Introducing Ao Nang
Ao Nang attracts the two-week jet-set pack to its showy resorts, which outshine the beaches. Sadly, the beach is nothing spectacular and the wide ‘European’–style esplanade that tourism-boosters boast about is really just one large mall with souvenir shops, tailors and restaurants. Still, there are some spiffy midrange and top-end resorts with lovely garden pools, appealing enough to make the location irrelevant.
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Ao Nang serves as the main jumping-off point for Railay, only a 20-minute long-tail ride away. For your money, Railay is a heaps nicer place to stay. Ao Nang is appealing, however, if you want to partake in popular island-hopping tours or sea-kayaking adventures, as most companies are based here. Plus, if having booze with meals is paramount, Ao Nang will do a better job quenching your thirst: many of Railay’s resorts are Muslim owned and don’t serve alcohol in their restaurants (although you can buy beer at the local store and bring it into restaurants that don’t serve).
Orientation & Information
Ao Nang is not a very large place, and most services and hotels are crammed along either the main beach road or on short side streets. Basically, Hwy 4203 heads west into town, then runs north along the beach about 500m and then heads back inland for a bit before curving towards the coast again at Hat Noppharat Thara.
All the information offices on the strip are private tour agencies and most offer international calls and internet access for around 1B per minute. Several banks have ATMs and foreign-exchange windows on the main drag, open from 10am to 8pm daily. For more extensive services, including medical emergencies, you will need to head into Krabi.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
