Day 245: Krabi
We only had one full day in Krabi, so we wanted to make it count! We left the hotel bright and early and got to the boat tour desk in town just before they opened at 8AM. Prices varied depending on how many islands we wanted to hit, and whether we wanted to share a boat or not. (One couple approached us and asked if we would be interested in splitting their 3-island tour for USD$ 30. Since they were planning to spend the majority of the day at the Tub Island sandbar waiting for the 2PM low tide, we decided to pass, but not a bad deal if we just wanted to sit on a beach all day!) We decided, “go big or go home,” so we booked the whopper 9-island all-day tour for USD$ 150, that way we would have no regrets that we missed anything in Krabi.
We leave the hotel early, before their 9AM shuttle into town. We were planning to walk the 20min to the beach, but the staff at the resort kindly offered to take us into town for free in their tuk-tuk!
In order to make the most of our one day in Krabi, we book an all-day tour to visit 9 islands in the Andaman Sea
Exploring the islands around Krabi in a private longboat
Our first of nine islands – four other longboats roll up to the beach with us (looks like we are on a standard tour route). Hoping the crowds will thin out the further we go, we hop back in the boat and move on to island #2
We beat the other longboats & speed boats to Pakbia Island by about 10min
For the short time we have it to ourselves, Pakbia seems like a nice, pretty beach – Lindsay jumps in the water to check out the snorkeling (just more black & yellow striped fish). Once the crowds roll in, we pick up our towels and head out
A quick drive-by into one of the island lagoons – some other longboats stopped to snorkel
Walking across the floating dock Hong Island Beach
Hong Island is a very pretty crescent-shaped white-sand beach, framed by huge limestone cliffs – unfortunately, the water is full of jellyfish, so we can’t swim for very long without getting stung
It takes us over an hour to cross the open water between Hong Island & Poda Island – the huge rollers dump buckets of water on us and we are completely drenched by the time we arrive at the beach
Playing on the beach on Chicken Island
Walking across the sandbar to Tub Island – it’s two hours until low tide, but it’s shallow enough that we can cross without getting our bag or towels wet
Tub Island is *packed* with day-tripping tourists – everyone wants to play on the sandbar that connects Tub Island with Chicken Island (which is only accessible during low tide) – really glad we didn’t spend the whole day here!
Poor puffer! He died. The Hermit Crab is OK, though.
Of all the beaches we visit during our longboat tour, Poda Island was our favorite – not only is it scenic, with clean white-sand beaches and clear, turquoise water, the beach is huge, so if you are willing to walk far enough, you can find a secluded stretch to swim and sunbathe in peace
Our final stop of the tour – Krabi’s famous Railay West! We arrive late in the afternoon, just as a light rain starts to come down, so the beach is a lot quieter than we expected. We wander down the Walking Street (full of restaurants, minimarts, ATMs – even barbers and tailors!) and start to make our way across the pennisula to Railay East, but turn around when the rain gets stronger – oh well, the west beach is supposed to be the nicer of the two anyways
Since our hotel is dry, we decided to stay in town and grab dinner before trekking back. We grabbed a beach-facing table at Jeanette’s Restaurant – despite the Western name and lackluster TripAdvisor reviews, decided to go for it as they had a Happy Hour special and a large vegetarian section in their menu. Service was slow, but the food was tasty (our waiter convinced Igor to change his order to a sizzler curry – great recommendation!) and the view was nice!
Lindsay savors her dinner cocktail (Happy Hour special on a Cosmo – hey, booze is booze), and Igor is pleased that his sanitized cutlery is protected by plastic wrap
Enjoying a cold Thai beer and a beautiful sunset over dinner – a sizzling plate of veggie Indian curry
Sunset at Ao Nang Beach
Beach goers enjoying the sunset at Ao Nang Beach
Once it gets dark, we make our way back to the Ban Sainai – about 20min walk away from the beach. On our way we pass a well-stocked 24-hr supermarket and pick up some supplies (read: wine) for our upcoming trip to Ko Tao the next day
Cashing in our free (non-alcoholic) drinks & fruit coupons at the hotel restaurant