4 Day Ao Nang, Krabi Itinerary - What to do in Krabi, Thailand

This post is a comprehensive guide on what to do in Krabi, Thailand, we'll cover the best things to do in Ao Nang, Krabi in 4 Days, including:

- Railay Beach

- Phi Phi Island Tour

- Tiger Cave Temple - Wat Tham Suea

- Dragon Crest Mountain Hike - Khao Ngon Nak

- Renting a Scooter in Krabi

- Where to stay in Krabi

- Where to eat in Ao Nang, Krabi

- And a link to more Thailand Tips & Tricks as well as the rest of our Thailand Destinations

Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand

Turquoise waters, beautiful beaches and limestone cliffs

Ao Nang is a small beach town in Southern Thailand, in the Province of Krabi. When I say, small, I'm referring to it's size, Krabi Province gets about 2 million visitors a year, which IS small compared to Phuket Province's 9 million a year, but definitely not undiscovered and pristine as it once was.

Krabi Province is about 4 hours with a connecting flight from Chiang Mai or 1 hour from Bangkok and a 30 minute ride from Krabi Airport.

Ao Nang sits along the coast of the Andaman Sea, known for it's turquoise blue waters, limestone cliffs and an entry point to the Phi Phi Islands and Railay Beach. Not only is it a Mecca for beach dwellers, it's full of lush forestry and challenging hikes with the most picturesque views in all of Thailand!

Suggested Stay: 4-5 Days

Where to Stay

Stay as close to the beach as possible. Ao Nang is basically 1 main street that wraps around the beach town, so the easiest access to the beach, long tail boats and food is the best because with our itinerary you'll be doing plenty of walking. Note, if you're looking to stay on the beach, you'll need to look further up the coast in a different town, these seem to be more upscale resorts and less crowded, perfect for those looking to relax. If you want to stay in Railay Beach, there is no road access so you'll need to get there by boat.

We stayed at Whalecome Resort for a few reasons. 1) it was close to the beach and restaurants 2) priced right 3) all the greenery. Overall, it was a great hotel! The owner actually studied abroad at St. Cloud State University in MN, small world! It's an intimate hotel, all one level with a lush courtyard and swimming pool in the middle. The hotel can plan tours, activities, transfers and they rent scooters! Score!

Tip: We read a lot of negative reviews about renting scooters, how people get scammed, etc. The best thing to do is rent a scooter from your hotel, still take all the pictures prior to renting, but the level of trust is so relieving! It was only 250 Baht per day, which you can pay before or when you check out of the hotel.

What to do in Ao Nang, Krabi - 4 Day Krabi Itinerary

Day 1 - Explore Ao Nang, Krabi

We flew from Chiang Mai to Krabi again with Thai Smile. We arranged a driver to take us to our hotel, but they never showed up, some other driving service helped us arrange a ride, probably overpriced, but we just wanted to get to the beach as fast as possible!

First things first, check out the beach! Ok Ao Nang Beach isn't very turquoise blue...kind of disappointing, but if you read reviews on Trip Advisor, this shouldn't come as a shock. But the limestone cliffs that surround the beach and the long tail boats are quite the view!

Ao Nang has one Main Street, lined with shops and restaurants and the beach. We didn't come close to walking up and down the entire area, but we knew we wanted to get dinner with a view, so we walked North-West along the beach. To our surprise, there wasn't that many restaurants along the coastline, so it wasn't hard to choose.

Tip: Use Trip Advisor for restaurant reviews, they are directionally very accurate. I do my homework before hand and decide the restaurant choices that look the best, well we decided to just go with it, bad decision. The view was AMAZING, the beer was nice and cold, but the food was not good. When there's 30 pages of food options, it's kind of a red flag...do your research and get recommendations if you want a good dinner.

After the beautiful sunset and possibly a food poisoning meal, we decided to shop and get dessert.

We stumbled on this amazing food market that we later ate at twice (pictured above), so good and so cheap! Our meals at street food vendors were better than some restaurants or just as good! We got some walking drinks and called it a night.

Day 2 - Tiger Cave Temple Wat Tham Suea, Railay Beach, Sunset on Ao Nang Beach

Breakfast at Lion & Shark

Since we didn't add the breakfast package with our hotel stay, we decided to check out Lion & Shark for their smoothie bowls. If you're on a budget, this probably won't make sense, they are spendy for Thai prices, BUT they were so so good and filled with all sorts of fresh fruit! and a total Instagramers paradise :)

Tiger Cave Temple - Wat Tham Suea

After renting our scooter with our hotel, we were off!

I obviously made Jake drive since my one experience with a scooter ended with the scooter on top of me...We were a little nervous to drive with all the traffic, foreign signs, oh and driving on the other side of the road...there were a few times we caught ourselves on the wrong side...opps!

Because we rented a Pocket WiFi we had internet service everywhere, which was very convenient as we needed directions, scooters and paper maps just don't work.

The ride itself was as fun as the destination! Lots of windy roads with views of the limestone cliffs.

After a 30 minute ride, we made it to Tiger Cave Temple or Wat Tham Suea. There are many different temples, but our mission was the 1,237 stairs up to the summit. Easy, right?! "That's what she said" because I did tell Jake it was the easier of the 2 hikes in Krabi, which was slightly true...but holy Hannah was it HARD! Some of the stairs were over a foot tall, excuse me, but my legs are very short!

I was struggling, mostly because I felt sick to my stomach...seriously I think I got food poisoning because I've never felt that way from a hike. Jake kept telling me that we could turn around, but I was determined to make it to the top! After stopping every 50 or so stairs, my face turning white, my stomach churning, the 100 degree sun beating down and 100% humidity, I still had no intention of turning around. After an hour, we made it to the top! Hallelujah!

And it was 100% worth every drip of sweat and every tear I held back to make it to the top. The views were absolutely stunning!

And there's drinking water at the top! This is one hike you don't want to forget your water bottle on (which we do a lot).

Jake always says, going down is much harder than going up. I'm the opposite, but the trek down was something else. We were making great time, until our legs turned to noodles! Jake made a fast dash for it, I just tried to keep my legs from collapsing.

But at the bottom there's a special treat that I didn't mention before...there are tons of MONKEYS! Some people say they're dangerous if you look into their eyes, but they are so freaking cute and funny. Probably complete pests for the workers trying to clean up, but they made me so happy!

Tip: Don't feed them, people do and they become reliant on human food vs their normal diet. There is a few shops where you can buy water, Gatorade, snacks to help you recover. Temple dress code is still recommended, but not strictly enforced.

Entrance Fee: FREE - Thank God, because some people might think the hike is complete torture

Estimated Time: 3 Hours

Opening Times: 7:30-Dusk

Railay Beach

After we recovered and I got dragged away from the monkeys, we made our way back to Ao Nang to check out Railay Beach.

Railay Beach is only accessible by water. There are long tail boats that go directly there from Ao Nang Beach. You will need to buy a ticket at the Boat Service hut at the end of the road. Please note the operating times, we knew we only had about 2 hours before sunset, but it was our only chance to check it out.

Tip: You will need to get into the water to access the long tail boat, knee deep depending on how tall you are. You have to climb a boat ladder to get into the long tail boat and watch your head! I hit mine twice on the same trip...seriously. If the tide is low, you will have to walk a ways out to the boat.

Try to get the front seat so your views aren't blocked. The ride itself was worth every penny for the tickets. As you turn the corner past the large limestone cliff, Railay Beach and it's limestone cliffs will come in full view. Absolutely stunning!

The water is clearer than Ao Nang and the beach is a lot nicer. We didn't have much time to explore, but there are hikes and rock climbing activities as well. We hit the water and relaxed in the warm sun.

You'll need your boat ticket to get a ride back to Ao Nang, just in time to grab a beer and watch the sunset. We then headed back to the street food market for dinner!

Longtail Boat Fee: 200 Baht roundtrip before sunset

Thai Massage

Go to Thailand, Get a Thai Massage, it'll be fun they say...

Alright, I would say the same, because it's all about the experience and getting a good laugh, a real good laugh.

First off, Thai Massages are the opposite of relaxing, but I'm sure it's beneficial in some way...right? As my limbs were pushed and pulled while trying not to laugh in pain, I look over at Jake and he's being tossed around like a ragdoll, his expression was priceless. Do Thai people get Thai massages or is this a tourist trick because I swear they were laughing at us! We walked away like OMG, WTF, I hurt...Why would we do that? Legit the funniest thing.

Day 3 - Phi Phi Island Boat Tour

It isn't a trip to Thailand without going on a Phi Phi Island Tour. We booked a Early Bird Phi Phi Island Boat Tour with EzyTrails Krabi. We were picked up at 6:30am and headed for the pier to get on our boat. Like most tours in Thailand, you pay the day of the tour and in cash.

We hopped on the speedboat with the crew and about 18 others and jetted off to our first island destination. Because we left so early, we were the only ones on the beach. It felt like the movie "The Beach"! We had it all to ourselves, by far our favorite stop on the boat tour, we wish we could have stayed there all day, relaxing in the warm sun, snorkeling in the clear blue waters and living the island life, but we had to move on.

Side note, If you didn't know this already, the reason we chose to go to Thailand is because I've been dreaming of visiting since the 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio called "The Beach." If you don't know, now you know.

Most of the film is set on Maya Beach, and 2019 was the year they decided to close the beach, indefinitely, until the sea life was restored. I was a littler heartbroken when I read the news, but to be completely honest after reading about the hordes of people that visit and pollute the small beautiful beach, I was thrilled! They did allowed boats to get in view of Maya Beach, but no one is allowed to get too close, walk or swim on the beach so it's more like the pristine beach I remembered from the movie.

We hopped from place to place with lots of stops including Bamboo Beach, Koh Poda and Monkey Island (and yes we saw monkeys!). We had a delicious lunch at Bamboo Beach. If we had more time in Ao Nang, we would definitely rent a long tail boat to one of these destinations to relax and snorkel in the crystal blue waters.

The Hilltop Restaurant

After the tour we freshened up and headed to dinner at The Hilltop Restaurant. Like the name eludes to, the restaurant is on the hill. Insider tip, make an advanced reservation an hour+ before sunset to enjoy the beautiful views! And they pick you up from your hotel, you'll understand why when you make the drive.

Honestly one of our favorite restaurants with a view! A must if you're in Ao Nang and with very reasonable pricing, especially when you compare it to what you would pay in the States. We got 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, desert and a bottle of wine for $75, seriously!

Night Life

After dinner, we met up with a couple we met on our boat tour. We decided to get a drink where the mosquitoes hung out. And no, not insect mosquitoes, but the hosts at all the bars will literally swarm you with all their drink deals and all at the same time. At one point, we had 5 different guys from different bars telling us their drink specials. It was hilarious. And if you're interested in a Lady Boy show, there's a cabaret in the same area...I slightly regret not going, because these girls were literally gorgeous!

Tip: if you are in Thailand during the Full Moon, selling of alcohol is prohibited because it's a religious holiday. And we thought it was just a raging beach party...

Day 4 - Dragon Crest Mountain Hike - Khao Ngon Nak

Dragon Crest Mountain - Khao Ngon Nak

It was our last day in Krabi so we decided to end it with a bang! We rented a scooter from our hotel again and he asked where we were heading. I said "Tiger Cave Mountain", he goes "AGAAAAIN?" He thought we were absolutely nuts and then I realized I told him where we were 2 days earlier so I corrected myself and said "Dragon Crest Mountain", he had the same reaction and said "Same, Same, maybe more difficult!" Ohhh boy, what were we getting ourselves into?!

Dragon Crest Mountain is not easily searchable on any Map app. What you want to look up is Amari Vogue Resort, the trailhead is just past it off Highway 6024 in Tubkaek Beach.

Before you start the hike, you need to sign in with the security so they know who's on the hike and they can track anyone that doesn't make it back (scary, I know). There is no fee, but we did leave a tip at the end so they can continue to keep up the trail, I mean it was such an honor to even be able to enjoy that kind of beauty.

The hike is tough, really tough. It begins harder than it ends, but it doesn't quite feel like it. It's mostly uphill, only 2 sets of stairs, I'm not sure if it's even doable if it's rained the night before. But then again, we were keeping pace with local kids with no shoes on...what?!

It took us 4.5 hours to finish from start to finish with lots of breaks for pictures, enjoying the breathtaking views and of course rest breaks. Bring lots of water and a snack, you will need it!

This might be the most rewarding yet torturous hike we've ever experienced and 1,000% worth it!

Tip: bring a swimsuit, all we wanted to do after the hike was to jump in the Andaman Sea. We eventually changed in our swimsuit to enjoy the sunset in the water.

Reflexology Foot Massage

So after our hilariously painful Thai Body Massage, we decided to end the night with a Foot Massage (at a different spot). Ummm, seriously the people of Ao Nang must like pain because this was worse the the Thai Body Massage. I don't know if we chose the wrong option, but my lady literally took a wooden dowel and started rubbing my foot and shin bones on it...! I legit slouched so far in the chair to endure the pain and all I could do was laugh and so then the masseuse laughed too...ha. ha. ha.