, because low tide leaves mudflats and mangroves.
Klong Muang and Tubkaek, north of Ao Nang, with calm, shallow water and resorts right on the sand.
The mainland beaches are free. The island beaches inside the national parks charge a fee, ฿200 per adult for Poda, Chicken and Tup, and ฿300 for Hong Island, paid in cash.
Yes, Maya Bay is on Koh Phi Phi Leh, which belongs to Krabi province, but Phi Phi's beaches have their own pages here because it's a trip of its own. You can't swim beyond knee depth, visitors are capped at 375 an hour, and it closes every year from 1 August to 30 September. Most people see it on a Phi Phi day trip from Ao Nang or Krabi Town.
Krabi's are smaller and more dramatic, set under limestone cliffs, while Phuket's are longer and more built up with more hotels behind them. Our Phuket or Krabi comparison goes through which suits which trip.
