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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Ao Nang
อ่าวนาง
Base here 3 nights for island-hopping and Railay access, not for the beach itself: Ao Nang Beach is a boat dock, and the sand 2 km west at Nopparat Thara is cleaner.
Ao Nang is Krabi's main resort strip and the practical base for the province: longtail boats leave from the beach to Railay, Ton Sai and the islands, and Krabi airport is 40 minutes away. The beach in front of the strip is busy with boats and not the reason to come. Stay 3 nights, use it as a launch pad, and walk or take a songthaew to the quieter beaches.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- อ่าวนาง
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Avoid
- May–Oct (monsoon; ferries cut to once daily, some places close)
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿1,200–2,000 excl. bed · Mid ฿2,500–4,500 excl. bed · High ฿6,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Tourist police 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | ฿60–120 |
| Thai noodle or rice dish at a local shop | ฿60–120 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a 7-Eleven | ฿90–150 / ฿40–60 |
| Songthaew ride along the strip | from ฿20 |
| Tuk-tuk inside Ao Nang | about ฿100 per vehicle |
| Motorbike rental, 24 h | ฿150–200 |
| Island-hopping day tour | ฿1,000–1,500 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- KBV · Krabi International
- About 40 min by car; shared airport bus to Ao Nang around 150 baht, or limo transfer 600+ baht
Typical fares
- Longtail Ao Nang → Railay
- ฿80 by day, ฿100 after 18:00, about 10 min฿80 by day, ฿100 after 6:00 PM, about 10 min
- Songthaew Ao Nang → Krabi Town
- ฿60, about 30 min
- Airport bus KBV → Ao Nang
- about ฿150, about 1 h
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Songthaews run along the strip and to Krabi Town from about 20 baht; tuk-tuks inside Ao Nang ask around 100 baht per vehicle. Motorbike rental is 150–200 baht for 24 h. Longtail boats leave from both ends of Ao Nang Beach: flat 80 baht per person by day, 100 baht after 18:00 to Railay and Ton Sai.Songthaews run along the strip and to Krabi Town from about 20 baht; tuk-tuks inside Ao Nang ask around 100 baht per vehicle. Motorbike rental is 150–200 baht for 24 h. Longtail boats leave from both ends of Ao Nang Beach: flat 80 baht per person by day, 100 baht after 6:00 PM to Railay and Ton Sai.
See and do
Known for
- Longtail boat access to Railay and Poda Island
- Island-hopping and diving day trips
- Nopparat Thara Beach
- Rock climbing transfers to Railay
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Railay | Longtail from Ao Nang Beach, about 10 min | About 20 min |
| Ton Sai | Longtail from Ao Nang Beach, about 10 min | About 20 min |
| Had Yao (Long Beach) | Longtail from Ao Nang Beach, about 25 min | About 40 min |
| Krabi Town | White songthaew from the beach road, 60 baht | About 30 min |
| Ao Luek | Songthaew or bus to Krabi Town, then onward | 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- Ao Nang Road strip
- Walk to the beach, boats and every restaurant; noisiest and priciest in high season.
- Nopparat Thara end
- Quieter, 2 km (1.2 mi) west past the headland; better sand, more Thai-priced food near the pier.Quieter, 1.2 mi (2 km) west past the headland; better sand, more Thai-priced food near the pier.
- Ao Nammao
- 5 km (3.1 mi) east; cheaper rooms and the recommended longtail launch point to Railay in monsoon.3.1 mi (5 km) east; cheaper rooms and the recommended longtail launch point to Railay in monsoon.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Too expensive | แพงไปphaeng pai |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ไหนhong nam yu nai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Do not swim near Khlong Haeng creek at the headland: it carries sewage to the sea.
- Longtail boats have no pier — expect to wade and get wet; bag your electronics.
- In monsoon (May–Oct) go to Railay from Ao Nammao instead of Ao Nang, and expect one ferry a day.
- Ask about jellyfish season before swimming at Nopparat Thara if nobody else is in the water.
- Fossil Shell Beach charges foreigners around 200 baht for compressed shell beds that look like concrete — most travellers skip it.
Ao Nang is a busy resort strip and generally safe by day and night; the real risks are boat transfers in rough monsoon seas, motorbike rental without a licence or helmet, and the sewage creek at the headland.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Ao Nang yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Longtail boat access to Railay and Poda Island
- Island-hopping and diving day trips
- Nopparat Thara Beach
- Rock climbing transfers to Railay
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand — Krabi: www.tourismthailand.org/
- Krabi tourism (provincial): www.krabi-tourism.com/
- Wikivoyage: Ao Nang, revision 5241904 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5241904
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Ao Nangอ่าวนาง
ไปที่ที่อยู่นี้
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Ao Nang; most are in Bangkok. Consulates and honorary consulates for some countries are in Phuket (check).
Carry small notes: songthaews and longtails rarely change ฿1,000.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/ao-nang). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.