Itinerary Order Islands

On arriving in Bangkok transit straight away to Krabi and leave exploring Bangkok to the end of your trip. Makes your sightseeing far less exhausting as no jetlag, you don't have to carry your shopping around for your entire trip, puts you in situ for your longhaul back home without any last minute rushing. You'll thank me for it.

There is no right or wrong way to visit the islands, pace is entirely up to you. You can keep it flexible and "wait and see" once there. You may like one island so much that you don't move at all or maybe just 1 day will be enough. Transport is normally easy although late October is the end of rainy season and the ferries may not be running yet.

Personally, I would just choose one island to stay on and day-trip to the others. You could day-trip to any of these islands/beach from each other.

Otherwise, I would skip one destination and split the time saved between the other two. My preference there would be to go straight to Koh Lanta after arriving at Krabi Airport from Bangkok. Then go back up to Railay/Krabi and just day-trip to Koh Phi Phi (one of my least favorites island).

One caveat: it is a 1.5 to 2 hour drive/ferry or taxi/speed-boat from Krabi Airport to Lanta and the same back. If distance is an issue, you could skip a stay on Koh Lanta and split your time between Railay Beach and Koh Phi Phi, with a day trip to Lanta and/or any Island in between (Koh Jum, Koh Sriboya). But, that means staying on Koh Phi Phi and I really don't care much for the vibe there. I like Koh Lanta much better if you stay at the quieter southern beaches. There is still good, low-key nightlife especially at Klong Nin and Kantiang Bay.

Hey,
I totally agree with above.
Fly in and leave Bangkok as soon as possible maybe one night just to get accustomed, and spend the time there at the end before leaving. Do you know how you plan to get to the south? Bus is a good option.
I found Lanta to be a really chilled party atmosphere and far preferred it to Phi Phi. I stayed in Phi Phi for two nights but could quite happily have skipped It all together but it totally depends on personal preference. You can purchase open ended tickets for ferries meaning you have a little more flexibility if you arrived somewhere and didn't like it.
Hope this helps a little.

Thank you for the advice!
we are now thinking of going straight down to krabi (as out flight arrives early in the morning into bangkok) and then going to Lanta and possibly only doing Phi Phi as a day trip or possibly staying one night, not sure!

How easy is it to figure out transfers from Krabi airport to get to Railay
and then from Railay to Lanta?

should I book in advance or easy enough when there?

thank you!

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