Krabi is not one place — it is a mainland coast, a roadless peninsula, a local provincial town and a laid-back island, all sharing one airport. That is exactly why where you stay matters more here than almost anywhere else in Thailand. Sleep in Ao Nang and every boat tour picks you up at your door. Sleep on Railay and the cliffs are your garden, but every trip out starts with a boat ride. Sleep out on Tubkaek Beach and you may not hear a bar all week. This guide walks each base in turn, with a hotel pick for every style and budget.
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The basics first. Krabi International Airport (KBV) sits about 15 kilometres from Krabi Town and 25–30 kilometres from Ao Nang — roughly 40–50 minutes by the airport shuttle (around 150 baht to Ao Nang, 100 baht to Krabi Town) or taxi. The dry season, November to April, brings calm seas and running boats; the May to October monsoon can cancel island trips. My Krabi in 3 days itinerary pairs with the bases below — pick the base first, then the days fall into place.
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Ao Nang: The Practical Base — Everything on Foot, Every Boat at Your Door
Ao Nang is Krabi’s main beach town and the default choice for first-timers, for good reason. The beach road runs the length of the bay, lined with restaurants, travel shops, massage places and the longtail boats to Railay bobbing at the southern end. Every island tour — Four Islands, Hong Islands, Phi Phi — collects from Ao Nang hotels, usually free, and the airport shuttle ends here. The beach itself is pleasant rather than spectacular (the swimming is better at neighbouring Nopparat Thara), but as a base it is unbeatable. Stay at the quieter northern end near Nopparat Thara if you want the convenience without the buzz.
At that quieter end, Centara Ao Nang Beach Resort & Spa Krabi is the classic family pick: 179 rooms, two pools, a spa and direct beach access, with the beach-road restaurants a short stroll away. For couples who prefer a view to a beach towel, Avani Ao Nang Cliff Krabi Resort climbs the hillside above town — 178 rooms, an infinity-style pool deck facing the Andaman, and the beach about five minutes downhill. The value pick of the three is Deevana Plaza Krabi, a 213-room four-star between Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara beaches, with balconies on every room and three pools at a price the beachfront resorts cannot match.
Railay: The Romantic Peninsula — No Roads, No Cars, Cliffs on Three Sides
Railay is a peninsula cut off from the mainland by limestone cliffs, reachable only by boat — longtails run from Ao Nang in 10–15 minutes for about 100 baht each way. Inside, it is all walking paths: Railay West for the sunset beach, Railay East for the mangroves and the floating pier, and Phra Nang Cave Beach, a short walk south, for the best sand and the famous Princess Cave shrine. It is the Krabi of the postcards, and for honeymooners and climbers (the cliffs hold world-class sport routes) nothing else comes close. The costs are real, though: higher prices, luggage that travels by boat, and every day trip starting with that same crossing.
The peninsula’s defining stay is Rayavadee, 102 pavilions and villas scattered through coconut groves between Railay West and Phra Nang, with three beaches in walking distance and monkeys in the trees — a genuine splurge, and the one Krabi hotel people remember by name years later. The saner-priced way to wake up on Railay West is Railay Bay Resort and Spa, a 141-room resort that stretches across the peninsula from West to East beach, with two pools and a beachfront restaurant — you get the location and the sunsets without the Rayavadee bill.
Tubkaek and Klong Muang: The Quiet Coast — Luxury Resorts and Hong Island Sunsets
Northwest of Ao Nang, the beaches of Klong Muang and Tubkaek face a scatter of offshore islands — and almost nothing else. There is no town, no bar street and no nightlife; there is a long, tree-shaded shore, a handful of mostly upscale resorts, and the Khao Ngon Nak (Dragon Crest) trailhead for a morning viewpoint hike. Hong Islands boats leave from nearby, and tours still collect here (sometimes for a small extra fee). Choose this coast when the resort is the destination, and budget for taxis or tour transfers when it is not — Ao Nang is 20–30 minutes away.
The newest landmark is Banyan Tree Krabi, 72 suites and villas — every one with its own plunge pool — cascading down a hillside above Tubkaek Beach, opened in 2020 and already the coast’s flagship spa stay. Next door in spirit, The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort is the intimate alternative: just 59 rooms in a garden setting at the quiet end of the beach, adults-leaning and consistently loved for its staff. Completing the trio, Amari Vogue Krabi brings a northern-Thai Lanna design — teak houses, frangipani and tiered pools — to its own private stretch of Tubkaek sand, with 64 rooms and a well-regarded beachfront restaurant.
Krabi Town: The Local Base — Night Markets, Low Prices, Real Thailand
Krabi Town is the provincial capital, a working river town 20 minutes inland from the beaches — and the cheapest, most local place to sleep in the region. What you give up in sand you gain in food: the nightly Maharaj market and the weekend Walking Street are where Krabi actually eats, prices are local, and the Tiger Cave Temple is a short songthaew ride away. The airport is closest of all the bases here, which makes Krabi Town the smart pick for a first or last night, a tight budget, or travellers who measure a place by its markets rather than its beach.
The town’s best-loved stay is the tiny Family Tree Hotel — just eight rooms above a much-praised café on Maharaj Road, a short walk from the night market and the Chao Fah pier, with a free stocked minibar and the kind of personal welcome big resorts cannot copy. It is listed on Expedia, but its property page could not be deep-linked when this guide was written, so search for it by name — and book early, because eight rooms fill fast.
Ko Lanta: The Slow Island — Long Beaches and an Even Slower Pace
Ko Lanta belongs to Krabi province but feels like a different trip: a big, gentle island two hours from the airport by road and car ferry, with a west coast of long sunset beaches — Klong Dao near the Saladan pier, Long Beach (Phra Ae) for the social scene, and quiet Kantiang Bay in the far south. Come here to slow down for a week rather than to tour: most visitors rent a scooter and settle into one beach. If Krabi’s cliffs are the headline, Lanta is the epilogue.
The island’s signature resort sits on Kantiang Bay: Pimalai Resort and Spa, 121 rooms and villas spread through 100 acres of hillside forest above the sand, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, with complimentary round-trip transfers from Krabi Airport included in its rates.
Three Days Out Worth Booking From Any Base
Whichever base you choose, tours collect from all of them — Ao Nang free, Railay via its piers, Tubkaek and Krabi Town sometimes for a small surcharge. The one big day out Ao Nang does better than anywhere is Phi Phi: this small-group Phi Phi Islands speedboat tour caps the boat at 12 guests and covers Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Monkey Beach and Bamboo Island with lunch and park fees handled. For the classic close-in circuit, the Four Islands day trip by speedboat runs Poda, Chicken Island, the Tup Island sandbar and Phra Nang Cave Beach in about five and a half hours, lunch box included. And for a day off the water entirely, the Ao Thalane mangrove kayaking trip paddles limestone canyons and hidden lagoons a half-hour north of Ao Nang — the quietest half-day in Krabi.
Which Krabi Base Should You Choose?
First trip, short stay, lots of tours: Ao Nang. Honeymoon, climbing or a once-in-a-decade splurge: Railay. Resort-first relaxation with sunsets over the Hong Islands: Tubkaek or Klong Muang. Budget, food and local life — or a night either side of a flight: Krabi Town. A slow week that is mostly beach: Ko Lanta. Many travellers split the difference — a few nights in Ao Nang for the tours, then Railay or Lanta to finish — and Krabi’s small distances make that easy. If you are pairing the province with its big-island neighbour, my guide to where to stay in Phuket covers that side of the Andaman, and the full regional picture is in our Southeast Asia guides roundup.