Krabi Thailand
Krabi is the provincial capital of Krabi Province, Thailand.
Understand
Krabi is a small city with a population of around 18,000. Located
just upriver from the coast, it has no beaches and hence visitors
make a beeline for Had Yao, Ao Nang or Rai Leh (Railay).
Get in
Direct connections are by air and road; travellers can also
take a train to Surat Thani and continue on to Krabi by bus
from there.
- By plane
Krabi International Airport (KBV) is about 10 km from the city
limits, 15km from city centre, 40km from Ao Nang and 23km from
Had Yao. Thai Airways operates daily direct flights to/from
Bangkok, likewise Air Asia from March 1st 2006. Tiger Airways
flies direct to/from Singapore nearly every day of the week
and to/from Darwin on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday. One-Two-Go Airlines operates daily flights to Krabi
from Bangkok (DonMuang). Krabi Airline, a newly established
airline will start it's operations in January 2008. Tentative
1st Flight Operation From Oslo (OSL) Norway and Munich (MUC)
Germany on 19th of January 2008 respectively. Destination Air
Shuttle, Thailand's only Seaplane service also routinely flies
in and out of Krabi (Au Nangh) from Phuket and to a numerous
outer islands.
The international departure tax surcharge is 400 baht; domestic
departure tax is included in the price of the flight.
National Car Rental has a branch at the airport; motorcycle
taxi rides are available outside the terminal.
Krabi Limousine (tel. +66-75692073) has a desk inside the terminal
and provides "limousine taxi" (using large air-conditioned
sedans) transport to Krabi for 500 baht; Ao Nang for 800 baht;
Phuket for 2500 baht. Krabi.com offers taxi and minibus (minivans)
for less however travellers have to make deposit payment of
200 baht online via credit card.
-By bus
Buses from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (tel. +66-24351199)
to Krabi take about 12 hours and depart as follows:
VIP bus - 07:20 - 710 baht
First class bus - 19:00 - 486 baht
Second class bus - 07:30, 19:00, 19:30, 21:00 - 378 baht
Buses also run from the east coast with connection to ferries
to Ko Samui and onward. Choose your ticket carefully - the trip
should take no more than three hours, but some travellers have
endured ridiculous ten hour rides which included extensive "repair
stops" right in front of restaurants coincidentally affiliated
with the bus company... such hassles can be avoided by using
state-run BKS buses instead of dodgy private operators.
Shuttle buses run between Krabi airport and Phuket airport
several times a day. There are also regular buses that make
the 2 hour run.
Buses to/from Ao Nang charge 40 baht and run every ten minutes
during the day and every 30 minutes after dark.
- By car
Krabi is located on Highway 4. Shared pickup truck taxis from
Ao Nang to Krabi are frequent and cost 50 baht.
- By boat
Ferries run from/to Ko Phi Phi, Ko Jum and Ko Lanta daily. Most
depart in the morning. Tickets can be purchased at the dock
or from tourist offices and most local guesthouses and hotels.
The normal passenger ferry does not start from the center of
town anymore, but from a new passenger port about 3 km outside
Krabi. Free taxi transfer to the pier should be included in
the price of your ticket. If your boat starts from the old piers
in the center of town (Chao Fah pier or Phi Phi pier), you are
most likely on a more expensive and longer tourist boat ride.
Also, make sure that when you arrive at the airport the taxi
driver takes you to the correct pier. Many times they'll take
you to a travel agent near the old pier and sell you additional
accommodations or services. Only ever buy the ticket you need.
Prices will often get cheaper the closer you get to your next
destination.
Ferry tickets to Ko Phi Phi are 350 baht when purchased from
a travel agent.
The large displayed time-tables in the many travel agencies
are just for show and the times are not to be taken literally.
Ask. As of July 2007, there were two ferries a day from Krabi
to Ko Phi Phi a day: 10am and 2:30pm. They add additional ferries
during high-season.
The pier at Klong Jilad, for ferries to and from Ko Phi Phi
has a taxi desk with posted prices: 150 baht to Krabi town,
and 350 baht to the airport.
See
