Things to do in Krabi Province
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Scubafish
One of the best dive operations on the island is located at Baan Laanta Resort on Ao Kantiang; there's also a small second office at the Narima resort. Unlike some of the large and impersonal operators based in Ban Sala Dan, Scubafish runs personal and personable programs tailored to one's needs, including the Liquid Lense underwater photography program. The three-day dive packages (9975B) are quite popular.
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May & Mark
One of the first places in town to start serving Western food way back when, May & Mark still does it best thanks to recipes collected from helpful faràng (foreigners of European descent) over the years. Specialities range from excellent fresh bread to bangers and mash and cordon bleu meals.
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Adventure Club
Our favourite diving operation on the island runs an excellent assortment of educational, ecofocused diving, hiking and snorkelling tours. You won't mind getting up at 6am for the much-loved shark-watching snorkel trips on which you're guaranteed to cavort with at least one reef shark.
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Time for Lime
On Hat Khlong Dao, this place has a huge, professional kitchen with plenty of room to run amok. It offers cooking courses with a slightly more exciting selection of dishes than most cookery schools in Thailand; five-hour courses cost 1800B with substantial discounts if you take more than one class. Profits from the school help finance Lanta Animal Welfare.
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Krabi Thai Cookery School
About 10km from Ao Nang between Wat Sai Thai and Ao Nam Mao, this school offers one-day Thai-cooking courses from 1000B; transfers are included in the price.
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Drunken Sailors
This hip, ultra-relaxed, octagonal pad is smothered with beanbags. The coffee drinks are top-notch and go well with interesting bites like the chicken green curry sandwich.
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Blue View Divers
Focuses on community involvement and beach clean-ups (its latest effort cleared up 700 tonnes of rubbish) and is the only shop to offer dives from a long-tail.
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Phi Phi Scuba
One of the largest operators on the island, churning out dive certifications by the boatload. There’s a sociable and professional atmosphere, although nervous newbies might feel as though they aren’t getting enough handholding.
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Ao Nang Princess
You can do day tours to Ko Phi-Phi on the Ao Nang Princess. The boat leaves from the Hat Noppharat Thara National Park headquarters at 09:00 and visits Bamboo Island, Phi-Phi Don and Phi-Phi Leh.
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Cosmic
The wood-fired pizza here is so good that the French owner had to open up a second location. The inland restaurant has a slightly nicer ambience, with exposed brick walls and wooden tables.
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Bar Kantiang
Excellent Thai food comes out of this ramshackle kitchen near Ao Kantiang. It’s exceptionally popular with the local expat crowd, who secretly come for the karaoke.
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Skunk Bar
Plays excellent, scratchy roots reggae on a turntable and has one of the liveliest vibes around.
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Beautiful Restaurant
This is the best of the Old Town's seafood houses. Tables are scattered on four piers that extend into the sea. The fish is fresh and exquisitely prepared.
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Rock Climbing
With nearly 500 bolted routes and unparalleled cliff-top vistas, it's no surprise that Railay's dramatic rock faces lay claim to being among the top climbing spots in the world. There are so many climbing options, ranging from beginner routes to challenging advanced climbs, that you could spend months climbing and exploring - and many people do.
The newest buzz is about deep water-soloing where climbers free-climb ledges over deep water - if you fall you will most likely just get wet so even daring beginners can give this a try. Most climbers start off at Muay Thai Wall and One, Two, Three Wall, at the southern end of Hat Rai Leh East, which have at least 40 routes graded…
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Khao Phanom Bencha National Park
The 50-sq-km Khao Phanom Bencha National Park protects a dramatic area of virgin rainforest along the spine of 1350m-high Khao Phanom Bencha, just 20km north of Krabi. The park is full of scenic waterfalls, including the 11-tiered Huay To Falls, just 500m from the park headquarters. Nearby and almost as dramatic are Huay Sadeh Falls and Khlong Haeng Falls. On the way into the park you can visit Tham Pheung, a dramatic cave with shimmering mineral stalactites and stalagmites.
Numerous trails wend through the area, providing excellent opportunities for hiking. The park is home to abundant wildlife - but only the monkeys are commonly seen. Bird-spotters come here to see whit…
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Ko Lanta Marine National Park
Established in 1990, this marine national park protects 15 islands in the Ko Lanta group, including the southern tip of Ko Lanta Yai. The park is increasingly threatened by the runaway development on the western coast of Ko Lanta Yai. The other islands in the group have fared slightly better – Ko Rok Nai is still very beautiful, with a crescent-shaped bay backed by cliffs, fine coral reefs and a sparkling white-sand beach. Camping is permitted on Ko Rok Nok and nearby Ko Haa, with permission from the national-park headquarters. On the eastern side of Ko Lanta Yai, Ko Talabeng has some dramatic limestone caves that you can visit on sea-kayaking tours. The national-park f…
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Ton Sai Tower
There are good limestone cliffs to climb on Ko Phi-Phi, and the views from the top are spectacular. The main climbing areas are Ton Sai Tower, at the western edge of Ao Ton Sai, and Hin Taak, a short long-tail boat ride around the bay.
There are at least six good climbing shops on the island and most places charge around ฿800 to ฿1000 for a half day of climbing or ฿1500 for a full day, including instruction and gear. Spider Monkey is a tiny new climbing shop run by Soley, one of the most impressive climbers on Phi Phi. One of the bigger outfits around is Cat's Climbing Shop in the Tourist Village. Cat's gets good reports for safety and service.
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Night Markets
The most popular and pleasant place for an evening meal is at the night market near the Khong Kha pier. The menus are in English but the food is authentic and excellent. Stalls here sell papaya salad, fried noodles, đôm yam gûng (prawn and lemon grass soup with mushrooms), fresh seafood and all manner of things on satay sticks, plus sweet milky Thai desserts. There's a similar market just north on Th Sukhon that's open day and night and caters to a more local crowd.
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Sala Bua & Lo Spuntino
Located deep within the bustle of ‘Seafood Street’, this excellent ocean-facing restaurant serves the best of both worlds – East and West – accompanied by a long list of wines. A resident Italian chef and a Thai chef whip up traditional masterpieces in the steamy kitchen while diners coddle their chardonnay and watch the sunset. Simple pleasures, like vegetable rice, are cooked to perfection, as are the big ticket items: seafood ‘baskets’ (for two) and Florentine sirloins.
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Ciao Bella
Italian-run Ciao Bella is a long-time expat and traveller fave serving excellent pizzas and seafood in a romantic location by the sea. Try the chef’s mystery pastas if you’re looking for a little adventure. At night, twinkling candles and stars provide the atmosphere for alfresco dining, while lapping waves provide the soundtrack. Ciao Bella is on the sand in Ao Lo Dalam and has a couple of charming bungalows in the back if you’re looking for accommodation.
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Sea Canoe Thailand
One of a number of companies offering sea-kayaking tours to mangroves and islands around Ao Nang. Popular destinations include the lofty sea cliffs and wildlife-filled mangroves at Ao Thalane (half/full day 1000/1500B), and to the sea caves and 2000- to 3000-year-old paintings at Ban Bho Tho (1500B) – the caves are also filled with layers of archaeological shell formations. All rates include lunch, fruit, drinking water, sea kayaks and guides.
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Ao Nang Group
One of a number of companies offering sea-kayaking tours to mangroves and islands around Ao Nang. Popular destinations include the lofty sea cliffs and wildlife-filled mangroves at Ao Thalane (half/full day 1000/1500B), and to the sea caves and 2000- to 3000-year-old paintings at Ban Bho Tho (1500B) – the caves are also filled with layers of archaeological shell formations. All rates include lunch, fruit, drinking water, sea kayaks and guides.
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Tham Phra Nang
Tham Phra Nang is an important shrine for local fishermen. Legend has it that a royal barge carrying an Indian princess foundered in a storm here during the 3rd century BC. The spirit of the drowned princess came to inhabit the cave, granting favours to all who came to pay respect. Local fishermen - Muslim and Buddhist - place carved wooden phalluses in the cave as offerings in the hope that the spirit will provide plenty of fish.
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Island Divers
Island Divers is one of the two biggest operators. It churns out dive certifications by the boatload, and some folks complain about the less-than-personalised service. On the plus side, it pushes eco-friendly scuba - the company encourages wreck dives and doesn't allow clients to touch the coral. It has access to a hyperbaric chamber.
You can also dive out at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, 60km off Ko Phi-Phi.
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