Krabi, Thailand: the limestone coast, Railay and the longtail boats

Overview

Krabi is three different things with one name — a province, a working river town and a stretch of beach — and knowing which one you have booked is the single most useful piece of planning you can do.

History

The limestone that defines this coast began as reef, was lifted above the sea and then dissolved along its joints into towers, caves and overhangs. Rock shelters in the province have yielded some of the oldest evidence of human occupation in Thailand, and the modern town grew as a river port shipping tin and rubber long before it saw a traveller. Climbing arrived on Railay only in the late twentieth century, and the beach economy followed it.

Culture

Southern Thai cooking is hotter and more sour than the central version — expect gaeng som, fiery southern curries, fresh turmeric and plenty of seafood, with roti and Muslim-influenced dishes reflecting the region's large Muslim population. The night market by the river is where to find it. Festivals: Loi Krathong on the river, Songkran, the April new year.

Practical Info

Safety: Sea conditions govern everything from May to October, when small boats may not run at all and beaches reachable only by water can be cut off; check before committing to a stay you cannot leave. The Tiger Cave staircase is genuinely strenuous in heat and humidity. Scooter accidents are the most common injury among visitors, and rental insurance rarely covers riders without the correct licence. Language: Thai, with a distinct southern dialect; Malay is also spoken in Muslim communities. English is widely used in Ao Nang and on Railay and much less so in Krabi Town. Currency: Thai baht. Cards work in resorts and larger restaurants; longtail boats, markets and small guesthouses are cash, and ATMs are scarce on Railay.

Travel

The first thing to sort out about Krabi is what the word refers to, because it is used for three things and travellers routinely book one expecting another. Krabi province is the whole limestone coast on the Andaman side of southern Thailand. Krabi Town is a modest river port at the province's centre with a night market and almost no beach — a place people pass through rather than stay in. And what most brochures mean by Krabi is Ao Nang, the beach strip half an hour west, together with the Railay peninsula beyond it. Get that straight and everything else falls into place. What unites all three is the geology: this coast is built from limestone laid down as reef, uplifted, and then dissolved by water into the towers, overhangs and caves that stand out of the sea and rise straight from the rice fields inland. The rock is the reason Railay can only be reached by boat, the reason the climbing here is world class, the reason the islands offshore look the way they do, and the reason a longtail boat is the standard form of local transport rather than a novelty. Beyond the coast, the interior is jungle with hot springs, a pool that runs turquoise from dissolved minerals, and a hilltop temple reached by a punishing staircase. Krabi works well as a slower, more boat-shaped alternative to Phuket, an hour and a half up the coast — less built up, less nightlife, and more likely to leave you on a beach with no road behind it.

Frequently asked questions