Krabi Travel Guide - Getting There

By air: Phuket International Airport is within an hour’s drive of Krabi and taxis or shuttles can be arranged directly from the airport. For a single person or the budget conscious, this might be a little expensive, and the alternative is to take a taxi to the nearby bus stop, from where hourly buses to Krabi stop (avoid an unnecessary trip to Phuket Town bus terminal in the south of the island).

The airport receives more than 15 flights a day from Bangkok on four different airlines, including the new budget carriers, with a flight time of 1 hour. Flights also arrive from Samui, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong as well as charter flights from London and some European cities. The airport can get busy, but is well equipped.

By bus: bus departures from the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok leave on an hourly basis between 06:30 and 20:00, taking up to 12 hours. The overnight buses are most popular and the VIP buses are comfortable yet overly air-conditioned. These arrive in Krabi Town at the non-descript bus station, just west of the centre.

Taxis from here to Ao Nang are easily found. Buses also arrived very frequently from Phuket, where they depart from the central bus station in Phuket town, as well as from Surat Thani (for Samui) and other locations in the south.

Departures from Ao Nang leave at 09:00, returning at 15:00. In the season additional services are offered, but times often change. Ferries also get over crowded. Ferries to Ko Lanta leave from Krabi Town at 10:30 and 13:30, taking 2 hours. There is one ferry a day from Phuket, leaving the Koh Siray terminal at 09:00 for Ao Nang and returning to Phuket at 15:00, with a 2-hour journey time.

By road: hiring a car from Phuket (including the airport) and driving to Krabi is very feasible and straight-forward, with pleasant scenery along the way. Once over the causeway, you soon make a well sign posted right turn at a fork, towards Pha Nga Town, where you join the A4 south towards Krabi Town. Turn off 10kms before the town towards Ao Nang for a short cut.

By rail: rail is used by budget travellers and the overnight sleeper from Bangkok, or services from the Malaysian border, are comfortable on sleeper coaches. The closest you can get to Krabi is the Phun Phin Station near Surat Thani, from where there are usually connecting buses.