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Ao Nang Beach, lined with shops and restaurants, is more like a base for exploring Krabi than an important destination in itself. The west side of the beach is no great beauty, being heavily littered and ruined by the massive number of boats ready to take tourists to other beaches and to the islands. Most tourists spend the day on the east side of the beach, which is more scenic, swimmer-friendly, and contains some friendly monkeys interacting with visitors, although litter is a problem and the area is crossed by a putrid stream. At the eastern edge, a 10-15 minute trail leads to Pai Plong Beach. This is the most scenic and peaceful beach one can walk to, but has no infrastructure other than the Centara Resort. The trail itself is not particularly difficult, but still best avoided by the elderly, disabled, and small children.
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Full-service PADI Dive Center in the heart of Ao Nang. Offering all PADI courses, fun diving, and snorkeling packages. Daily dive trips to Koh Phi Phi and local islands.
Experienced PADI 5-Star IDC dive centre. English, German, Swedish, French, Spanish, Russian, and Thai language dive guides. Dive trips by speedboat to Phi Phi and local islands. Weekly trips to Shark Point, Anemone Reef, King Cruiser wreck, trips also available to Hin Daeng, Ko Ha Yai, Racha Islands.
Centara Resort
Centara Resort occupies a scenic little cove just around the headland from Ao Nang Beach. The resort is doing its best to give the impression that it owns the beach frontage. But beaches in Thailand are all public and the public cannot be denied their use. Security guards abound and you will be asked to sign in and out. The beach itself is small, with only about five metres of sand at high tide. But it's a cute, relatively secluded beach that is hands down better than Ao Nang or Nopparat Thara. Use this beach so it stays in the public domain. The resort is quite happy to have you sit at the beachfront bar and eat and drink. Great place to watch the sunset. The wooden walkway is lighted at night, so should be no problem negotiating it after dark.
Long beach at the western edge of Ao Nang, zoned as a national park. Nopparat Thara beach is effectively divided in two parts, separated by a river that hosts the Hat Nopparat Thara Pier, where longtail boats and speedboats depart to Phuket and other islands.The western half is located in the neighbouring Nong Thale sub-district. It is mostly surrounded by forest and a few resorts, and hence extremely quiet.The eastern half, located in Ao Nang, is lined with hotels, restaurants and shops, although not as much as Ao Nang beach. In the section of the beach closer to the pier, there are more businesses catering to Thai, rather to Western visitors, making it a good place to look for budget food. Nopparat Thara is a quieter alternative to Ao Nang and excellent for a morning stroll or watching the sunset, but the beach gets rather narrow at high tide, and it is a good idea to ask the locals if it is jellyfish season before plunging in if no one else is in the water. Near the river, during low tide you can walk up to some of the nearby craggy limestone islands like Kao Pak Klong.
Private, customised day trips and camping trips to many islands. They can also help plan individual itineraries, accommodation and transfers. Fast, helpful, English speaking service with emails answered within 24 hours. Highly recommended.
Khun Sow is the head honcha. Cooking classes are 3 hr. Fruit carving is an all day class and the most expensive course.