1 week Ago By Joshua Berida
In my opinion, Thailand’s southern region is like many of the Philippines’ beach and island destinations with their white (or golden) shores, turquoise-tinged waters, limestone formations, and tropical vibe. One of the places you can visit when you visit the country is Krabi. This area offers all that you’re looking for in a tropical escapade, from chill beaches to delicious food to accommodation across the budget spectrum to nightlife.
Getting a visa Filipino passport holders can enter Thailand for up to 30 days visa-free. Get into Krabi There are no direct flights from Manila to Krabi, you’ll have to go through a third country within Southeast Asia, or you can include it in a longer trip around Thailand. You can book a flight from Bangkok to Krabi.
If you’re on a budget, you can book an overnight bus from Bangkok through this link and take the bus back to Bangkok after your trip. Getting around Krabi You won’t have a difficult time exploring Krabi and surrounding places to visit. You can rent a motorbike to explore, prices start around Thai Baht (THB) 200-300+++ depending on the model.
You can also take public transportation, which is your budget option, but you’ll have to be patient because of the schedule they follow and the interval between rides. You can take a bus or the Songthaew (like a van). You can also hire a tuktuk to get to your destination.
Taxis and Grab are also available. If you’re booking island hopping tours, you’ll ride either a long-tail boat or a speedboat. Where to stay in Krabi? Krabi is a big province that’s a popular beach destination.
You’ll most likely be looking for accommodation in Krabi Town, Ao Nang, or Railay. Krabi Province provides visitors with good value accommodation; you can get a good deal on a nice private room for less than THB 1200 or P2000. If you’re just looking for a bed to sleep in, you can find a bed in a hostel dorm for around THB 300 or P500.
Railay and Ao Nang offer beachfront (or within walking distance of a beach) guesthouses, resorts, hostels, or hotels. Krabi Town offers similar types of accommodation without the beach. Spend a lazy afternoon hanging out at Ao Nang Beach.
Photo by Joshua Berida You can choose between Agoda or Booking.com (both are my go-to accommodation aggregator sites) to find a place to stay within your budget. You can also book directly with the hotel/hostel/resort if they have their own website.
Nightlife in Krabi Like in many places in Thailand, you have options when it comes to nightlife in Krabi. Most of the popular night spots are in Ao Nang and Railay, but you’ll still find some places if you’re staying in Krabi Town. Some of the places you can go to are Bamboo Bar (Ao Nang), Boogie Bar (Ao Nang), Chang Bar (Ao Nang), Tew Lay Bar (Railay), and Reggae Town Bar and Restaurant (Ao Nang) just to name a few.
You’ll have a lot of choices because a lot of bars are often along the same street. Sunset in Koh Phi Phi. Photo by Joshua Berida Itinerary This itinerary assumes you start with one full day.
Day 1 You’ll most likely arrive in the morning if you took the overnight bus from Bangkok. You can head straight to your accommodation first and leave your things if you can’t check in yet. After resting and eating, you can visit Tiger Cave Temple.
You can reach the latter using public transportation. Once at the temple, you can see a huge golden Buddha after climbing more than a thousand steps. You can also get overlooking views from the top.
Visit Tiger Cave Temple while in Krabi. Photo by Joshua Berida You can have lunch in one of the establishments at Ao Nang Beach. You can stay in Ao Nang and use it as your base instead of Krabi Town.
If you’re staying in Krabi Town, you can easily reach Ao Nang Beach by booking a ride with Grab or taking public transportation. While in Krabi Town, you can take a picture with the crab statue in town, check out the night market, and take a leisurely stroll along the Pak Nam River. Day 2 A trip to Southern Thailand would be incomplete without island-hopping.
You have a variety of packages to choose from — whether you book online or get a tour with an agency somewhere in town. The package I got included a trip to Tup Island, Poda Island, Railay Beach and Phra Nang Beach. Operators might offer different stops in their itinerary.
Relax, swim, and sunbathe while on Poda Island. Photo by Joshua Berida However, the highlights for me are Poda Island and the beaches in Railay and Phra Nang. The rock formations you’ll find at each stop are reminiscent of what you see on the beaches of Palawan.
Phra Nang Cave is also interesting (you’ll find out why when you visit). Turquoise waters and the powdery sand are also common descriptions you’ll think of during your trip. You’ll have a chill day sunbathing, swimming, or simply taking a stroll along the shore.
Day 3 For this day, you’ll start early for another island hopping tour to Maya Bay, Bamboo Island, Pileh Lagoon, Koh Phi Phi Leh, Viking Cave, Koh Phi Phi Don, and Monkey Beach. Island hopping packages often mix these destinations in some form. The jewel of this trip is Maya Bay.
If you’re old enough to know the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, you’ll instantly recognize it. If not, it’s still an amazing sight to behold. The towering rock formations, fine white sand, and the cerulean waters will make you stop and stare.
However, the government has implemented a cap on the number of visitors. Swimming is no longer allowed. Boats are also not allowed to dock.
Beautiful Maya Bay. Photo by Joshua Berida Your guides will direct you to get to the beach. You’re allowed to go up to knee deep and no further than that.
In the other stops, you’ll do a combination of swimming, snorkeling, exploring, taking photos, sunbathing, and eating. Don’t forget to bring THB 400 (adult) and THB 200 (child) in cash for the entrance fee. Maya Bay will be closed during the low season around August and September.
*You have the option to spend a night or two in Koh Phi Phi instead of doing just a day trip from Krabi. There are regular boats that travel between Krabi Town and Koh Phi Phi. You’ll have to go to Klong Jilad Pier near Krabi Town, you can check schedules here or just show up at the pier as early as possible.
You can also book a ticket through travel agencies in town. Spend some time at Phra Nang Beach. Photo by Joshua Berida *Koh Phi Phi has a reputation as a party island.
However, you can still find quite a few secluded places when you’re looking for accommodation away from the bars and nightly parties. If you’re looking for nightlife, most parties, clubs, and bars are around Tonsai and Loh Dalum. Some of the most well-known night spots include Dubliner Irish Pub, Stones Bar and Resto, Stockholm Syndrome, Ibiza Beach Club, Slinky Beach Bar, Carlito’s Bar, and Phi Phi Reggae Bar.
You can get drinks, eat, listen to live music, watch games (most likely soccer), DJs playing electronic and house music, fire shows, and dance the night away. Staying in Koh Phi Phi also allows you to visit the nearby islands such as Maya Bay at a slower pace. It’s also small enough to explore on foot.
Explore Bamboo Island. Photo by Joshua Berida Day 4 You have some options for day four in Krabi, you can go on another island hopping tour, go rock climbing, chill at Railay and Phra Nang Beach, or kill time in Ao Nang. Railay, Phra Nang, and Ao Nang are nice places to kill time after a hectic past few days’ touring and moving from place to place.
You don’t need a tour to go to those places. There are boats from Krabi to Railay which you can check here , but you’ll have to go to Ao Nam Mao Pier in Ao Nang first. You can look for a place to stay near Ao Nang for convenience.
You can also show up at the pier for schedules and just buy a ticket on the spot. Explore idyllic Railay Beach. Photo by Joshua Berida You can do Railay and Phra Nang Beach for a day because they’re near each other.
It’s also convenient to go to Ao Nang Beach if you’re staying in Krabi Town. You can take the jeep-like songthaew to Ao Nang from Krabi or book with Grab. Day 5 You can either go to another place in Thailand such as Phuket, Koh Samui, or return to Bangkok before your flight back to Manila.
Depending on the time of your departure, you can buy souvenirs and/or eat at your favorite café or restaurant before leaving. You’ll see plenty of rock formations jutting out of the waters in Krabi province. Photo by Joshua Berida How much will you spend? Krabi (and pretty much most of Thailand) is an affordable destination.
However, it’s not super cheap because a lot of Westerners visit. What’s cheap to them might not be cheap for Filipinos. You can still get good value accommodation and food because of the competition among establishments.
A budget of up to THB 12,000 or roughly P20,000 for one person includes: Bed in a hostel’s dorm room or a budget room shared with at least one other person Budget meals with the occasional splurge Day tours listed above Use of public transportation Entrance fees Roundtrip overnight bus from Bangkok to Krabi This doesn’t include flights to Thailand and the extra days you’ll spend in Bangkok. It also doesn’t cover souvenirs. Don’t stop the limited access to Maya Bay stop you from visiting.
Photo by Joshua Berida Consider adding to your budget if you plan to party every night. You can spend less if you eat at the cheapest place possible all the time and choose the cheapest accommodation option. You can also reduce your expenses if you don’t do any day trips and rent a motorbike to explore.
I’ve always found that booking tours online is more expensive than booking them with a local tour operator the day before an excursion. – Rappler.com.
