Krabi & the Andaman

Krabi province occupies the Andaman coast south of Phuket, offering a cruising ground that shares the same limestone karst landscape and warm Andaman Sea but with a slightly different character — less developed, less trafficked by charter fleets, and with a coastline that mixes mangrove estuaries with open bays. The charter base at Krabi is smaller than Phuket's. Operators typically run from the Krabi Boat Lagoon or from facilities near Ao Nang, the main resort beach. The Krabi River estuary, lined with mangroves and overlooked by the karst towers that define the province's skyline, provides the departure channel. The Hong Islands, a marine park roughly 15 kilometres offshore, are the first destination. The main island has a lagoon — the 'hong,' meaning 'room' in Thai — accessible through a narrow sea-level passage that opens into a vertical-walled enclosure. The anchorage outside is on marine park mooring balls; anchoring on the reef is prohibited. The snorkelling around the Hong group is good, with hard coral and reef fish in clear water. Koh Lanta, south of Krabi, is a larger island with a developed west coast of beaches and restaurants and a wilder east coast of mangroves and fishing villages. The passage from Krabi to Koh Lanta is about 25 nautical miles and passes several small islands suitable for lunch stops. Koh Rok, further south, is a marine park with some of the best snorkelling in the Andaman Sea — large table corals, reef sharks, and water visibility exceeding 20 metres in the dry season. The Phi Phi Islands are accessible from Krabi as well as from Phuket, though the passage is slightly longer. The route from Krabi to Phi Phi passes through the limestone islands east of Phi Phi Don, arriving at the archipelago from a different angle than the Phuket-based fleet. The north-east monsoon season — November through April — provides the best conditions: light winds, clear skies, and calm seas. The south-west monsoon brings rain and swell from May, and most charter operations reduce or pause during the wet months. Provisioning in Krabi town and Ao Nang is good and inexpensive. Koh Lanta has small shops and a fresh market. The Hong Islands and Koh Rok have no facilities. Water and fuel are available at the Krabi marinas.