Ao Nang - a begginer´s guide

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After getting a taste of Bangkok and Ayutthaya, we moved about 1000 km to the south. For the next week, the region of Krabi would be our home and a starting point for our trips and tours. This province is a great place offering so much to do and see, that it is basically impossible to experience everything in such a short time. But as per usual, we tried to take in as much as we could.

Eventually, these are the activities we included in our itinerary:

• 4 Island boat trip
• James Bond Island
• Visiting an elephant sanctuary
• Renting scooters and discovering the surrounding area
• Loooots of good food and long walks on the beach

In this article, however, I won´t be talking about these trips, but instead I´d like to share some practical tips regarding transportation, accommodation and how to book your trips. 

Good morning from Ao Nang!

Arriving to Krabi

We flew from Bangkok on board the low-cost Thai Lion Air company. Included in the price of the ticket is only a 7 kg carry-on, but if you have a bigger backpack/suitcase, you can buy extra weight either with your ticket or at any time later (basically until your check-in). You can choose exactly how much weight you need to have with you, and you pay exactly for that. I was feeling optimistic and only booked 10 kg per passenger, but we ended up packing a bit more than anticipated. An advantage of this airline is that they put both of the backpacks on the scale at the same time and they have a big tolerance when it comes to the weight limit. Our two backpacks ended up being about 22 kg in total, but it wasn´t a problem.

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Also, I have a tip for you when it comes to meeting the weight limits. I have seen it done somewhere at an airport a few years back and it is a lifesaver. Before you hand you bag or suitcase at the check-in counter, you can weigh it on any other check-in counter which is currently closed. The scales still work even when there´s nobody to operate them. So you know exactly how much kg you packed and you can throw away something or put it in your carry-on, in case you packed too much. 

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The airport in Krabi is very small, but can be a bit confusing. Mostly because there is no public transport going from the airport to the city and back. Instead of looking for a bus stop, go to a counter, where you can buy a ticket for a minivan. The price ranges from 100 THB to 150 THB, depending on where you go, and if you tell the driver the name of your hotel, he will drop you off right in front of it. The vans don´t have any schedule but rather leave when they are full (which takes only a few minutes). Just to be sure you don´t end up on the other side of the town, show the driver the exact location of your hotel on google maps or print it in advance.

The van from the airport takes you directly to your hotel, which means you can be at the beach just an hour after you land.

Accommodation

Although you will fly to Krabi, you may not want to choose this town as your vacation home – there are no beaches. But around Krabi there are plenty of small towns and villages offering all the comfort a tourist from the west can wish for. Some of them are typical seaside resorts, some offer more tranquil and authentic experience and some are accessible only by boat. We decided to stay in Ao Nang, the main touristic village in the area. The main road is full of souvenir shops, restaurants and street food and exactly three billion of travel agencies and tour companies offering wide variety of one-day trips. It is a great place to stay if you are not ready to leave your western comfort behind just yet.

Long-tail boats in Ao Nang serve as water taxis, hotel transfers and cruise ships. They are perfect for island hopping, although their impact on the environment is not very positive.

Just like always, we booked the hotel in advance on booking.com. Another great website to use is Agoda.com – it has the same owner, but sometimes offers better deals. Always compare these two before making a reservation. We chose Alisie Boutique Hotel just off the main street, so we were very close to the beach and to all the facilities, but still could enjoy quiet nights. For the first time in my life I have actually stayed in a luxury hotel, because for the first time I could afford it. We had a beautiful room with private bathroom and the staff was treating us like VIP guests. And the infinity pool in this place is to die for! I was so stunned by it that I forgot to take a picture.

The Ao Nang village can look like a big tourist trap, but to be honest, compared to Phi Phi island it is still pretty authentic. And it has the most beautiful views. The sea is full of tiny little islands just off the coast, and the beaches meet with high limestone cliffs covered by mangrove forests and jungles. It was so exotic to me, because I was used to only seeing places like this in TV documentaries and on pages of travel agency brochures. 

Booking your trips

The village is full of people selling a broad variety of one-day trips, both on boat and by bus/van. The offer is so rich, that you may easily get lost in what to choose. If you have only a limited amount of time in Ao Nang, I suggest you google beforehand what things you might be interested in. We had a pretty clear idea where we want to go throughout our stay, so we just chose one of the agencies where we found a good deal. Go see a few of them before you book your trip, because the prices may vary. We booked a tour to James Bond Island and an island-hopping boat trip covering the islands close to Ao Nang. The final price depends on your ability to haggle and will be higher during peak season. On the day of the tour, a bus or a van will pick you up at your hotel and drops you there afterwards. Lunch and water tend to be included in these trips, so all you have to do is make sure your camera is charged and you wear a strong SPF.

Instead of a long-tail boat, you can go on a trip on a speedboat. It will be faster, but more expensive.

Organized group tours are not your thing? Renting a scooter and exploring the area on your own is as easy as buying an ice-cream. I will write about it more in the next article, so stay tuned. In Ao Nang, there is so many rentals that you will stumble across them on every step. Even if the agency doesn´t have any bikes parked by their booth, they can get one for you. The rent is super cheap, the gas is also cheaper than in Europe and the roads outside of towns are manageable even for complete beginners. Just keep in mind they drive on the LEFT side of the road.

 

Fooooooood! And so much more

One of my favourite things about travelling, is that I can taste local cuisine. In Thailand, I was in heaven, because I have never seen and tried so many new things. And everything is so cheap, that you can try three different meals for dinner without a second thought.

 

Thai foodporn.

In Ao Nang, you can choose from wide variety of food and drinks. There´s exotic fruits, good restaurants, delicious street food and if you get tired of experimenting and a little homesick, you can enjoy a western classic like burger or pizza. There are also some nice looking Indian restaurants and I still can´t get over the sea food selection. You can wash it down with cold coconut, smoothie from fresh maracuja, iced-coffee or a colourful cocktail. Beer and wine are kind of expensive, so if you are on the budget, you may want to skip those. But you should try local beer Chang – it is said, that the amount of alcohol can vary from 4% to even  7% and more, so it´s like playing a hangover roulette (or “changover”).

In your spare time, I highly recommend getting a Thai massage. If you never had one, where else try it for the first time than in its birthplace. It´s a perfect relax after long and exhausting day full of exploring and eating. There is enough massage parlours to accommodate the entire western hemisphere, so just pick the one you like and enjoy. The price for a classic massage starts at 250 THB.

And of course, there are the beaches. The one in Ao Nang is not the most beautiful ever – during high tide it is really small, the sand is dark and turns the water into a slightly brown colour. Also there are many long-tail boats polluting the water and creating noise. But if you hop on a boat or drive a little further down the coast, you can get the much wanted paradise you were looking for. Or you can ask at your hotel, if they have a private beach – they can have one even it it´s not on the coast. In that case, they should be able to provide a shuttle bus/shuttle tuk-tuk. 

During low tide, the beach in Ao Nang grows in size. But if you are looking for white sand and dreamy turquoise water, you need to look elsewhere.

The advice you never asked for:

• If you have limited time in this area, do some research about what you want to see. This way, you save time choosing from dozens of tours and trips.
• Be prepared to haggle everywhere, where the prices are not clearly written, and sometimes even in places, where they are.
• Just like in Bangkok, eat everything you get your hands on.
• If you choose a hotel further from the main street, be careful not to choose one right next to a mosque (there is a strong Muslim community living around Krabi) – you DO NOT want to be woken up at 5 A.M. with the morning prayers. Check the hotel reviews for mosque-related complaints.
• If you leave the noisy centre of Ao Nang and walk a bit further down the main road, it will take you to a neighbouring village Noppharat Thara. This one is also very touristic, but much calmer and beach is clearer. There´s also a very nice fancy street food market.

The price of things (autumn 2019)

• Return flight Bangkok-Krabi with 10 kg checked-in bag: around 2500 THB (80 USD / 70 EUR)
• Minibus from airport to hotel: 150 THB (4,8 USD / 4,2 EUR)
• Hotel (double room, private bathroom, infinity pool): 650 THB/person (20 USD / 18 EUR), but you can find much cheaper options as well
• Trips (James Bond + Four Islands): 2800 THB for 2 people (90 USD / 80 EUR), but depends on your haggling skills
• Motorbike rent: 200 THB per day (6,4 USD / 5,7 EUR)
• Basic Thai massage: 250 THB (8 USD / 7 EUR)
• Food: basically free (like you can get dinner, snack and a fresh coconut for 5 USD)

 

Where to next?

Link for the hotel – AliSea Boutique Hotel

Previous Part – Ayutthaya: cotton candy in a crepe and a lot of old temples

Next Part – Ao Nang: Get moving!

 

Two weeks in Thailand – check out our itinerary

 

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