Krabi
Limestone Coast Of Railay, Ao Nang And The Phi Phi Islands; Parts Lie Within Marine National Parks · Ao Nang, Krabi
Krabi is the province on the Andaman coast where sheer limestone towers rise out of jungle and turquoise sea, and for most visitors it means Ao Nang, a beach resort town of hotels, restaurants and tour desks strung along a bay backed by cliffs. From Ao Nang longtail boats run a few minutes round the headland to Railay, a peninsula cut off by cliffs and reachable only by boat, with the cave beach of Phra Nang and its shrine to a sea princess, and hundreds of bolted climbing routes on the rock. Day tours visit the four islands off Ao Nang, the lagoon of the Hong islands, and Ko Phi Phi, part of Krabi province, where Maya Bay reopened in 2022 after years of closure for reef recovery, now with visitor limits and no swimming. Ko Lanta, further south, is quieter and longer stay. Inland are the Tiger Cave Temple with well over a thousand steps to a hilltop shrine, the Emerald Pool and a warm waterfall stream in the forest. Krabi town has a riverside night market and the airport. From about May to October rough seas can cancel boats.
Ao Nang, Mueang Krabi District, Ao Nang, Krabi, 81180, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: beaches are open all day and night, but shared longtails to Railay run from about 8 am to around sunset, with charter boats only after dark, and island tours leave between about 8 and 10 am and return by mid or late afternoon. National park islands such as the Phi Phi group have closed to visitors at dusk, and Maya Bay admits visitors in fixed sessions and closes for part of each rainy season; check the months. The Emerald Pool has opened about 8 am to 5 pm, and the Tiger Cave Temple climb is best done from early morning. There is no general closing day. The traps that ruin a day are missing the last longtail from Railay, a tour cancelled by rough seas, reaching Maya Bay during its closure and arriving on an island with no cash for the park fee. Confirm current times before relying on them.