The Perfect 4 Days Krabi Itinerary

Krabi is such a paradise on earth. I never fully believed that the sea is that turquoise clear nor that the sand is that white. Until I’ve seen it with my two very eyes. If you’re looking for a place in Thailand that has a laid-back vibe, gets lively at night, but is not a party-zone, a place that has gorgeous tropical beaches, great food and plenty of (water) activities to do, Krabi is that place for you! In this travel itinerary I’m sharing with you how to spend 4 perfect days in Krabi.

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How to Get to Krabi

It’s relatively easy to get to Krabi Airport internationally. While there are no direct flight routes like with Phuket, you can get there with the 1 stopover only. If you’re travelling from within Thailand or some other Asian hubs (like Singapore or Dubai) you can find direct and cheap flights easily.

It’s exactly how I’ve done it during my 2-week in Thailand journey. I landed at Bangkok first, spent a few days there, flew to the north to visit Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, and then I flew from Chiang Mai to Krabi directly to finally fly back to Bangkok again from Krabi for my return flight to London. It’s really easy and cheap to travel within Thailand via air.

📖 You can check my route and what I did in Thailand in my Thailand 2-Week Itinerary: A Perfect Guide for Your First Time in Thailand blog post.

Once you’re out of the airport, you can either order a Grab (Southeast Asian Uber) to get you to your hotel or you can book a private transfer ahead and have someone wait for you.

How to Get around Krabi

It really largely depends on where you’re staying. The best area is definitely Ao Nang which is bustling with energy, street food markets, great bars and restaurants. It’s where most of the tourists stay, so once you get to your hotel, you can just walk around the area.

If you’re visiting other parts of Krabi (like Krabi Town, Tiger Cave Temple), just take a tuk-tuk, order a Grab or rent a scooter.

To reach the Railay Beach from Ao Nang, you need to take a taxi boat, there’s no other way to get there.

📖 Check my How to Get to Railay Beach from Ao Nang by Long-Tail Boat blog post for more detailed guide.

For island hopping around Krabi, the best is to join a guided tour via GetYourGuide or Viator (depending on your personal preferences).

Where to Stay in Krabi

As I mentioned briefly above, Ao Nang is the best place to stay in Krabi. Don’t let the word touristy area put you off from staying there. There are many great resorts there (on the cliffs or close to the Ao Nang beach), it is lively (but it’s not a party-live) and super convenient to explore the islands and Railay Beach from there.

Krabi Town is more of a local and residential area, with a limited number of great hotel options.

Railay Beach is super romantic and the most beautiful beach in Krabi. I do recommend to stay there, but bear in mind that it will be a tiny bit more complicated to move around because you’d need to use long-tail boats to get to Ao Nang, so you can do some day tours (some tour operators may come to pick you up at Railay Beach though, make sure to read the pick-up instructions before making a booking).

📖 Interested in more eco-friendly resort options in Krabi? Check out my 10 Best Eco-Friendly Resorts in Krabi for a Sustainable Stay You’ll Love blog post.

When to Visit Krabi

Thailand has 2 distinct seasons: dry & rainy season.

The best time to visit is from February to April. Officially Thailand winter is over, but the monsoon season hasn’t started yet, which means plenty of sun, hot temperatures up to 37 C or 98 F (with March being the hottest month according to many locals) and no rain. Many of the locals suggested April to us because of the Songkran Festival when Thais celebrate their New Year splashing each other with water, similar to Holi in India.

I was there in early March and it was awesome! 🫶

📖 Apart from Songkran Festival, if you’re interested into some other unique things to do in Thailand, check out my 43 Unique Things to do in Thailand for Any Kind of Traveller blog post.

How Many Days in Krabi is Ideal

To enjoy Krabi and do some island hopping, I recommend at least 4 days; 5 is probably ideal! I was there for 4 days and it was just enough to enjoy Ao Nang, explore different islands and spend a day at Railay Beach.

With 5 days, I would have probably visited Emerald Pool, Hot Springs and the Tiger Cave Temple, but hey, that’s for another time. 🥰

Day 1 in Krabi

Now, let’s go into the itinerary and see what to do in Krabi for 4 days!

Our first day in Krabi was an easy one because we got there from Chiang Mai via plane. We had a pretty active day before, so I just wanted to relax and get familiar with the Ao Nang area.

Hotel Check-in & Pool Time

I honestly cannot recommend Pakasai Resort more to you guys! 🫶

It’s a beautiful eco-resort that promotes sustainability and green-tourism – a lovely concept! At first I thought it would be just a really nice resort with lots of trees and plants, with eco-friendly rooms and grounds.

However, it was all of that + way more! On our balcony we had an open bird cage with little birds inside whose mama was coming often to feed them. But the main surprise was when we saw an endemic monkey climbing from one tree to another. They are called dusky leaf monkeys and their babies are all YELLOW! I’ve never seen such monkeys! 💛

Monkeys are climbing the trees next to the outdoor pool, so it’s a great way of observing nature while relaxing and refreshing.

Ao Nang Beach

Ao Nang Beach is the main beach of Krabi, but don’t be surprised when you realise this is NOT the paradise beach you’ve seen online.

Me and my husband always choose swimming in the sea over the pool, but we got pretty disappointed with Ao Nang. Firstly, there is no shade at all! Second, the water is not clear and it gets really, really warm in the afternoon, so much that you can’t refresh at all.

But, it’s a nice place to watch the sunset, either directly from the beach or from the nearby bars and restaurants, so definitely check it out!

Night Market in Ao Nang

Night markets in Thailand are my favourite thing, and this one in Krabi is definitely an interesting one!

Buy the souvenirs (there I finally found beautiful fridge magnets which were worth buying!), get some street food or just stroll around to soak up the vibe.

Recommended Restaurants

Here are the 2 restaurants I went to on my first day in Krabi and both were really good, especially the Indian one!

P. S. There are many Indian immigrants in Krabi, so don’t get surprised when you see Indian food all over Krabi. I loved it a lot as it reminded me of my 2-week journey in India the year before.

Day 2 in Krabi

Your second day in Krabi is all about island hopping because it is time to see the famous Maya Bay and Phi Phi Island. 🤩

The best is to go on a guided tour with a speedboat or long-tail boat.

🫶 We booked this tour and were very happy with it!

The things I will mention here is what we’ve done on our tour, so it might be a bit different for you if you choose a different one, though they all cover the hot spots (mainly Maya Bay, Viking Cave, Phi Phi, Monkey Bay, Bamboo Island).

Maya Bay

Maya Bay largely gained its popularity after the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Because of that Maya Bay was attracting 5000 visitors daily who were coming on speedboats. It all led to the destruction of coral reef. Only 8% of it survived when the authorities decided to close it to renew the reef. It was closed in 2018 and reopened again in 2022, with a big change.

The maximum number of tourists allowed on the bay at a time is limited to 300 people, while visits are capped at 1 hour, allowing for 7 to 8 daily rounds of visitors from 10 am to 4 pm. The shores of Maya Bay will be off-limits for boats, which are only allowed to dock at the new piers. You also need to pay 400 baht to enter the bay.

💡Important: There were some tourists ignoring the rules and were going further away, even dipping their full body into the sea, while it’s clearly said you can only go as far and dip your ankle only.

It’s really a shame what we’ve done to nature here because Maya Bay is the paradise on earth and I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to swim and spend a day here. 

Pileh Lagoon

Pileh Lagoon is situated on the idyllic island of Koh Phi Phi Leh. It is a popular swimming and snorkelling location.

We spent around 45 min there and had a really great time! The water was truly enjoyable.

Pileh Lagoon is only accessible via boat, so you really need to be on a guided or private tour to reach it.

Viking Cave & Monkey Beach

After snorkelling and swimming, we passed by the Viking Cave which looked incredible, especially the colour of the water.

Sadly, the Viking Cave is privately owned, so we could only enjoy it from the boat.

The second quick stop was the Monkey Beach, which is, you guessed it, inhabited by monkeys. But beware of them as they like to steal and bite! Even though it’s a white sandy beach with turquoise water, you can’t swim nor relax there because of the monkeys as it’s not safe. 😅

Some people, even kids, were giving them bananas and bottles of water, but I would refrain from it as they kinda look mean + you can’t really trust the wild animal!

Ko Phi Phi Don

After that we had lunch at Ko Phi Phi Don which was included within the price of the tour. It was a buffet style lunch and the food was really good.

After lunch we had around 30 min to enjoy the beach. The sea was beautiful, but the beach mainly serves as a port and a lunch-stop, so it was crowded and the scenery was meh. But it was nice to refresh, lay down and enjoy a coconut. The sand was really soft though.

Next time I would like to stay at least a day at Phi Phi, so that’s an option for you too!

Bamboo Island

The best beach during this boat day trip was at Bamboo Island.

It’s a gorgeous white sandy beach with crystal clear sea and lots of natural shade – just perfect!

We had 1h free time there, but I wish we could’ve stayed longer. I can’t remember how many times during that one hour I went to swim because the water is just so inviting. 😍

Evening at Ao Nang (+Recommended Restaurant)

We were picked up at 9 am and got back to our resort at 5 pm, so it’s a day full of water activities – and it was awesome!

After we got back, we had coffee in our resort, took a shower and went for dinner.

I recommend Umberto’s Cuisine – an Italian restaurant with such delicious food.

Day 3 in Krabi

Day 3 in Krabi in this itinerary is another island hopping day! There are many gorgeous islands around Krabi, so you can really see a lot of them in a matter of days while keeping your base at mainland Krabi.

For the 4 days that you have in Krabi, I recommend that on this day you choose between Hong Island and Four Islands.

🫶 We chose Hong Island and booked this tour which was great too!

Again, the places I will mention below will follow the tour we booked, but the itinerary is quite similar for many other tours too!

Hong Lagoon

We first visited Hong Lagoon due to its low tide from noon because you can only access it via boat.

Sadly, we only checked it from the boat, though I would have loved it if we had some time to swim there!

Hong Island

What I really loved about this tour is that we had a lot of time to just chill and relax at the beach.

We had 2 full hours to spend at Hong Island, which was amazing! The beach is simply perfect, with white sand and turquoise water + a lot of natural shade.

💡Hong Island is an uninhabited National Park, you will need to pay an additional 300 baht entrance fee.

If you want, you can be more active on the island. There’s a limestone mountain on the island and a hiking trail you can do. You’d have to climb 419 iron stairs, but the panoramic views are amazing from there.

I opted for just chilling and swimming because the day before was very active + it was so hot for hiking!

Ko Pak Bia

If you ask me, this was my least favourite island on both tours, and mainly because the beach is sandy/pebble-y. As soon as you enter the sea, it has big slippery rocks and it is shallow for metres. We skipped swimming here and just enjoyed our lunch in the shade.

The lunch was included within the price of the tour, but unlike the previous day, this one was bought at Hong Island at some of the vendors. We didn’t really understand when it was lunch time, so we missed it, but our guide packed it for us, so it was all good in the end. Plus, eating at the beach on a semi-remote island is such a nice experience anyway!

Ko Lao Lading

Ko Lao Lading is another popular island in the Krabi region.

It is very beautiful, like a smaller version of Hong Island, but the jellyfish were a nightmare there! 😱

I went to swim once and I’m pretty sure I stepped on one. 😵‍💫 So, I pretty much spent the rest of the time chilling. We had 45 minutes there and then it was time to go back to our resort.

Sunset & Dinner Time (+Recommended Bar & Restaurant)

The first 2 days in Krabi we missed to watch the sunset at the beach, so we made sure we do it now.

We found a nice beach bar with a live band. And then all of a sudden this happened. 🥹💜

The bar was Nang An Beach Bar:

Recommended restaurant for authentic Thai cuisine:

Day 4 in Krabi

On your last day on this 4 day Krabi itinerary, make sure to visit Krabi’s most famous and beautiful beach – Railay Beach.

Railay Beach

You can only access it via a long-tail boat, there’s a pier at Ao Nang where you buy the tickets (100 baht round trip pp). The boats go every 15 min and the whole journey takes 20 min one way.

📖 Check my How to Get to Railay Beach from Ao Nang by Long-Tail Boat blog post for more detailed guide.

Railay Beach is divided into 3 parts: the west part that is surrounded by limestone cliffs, the east part is popular for rock climbing and the third part is Phra Nang Cave Beach. Initially I wanted to go to Phra Nang Beach, but in the end we stayed on the Railay west side because it was most convenient. And we loved it. 😍

The only minus of Railay Beach is that the water gets super hot in the afternoon (after 3 pm), the tide is low and it is no longer as clear as before.

The big plus is that there’s a lot of natural shade, so just bring your beach towel, something to drink, snack and read and enjoy your day. Swimming in the sea is amazing until the late afternoon (as I mentioned above).

I recommend this restaurant for lunch despite the negative reviews! I’m not even sure what’s the reason because I liked the food and the ambience was perfect:

Evening & Dinner at Ao Nang

The last boat from Railay Beach to Ao Nang usually departs at 6:15 pm, so make sure you leave on time.

We pretty much did the same things as the evening before: went to the same bar for drinks and sunset (sadly the sunset wasn’t amazing as the day before) and to the same restaurant for dinner.

And this pretty much concludes your 4 days in Krabi and all the best things you can do there. 🤩

📖 Thinking between Railay Beach vs Ao Nang? Then check my Railay Beach vs Ao Nang: Which One Is Better for You? blog post.

Is Krabi Worth Visiting

I think I mentioned this a lot of times throughout this blog post, but Krabi is a paradise on earth, especially the islands surrounding it!

It is cheap to visit, with lots of great things to do and delicious food to eat. You can stay in really cool and unique resorts, experience the world’s most beautiful sunsets and encounter interesting wildlife.

So, yes, Krabi is very much worth visiting. ❤️

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