When we planned our honeymoon in Thailand, and we chose to fly to the southwest islands of the country, we faced a dilemma – whether to include a trip to the famous Krabi province or skip it.
We heard a lot about Krabi, and it was clear to us from the beginning that this is one of the more special areas in Thailand, but our dilemma was based on all kinds of reasons.
First of all, we debated whether it was worth wasting time on traveling between the islands, because even though it’s a destination with special landscapes and a unique atmosphere, almost every place in Thailand will have breathtaking scenery and it’s possible to enjoy an authentic experience in every area.
Secondly, when we checked hotels in Krabi we discovered that other hotels on the same level of standards as the one we chose, aren’t as worth it in terms of VFM. That is, just like any other place, there are better and worse hotels in Krabi, but the better ones in Krabi are much more expensive compared to those in Phuket, and they are chain-brand hotels {which is considered a disadvantage in my opinion, I’ll explain more about this later…}.
At the end we decided not to skip a visit to Krabi, and it turns out that it was one of the best decisions we made this trip.
Although we didn’t dedicate enough time for this magical destination {only 3 days, as I already wrote about in this post on Phuket}, the visit there definitely one of the highlights of our trip – so I recommend you don’t skip Krabi if you're planning a trip to Thailand.
Before I go into detail about our experience in Krabi, here’s some general information about the region: Krabi, best known for its spectacular beaches, Riley Beach and Pranang beach, is located on the eastern side of the Phang-Nga Bay and you can get there by bus, taxi or of course, a ferry from Phuket. If you choose to arrive directly to Krabi from Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you'll be happy to find out that there is also a direct flight to a small airport located 15 km away from the center of the city Krabi Town.
Apart from the spectacular landscape with tiny islands, large cliffs and boulders that jut out of the beautiful Andaman Sea and are common in the area and the magical beaches, in the Krabi region there are many other natural resources like natural ponds, nature reserves and stalactite caves. Market lovers will especially enjoy the city’s lively weekend market that offers a huge variety of cheap Thai street food and special hand-crafted items.
More posts you should read : >> How To Start A Blog - A Guide For The Beginner Girl Boss >> 10 Things You Have to Know Before Booking a Hotel >> 20 Photos to Inspire You to Visit Phuket & Krabi
Now back to our trip 🙂
We stayed at the Dusit Thani Krabi Beach Resort located on Klong Muang Beach. This hotel is part of a big Thai chain of 28 hotels, mostly located in Asia.
I'm not a fan of hotel chains, because they often lack distinctive character and they have very generic décor, but honestly, the other hotels in the area were much worse in my opinion, so we decided to compromise this time regarding the design of the hotel which received very positive reviews in all the sites we checked.
In fact, this resort pleasantly surprised us. Besides the room {which really looked like a standard room in a chain}, the design of the rest of the resort and its facilities were on a very high level. Although we didn’t get a sea view room {and I’m almost sure that none of the rooms have a sea view}, the entire resort had a tropical Thai style – full of spectacular plants.
The resort has two large swimming pools, a beautiful beach {I think it was the most beautiful one on our trip}, a spa, a fully equipped gym, nine restaurants and bars.
Another surprise came from the culinary direction – even the breakfast at the resort was amazing and diverse, and the poolside cocktails were the best we had on the trip.
If you’re still unsure which hotel to choose in Krabi, I totally recommend you go to this resort. You should also check out the Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort, which is also located on the same beach and looks just as good.
Due to the relatively short time we had there and our love of sunbathing by the pool {which was totally worth it!}, unfortunately we didn’t manage to see all of the natural resources in the region {you can read about them on this site}. Honestly, if we would’ve wanted to run from attraction to attraction we would’ve had enough time, but we don’t like to cram activities just to check them off the list, so we decided to leave some of the attractions for our next trip to Krabi 😉
The attractions we did have time for were worth every minute – the city’s famous Night Market {open Friday until Sunday in the evening hours}, visiting the mesmerizing Reilly Beach and a trip to the famously beautiful Hong Islands.
I must say that although Riley Beach is famous for its beauty, and rightly so, we were very happy that we decided not to stay at a hotel there and go there on our own for one day. The main reason is that it’s a relatively small coastal strip filled with tourists and we prefer hotels in more isolated areas. Besides that, the beautiful hotels in Riley Beach cost accordingly to the hype around this beach – and it’s expensive in terms of Thailand. It’s very easy to get there independently using public sailing boats that leave every 15 minutes from the Oh-Nang beach and I recommend you go eat at the small restaurants in the village right near the beach.
I’ll post a free guide very soon, full of tips and techniques I’ve developed over the years, that will also help you save hundreds of dollars in the best hotels – want it, too? Sign up for the website’s official newsletter and you’ll get an update directly to your e-mail!
If you liked this post, you’re welcome to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest 🙂