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This overblown tourist attraction has slates of compressed 40 million year old shellfish, which resemble concrete. There's also a small grubby museum and a huge slew of gift shops. This tourist trap is simply not worth the money unless you're a geology student. As the official Krabi tourism website (rather honestly) puts it, "Most are either engrossed to [sic] this or totally indifferent...".
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Khun Sow is the head honcha. Cooking classes are 3 hr. Fruit carving is an all day class and the most expensive course.
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.
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.
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.
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.