5 unmissable things to do in Krabi for families

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If you’re planning on making Krabi your base for a family holiday or dropping in as part of a longer trip, let me share our top things to do in Krabi with kids plus some tips on where to stay.

First, I’ve got to level with you. Our initial impressions of Krabi weren’t good. We arrived at the Old Town port in the middle of a storm that drenched us to the bone. My heart sank further as I peered through the steamy windows of our mini bus on the drive to our hotel in Ao Nang. It was hard to see past the neon lights, heaving bars and inky black, mid-afternoon skies. Had we made a mistake making this the final stop on our island hopping trip from Malaysia to Thailand?

Thankfully, everything looks better in the light of day. Ao Nang and the wider Krabi region grew on us over the five days we had to explore.

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1. Railay Beach

If you only do one thing in Krabi, make it a day trip to Railay Beach. Accessible only by boat, this stunning peninsula feels worlds away from the bustle of Ao Nang – despite being just a fifteen-minute longtail ride around the headland.

We bought our tickets from the Ao Nang Longtail Boat Service Club on the beach and were on the water within minutes. The approach alone is worth the trip – towering limestone peaks draped in jungle plunging straight into the Andaman Sea, with white sand beaches tucked into emerald coves below.

We arrived mid-morning to find West Beach relatively quiet, grabbed brunch at Railay Beach Café and then spent the rest of the day exploring.

The Diamond Cave is a must – a small entrance fee gets you into a cathedral of extraordinary stalactites, stalagmites and a golden, waterfall-like rock formation that doesn’t look real.

From there we walked to Railay East and continued south to Phra Nang Beach, which was beautiful but busy The girls raised an eyebrow at the phallic cave shrines (“stop taking pictures, Mummy – it’s weird”), but quickly decided the snorkelling was far more interesting. We found a massive shoal of fish just off the beach.

A thunderstorm sent us scurrying to Coco Restaurant, where we tucked into excellent Thai food. Our balcony seats gave us front row views of the deluge flooding Walking Street below. We ended up with time on West Beach before sailing back to Ao Nang in time for sunset.

Tips for visiting Railay Beach

• Longtail boats depart from Ao Nang Longtail Boat Service Club on the beach from 8am to 6pm every day
• Our return tickets cost 200THB each
• Be prepared to get your legs wet boarding and disembarking
• Allow a full day to see West Beach, Walking Street, Diamond Cave, Railay East and Phra Nang Beach.

2. Following Giants ethical elephant sanctuary

There’s elephant sanctuaries all over Thailand and many are responding to growing demand for more ethical experiences. However, not every attraction billed as ‘ethical’ really is. When I searched for the options in Krabi, Following Giants came up as the standout choice, and I’m so glad we booked it.

Supported by the charity World Animal Protection, Following Giants is an observation-only sanctuary spanning more than 80 acres. There is no riding, bathing, feeding or touching. Instead, visitors follow the elephants on foot as they roam freely through jungle and plantation. 

We booked the full-day experience, which included a guided jungle safari in the morning, a delicious home-cooked Thai launch and kayaking at the beautiful Thapom Klong Song Nam waterway in the afternoon. 

This was one of the highlights of our whole holiday and definitely one of the more rewarding wildlife experiences we have done as a family.

Find out more about our experience at the sanctuary.

Tips for visiting Following Giants

• Check prices and book on the Following Giants website
• Transfers are included from Ao Nang, Klong Muang Beach, Krabi Town and surrounding areas
• There is also a Following Giants sanctuary on Koh Lanta for those island hopping in the area.

3. The Tiger Cave Temple

We may have slightly miss-sold this one to the girls.

We described it as “a bit like Batu Caves in Malaysia – some steps and monkeys.” What we didn’t mention was the altitude. Wat Tham Suea – known as the Tiger Cave Temple – is a Buddhist site perched on top of a 309 metre mountain, reached by 1,260 steep and uneven steps. 

It took us an hour to climb to the top and thirty minutes to come back down. I won’t pretend there weren’t tears and genuine declarations of “I can’t go on.” 

The turning point came around halfway, when the girls quietly accepted that the only way was up and dug deep. We weren’t alone – plenty of adults were visibly regretting their previous evening’s choices, while the occasional superhuman bounded past two steps at a time and did absolutely nothing for morale.

The reward at the top was sweeping panoramic views across Krabi from jungle to coastline, a magnificent golden Buddha statue, shrines and an indent in the rock said to be the Buddha’s footprint. 

The temple complex at the base is also worth exploring – the actual tiger cave, where the site gets its name, is a short walk from the main staircase. Just be aware that there are more steps, but not many. Beyond the entrance are caves to explore and a walk through an ancient jungle with towering trees.

Tips for visiting the Tiger Cave Temple

• There’s a 50TBH entrance fee 
• Open 6am to 5.30pm
• Dress modestly. Shorts and tank tops are not allowed in the temples
• Arrive early to avoid the heat. Mid-morning onwards gets very hot and humid
• From Ao Nang, allow around 30 minutes by Grab or taxi; fares are typically 500 to 600 THB one way
• Bring plenty of water – there are rest stops on the way up and a tap to fill your bottle at the summit.

4. Island hopping by longtail from Klong Muang

Rather than take a boat trip from Ao Nang we got a Grab to quieter Klong Muang along the coast. We stopped for drinks at Sand Box Café right on the beach and got chatting with a couple of longtail captains waiting nearby. Within minutes we’d arranged a private trip out to Hong Island and Koh Pak Ka – no booking, no middleman, just a handshake and a price agreed on the spot.

Hong Island is one of Krabi’s most photographed spots, famous for the lagoon you can sail directly into through a narrow limestone passage.

The snorkelling on the outside of the island was exceptional. The reef dropped away steeply beyond the shallows, and that’s where the best fish and corals were hiding.

Our second stop, Koh Pak Ka, is a protected site for swiftlets where landing isn’t permitted, but swimming is. There were thousands of fish, which unnerved the girls slightly. Once in the water we spotted clownfish, crabs, sea anemones and clouds of colourful reef fish. It was like swimming inside a fish tank.

Need to know about longtail island trips from Klong Muang

• Head to Klong Muang beach (around 20 minutes north of Ao Nang by Grab) and negotiate directly with longtail captains on the beach
• Our trip to Hong Island and Koh Pak Ka including national park entrance fees and a tip came to 4000TBH for a family of four for 2.5 hours
• Alternatively, organised island-hopping tours depart from Ao Nang and Railay and can be booked through local agents or GetYourGuide
• Bring a good-quality snorkel mask – the marine life here is outstanding
• Late in the dry season (April/May) jellyfish can be present — a rash vest offers some protection

5. Ao Nang Landmark Night Market

If you’re visiting with tweens or teens who enjoy shopping for clothes and trinkets then they’ll love the Night Market. It’s also a great place to pile your plate high with street food, although the prices aren’t particularly cheap.

We got a taxi here on three evenings to soak up the atmosphere, play fairground games and eat. There’s every kind of fast food going, so it’s easy to find dishes for different tastes. If you are craving familiar foods, the Irish Embassy pub serves western favourites like gammon, fish and chips and baguettes. 

There’s free entertainment on the Landmark Stage, fire shows and Muay Thai boxing demonstrations. If you want to see a Muay Thai match these take place in the Ao Nang Landmark Stadium beside the Night Market.

Tips for visiting Ao Nang Landmark Night Market

• The market is open from 4pm to 11pm
• Cards are widely accepted

Where to stay in Krabi with kids

We chose to stay in Ao Nang because we wanted to be close to Railey Beach and opportunities for boat trips out to the islands. It’s a popular tourist town, so the proximity to beaches and snorkelling spots comes with the bustle of a resort that attracts visitors from around the world. It’s a pay off that we weren’t quite ready for after the laid back atmosphere of our previous stop, Koh Lipe.

But if you are looking for a lively atmosphere in a well-connected town, Ao Nang is for you.

Alternative places to stay are Krabi Old Town, where life is more laid back and you’ll find budget accommodation and markets used by locals. Or, Klong Muang, which is known for its quiet sea front and relaxed, family-friendly resorts which would suit those with young children. On reflection, we might have been less shell-shocked when we first arrived in Krabi if we had booked a ‘stop and flop’ hotel here.

Where we stayed in Ao Nang

I decided against staying at a sea front hotel in Ao Nang as family rooms were coming up quite pricey. The reviews were also not great. After quite a bit of searching I found privately owned connecting bungalows at Aonang Phu Petra resort. This is well back from the sea front and the Ao Nang Hill road.

On the plus side, our bungalows were large and comfortable, and the reception staff were lovely. We also got great local information from the owner before we arrived. The location was reasonably quiet compared to the beach front resorts and there was a lovely mountain view from the swimming pool.

On the downside, we couldn’t walk anywhere from the resort and there was no restaurant or bar onsite. Our rooms had fridges but no cooking facilities. We also had to bring our own towels to the pool. In the end, we didn’t use it.

We had a pleasant stay, but if I was returning to Ao Nang I would consider finding a self-catering villa like Seava House Ao-Nang Krabi or a villa with a private pool like those at Ban Sainai Resort. If our kids were younger I know they would have loved Ananta Burin Resort – a hotel closer to the beach with family rooms and pool with slide.

Getting around Krabi

Getting around Ao Nang and Krabi was really easy and affordable for our family of four. From our hotel we used the Grab app to book rides to the sea front and even our transfer to Phuket where we departed from Thailand. I cross-checked the price with booking.com and local travel agencies and there was very little difference.

When we were in Ao Nang, tuk tuks were easy to hail and finding long tails for our boat trips took no time at all. If you are a budget conscious traveller you may be able to haggle down prices, but we never felt ripped off.

Krabi was the final stop of our three week holiday travelling the coast between Malaysia and Thailand. Read more about our 21 day itinerary.

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