Krabi is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants and the administrative center of the province of the same name in southern Thailand. It is 946 km from Bangkok and 180 km from Phuket.
Krabi Town is located at the mouth of the Krabi River, just off the coast of the Andaman Sea and does not have a single beach.
And yet, this provincial town is included in the list of the main tourist centers of Krabi province. It perfectly allows you to experience and understand the life of true, authentic Thailand with its national flavor-no European resort in Krabi province can deliver such pleasure.
The city is not too big, it has two main streets and all the infrastructure is concentrated along them. Krabi River runs along the river, and the second street is almost parallel to it. Although it is easy to navigate Krabi Town, a detailed map with the sights marked on it may be necessary for tourists who want to visit this city while traveling in Thailand.
Entertainments
Since there are no beaches in Krabi Town, those who want to lie in the sun and swim in the Andaman Sea have to go to neighboring resorts. But this is not difficult at all: motorboats regularly sail from the city’s embankment to the beaches of Railay, you can get to Ao Nang cheap by songteo, and by rented car or motorbike to get to any beach in the province.
The main attractions in Krabi are excursions to the jungle with long-tailed macaques living there, as well as visiting restaurants, bars, shops and bazaars with goods at very low prices. Prices here are really much lower than in other resorts in Thailand, so Krabi town is the best place to buy national clothes and a variety of gifts.
Attractions
There are many travel agencies in the city that offer trips to the nearest islands of Thailand and excursions to the sights of the province (read a separate article about what is interesting in Krabi Province).
Almost all the sights of Krabi town are located in the surrounding area, and there are not so many of them directly in the village.
Promenade
The picturesque embankment of the river of the same name is recognized as the most tourist place in the city of Krabi. This is the most popular, and the best place here for walking, especially in the evening. There are many interesting sculptures on the embankment, in particular, a metal composition that is considered a symbol of Krabi town: big and small crabs. From the inscription on the sign, it is clear that the crab monument illustrates Aesop’s fable, in which a mother teaches her cubs discipline and good manners.
There is a tradition associated with this sculpture: people who dream of an ideal family and good children should rub the shell of a crab, and then their dream will come true. The crabs have already been rubbed until they shine – their shells literally sparkle in the sun!
At the crab monument, a lot of tourists who want to take a picture are usually robbed – it turns out a great picture to remember their trip to Thailand. Unfortunately, there are really a lot of people (you have to wait especially long if there are tourists from China), and therefore you need to either be patient or connect the audacity.
By the way, after lunch, you should be very careful to touch the crab. By this time, the metal sculpture has time to get so hot in the sun that if it comes into contact with it, you can get a burn.
Wat Kaew Korawaram Temple Complex
A unique religious landmark – the Wat Kaew Korawaram temple complex-is recognized as the second most beautiful and popular in the entire province (Wat Tham Suea is in the first place). Wat Kaew Korawaram’s address is Issara Road, Pak Nam, Krabi 81000. It is most convenient to get there on foot, as it is the center of Krabi city, and a map with attractions will help you navigate the city streets.
This complex seems to be “locked” in the city streets between ordinary buildings – there is no space around, air access seems to be completely absent. But it is precisely because of this contrast that the shrine looks like a shining white pearl in a dirty gray shell.
You can move around the entire complex, although there are paths that only monks can walk on. You also need to know that you can only enter some buildings (and there are quite a lot of them here) with the permission of religious ministers.
The main element of the temple complex is the monastery, which is called the White Temple. It is located on a raised platform, and a snow-white staircase leads to it, the railing of which is decorated with images of mythological snakes and dragons. The style of this structure is quite unusual for Buddhist temples: the walls are made of dazzling white stone, and the roof is painted with dark blue paint. Inside, the walls are decorated with colorful murals depicting the life of the Buddha. In the White Temple there is a majestic statue of the Buddha sitting in the lotus position.
- Admission to Wat Kaew Korawaram and the White Temple is free.
- The temple is open to the public daily from 08: 00 to 17: 00.
- When planning to visit this religious site, you need to dress appropriately – it is unacceptable to be bare-shouldered, in short skirts, shorts. Before entering the temple, you need to take off your shoes.
Places to stay in Krabi
Krabi Town is famous for its incredibly cheap hotels and hostels. You can rent a hotel room here much cheaper than in any other locality in the province of the same name in Thailand. Many cheap hotels can be found on the site Booking.com and immediately book your favorite room.
- Featuring a terrace and a shared lounge, Siri Krabi Hostel offers a double room for $ 18 per night. In the 2* Amity Poshtel Hostel, a double room with a private bathroom can be rented for $ 26 per day.
- In the 2* hotel “Lada Krabi Express” superior double rooms with a large double bed, private bathroom and flat-screen TV are offered for an amount starting from $27.
- For the same amount of money, you can rent a double economy class room in the 3* hotel “Lada Krabi Residence”. And in the hotel “Krabi Pitta House” 3*, where you can rent a car, there are cheaper double rooms with a balcony-from $23.
By the way, it is not necessary to reserve accommodation in Krabi in advance. As in many cities in Thailand, cheap hotels here can be settled from the street, without prior reservation. This has its advantages: so it turns out cheaper (hotels do not pay commissions to the online booking system), and you can immediately assess the advantages and disadvantages of housing on the spot. Most of the hotels in Krabi Town are located in a cluster-in the center and near the embankment-so finding housing will not be a problem.
Food in Krabi Town
The cost of lunch largely depends on what cuisine will make up this lunch. The cheapest way to eat is in local eateries or makashnitsy: tom yam soup, traditional pad thai, national rice dishes – the price per serving is 60-80 baht. A huge selection of delicious dishes of national cuisine of Thailand in the city of Krabi is offered at the night market.
There are many restaurants in Krabi Town that serve Western or Seafood dishes. Taking into account where exactly such a restaurant is located, the prices are approximately as follows::
- pizza will cost 180-350 baht.,
- the steak will cost from 300 to 500 baht.,
- the cost of lunch from an Indian restaurant is 250-350 baht.
It is necessary to say about drinks. In the restaurant, 0.5 liters of beer will cost 120 baht, and in the store you can buy exactly this for 60-70. Water of 0.33 liters in the restaurant costs 22 baht, in the store – from 15. Coffee and cappuccino costs an average of 60-70 baht.
Cheap restaurants and cafes are located in whole rows on the embankment. They are open until late in the evening, and are notable not only for their cheapness, but also for the quality of their dishes. There are also more expensive restaurants on the waterfront, but they are relatively expensive – they are expensive when compared with cheap eateries, and when compared with the establishments of the nearest Ao Nang, their prices are surprisingly low.
Weather in Krabi
The city of Krabi, like the whole of Thailand, attracts tourists all year round with its weather. But although it is always summer here, there are two climatic seasons:
- wet – lasts from May to October;
- dry – lasts from November to April.
In the dry season, the daytime temperature is kept in the range of +30-32 ° C, and the night temperature is +23 ° C. The most pleasant weather for a holiday is considered to be January-February. It is the dry season that is “high” in the south of Thailand, including in Krabi Town – at this time there is a large influx of tourists.
During the wet season, the number of sunny days is approximately the same as the number of days when heavy rains occur. During this period, the daytime air temperature decreases slightly-up to +29-30 ° C, and the night temperature rises – up to +24-25 ° C, which, along with very high humidity, often creates not very pleasant conditions. This is the main reason why fewer drinkers go to Thailand during the wet season.
How to get to Krabi Town
Krabi is 946 km away from Bangkok, and it is in Bangkok that most of the tourists from the CIS countries arrive. The most convenient way to get from Bangkok to Krabi is by plane. There is an airport 15 km from Krabi Town, where a terminal opened in 2006, operating on international routes.
Krabi Airport accepts flights of such air carriers:
- Thai Airways, Air Asia and Nok Air from Bangkok;
- Bangkok Airways from Koh Samui;
- Air Shuttle from Phuket;
- Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur;
- Tiger Airways from Darwin and Singapore.
There are different ways to get from the airport to Krabi Town.
- At the exit of the terminal, you can rent a scooter, and at the National Car Rental – a car (cost from 800 baht / day). You can also arrange car rental in advance – this service is provided on the airport’s website (www.krabiairportonline.com) or in Krabi Carrent (www.krabicarrent.net).
- There are buses to Krabi Town, and then to Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara. To the left of the airport exit, there is a Shuttle bus ticket office, where tickets are sold – the fare to the center of Krabi is 90 baht.
- You can use songteo-they stop on the highway going to Krabi, 400 m from the airport.
- You can get there by taxi, and it is better to order it in one of the following companies: Krabi Limousine (tel. +66-75692073), Krabi Taxi (krabitaxi.com), Krabi Shuttle (www.krabishuttle.com). The fee for the entire car is about 500 baht.
Options for getting around the city
Songteo minibuses
In Krabi, as in many cities in Thailand, it is cheaper to drive songteo pickup trucks. From the bus station (it is located 12 km from the city) via Krabi town, they run to the beaches of Nopparat Thara and Ao Nang, as well as to Ao Nammao Pier. Pickup trucks heading to Ao Nang stop at the White Temple and wait there for a couple of minutes until people gather.
At intervals of 10-15 minutes, songteos run from 6: 30 and approximately until 20: 00.
The fee for a trip in the currency of Thailand will be as follows (after 18: 00 it may increase):
- from Krabi Town bus station – 20-30 minutes;
- by city – 20;
- Bus station to Ao Nang or Nopparat Thara – 60;
- Krabi Town is 50 km from the beaches.
Taxi
Taxi services in Krabi Town are motorcycle tuk-tuks with trolleys or small trucks. Trips are paid for according to the price list, which is available at many city stands. Trading is possible, although it is not always possible to reset something. It is profitable to drive a large company, because you need to pay for the entire car, and not for each person.
Rented bikes and cars
Many hotels and travel agencies can rent a motorcycle, scooter, bike or bicycle. An ordinary bike, like the Honda Click, can be rented for 200 baht per day (with insurance or more “sophisticated” will cost more). Such bikes can be rented for 2500-4000 baht – the final amount will depend on the age of the vehicle, the duration of the lease (the longer, the cheaper), and the talent to bargain.
Although Krabi is a small city and you don’t need a car to navigate its streets, you may need one for longer-distance travel. If you want to rent a car, you can do it in “Krabi Car Hire” (www.krabicarhire.com). In this company, you need to leave a deposit of about 10,000 baht in case of an accident and damage to transport, and if everything is in order, then it is returned.
