Islands Near Krabi: Which to Visit in High Season & How to Get There
Quick Answer: The easiest islands near Krabi are Poda, Chicken and Tup – all within half an hour of Ao Nang and all three on the 4 Islands tour. Go to Hong for the lagoons, Phi Phi for the famous scenery, Koh Lanta for slow beach days. High season, November to April, brings the calmest water of the year
Stand on Ao Nang beach and look out. Nearly everything in this guide is already in front of you – the low green hump of Chicken Island on the right, Poda sitting flat on the horizon, the cliffs of Railay round to the left. The furthest islands here are a morning away. The nearest is fifteen minutes in a longtail. P: So the question is not how to reach them. It is which ones to spend your days on.
Islands Near Krabi at a Glance
| Island | Best for | From Ao Nang | How to get there | On the 4 Islands tour? |
| Koh Poda | White sand and easy swimming | 20-30 min | Longtail or speedboat | Yes |
| Chicken Island | Snorkelling | 15-25 min | Longtail or speedboat | Yes |
| Koh Tup & Koh Mor | The low-tide sandbar | 15-25 min | Longtail or speedboat | Yes |
| Phra Nang Cave Beach | Cliffs, shrine, climbers | 15-20 min | Longtail from Ao Nang | Yes |
| Koh Hong | Hidden lagoon and viewpoint | 30-45 min | Longtail or speedboat | No – its own trip |
| Phi Phi Islands | The famous scenery | 45 min – 2 hr | Speedboat or ferry | No – full-day trip |
| Koh Lanta | Long beaches, overnight stays | 2 hr+ | Ferry or road and car ferry | No – stay a few nights |
| Koh Yao Noi | Quiet, local island life | About an hour | Ferry from mainland piers | No – stay a few nights |
The 4 Islands Group – Closest to Ao Nang
These four sit in a loose cluster straight out from the beach, close enough to each other that a single boat links them in one morning. For a first trip to Krabi, this is the one.
Koh Poda
The postcard. A broad crescent of fine white sand, water that stays waist-deep a long way out, and a limestone tower rising straight from the sea offshore. Boats stop here for lunch, so you get longer than anywhere else on the route – swim first, eat second, and walk to the far end for a photo without anyone in it.
Chicken Island (Koh Kai)
Named for the rock at its northern tip, which from the right angle is unmistakably a chicken’s head and neck. The snorkelling is the best of the four, you’ll mostly spot reef fish swimming over coral in crystal-clear water during the dry months, with a gentle drop-off that’s perfect for first-timers.
Koh Tup and Koh Mor
Krabi’s best trick. As the tide drops, a ribbon of white sand a couple of hundred metres long surfaces between the islands, and you walk from one to the other across the seabed. Thais call it Talay Waek, the separated sea. It only works around low tide, which is why boat schedules follow the tide table rather than the clock.
Phra Nang Cave Beach
The most spectacular of the four, and the only one attached to the mainland – sort of. Cliffs wrap it on three sides, climbers hang off the overhangs, and a limestone island floats just offshore. At the far end is the Phra Nang shrine, an active place of worship with offerings left by local fishermen, so keep it quiet there.
All four fit into one trip. The Krabi 4 Island Tour runs about six hours with hotel pickup from the Ao Nang area, a Thai lunch, fruit and water, life jackets and snorkelling masks, a guide, and accident insurance. Choose a longtail for the slower, more traditional version or a speedboat to spend more time on the sand; ages 2 to 80, thirty people maximum, and a national park fee paid on the day in cash. Guests staying at Railay join at Ao Nam Mao pier instead.
Our stop-by-stop guide to that route covers the tide timing and what to bring, and the Railay guide has the details on the cliffs and the shrine if that end of the trip is the draw.
Koh Hong – Lagoons and a Viewpoint
Hong sits north of the 4 Islands group, thirty to forty-five minutes out, and makes a different kind of day. The name means “room”, which is exactly what the lagoon is: still green water walled in by cliffs, reached through a narrow gap that opens as you come round the headland.
There is a long swimming beach on the far side, and a trail climbing fifteen to twenty minutes to a viewpoint over the whole bay – on a clear morning, as far as Phi Phi. Steep in places, and worth it.
Because it is further out and a separate park area, Hong is its own half-day rather than an add-on. Our full Hong Island guide covers the lagoon, the kayaking, and the climb.
Phi Phi Islands – The Big-Name Day Trip
Phi Phi is the scenery everyone has already seen: cliffs dropping vertically into bright green water, Maya Bay, the curve of Loh Dalum. It is a full day from Krabi – around 45 minutes by speedboat from Ao Nang, closer to two hours by ferry from Krabi Town.
Go for the landscape, which is on another scale from the inshore islands. It is a long day with a lot of boat time, and Maya Bay visitor numbers are capped, so trips run to a schedule. With only one island day, the 4 Islands group gives you more beach for less travel.
Koh Lanta and Koh Yao Noi – For Longer Stays
These two are not day trips. They are places to move to for a few nights.
- Koh Lanta – the bigger of the two, a couple of hours from Krabi by ferry or by road and car ferry, with long west-facing beaches, good food, and a pace that slows the longer you stay. Rent a scooter, pick a beach, stay put.
- Koh Yao Noi – out in Phang Nga Bay, about an hour from the mainland piers, and the quietest option within easy reach: rice fields, rubber plantations, a few small resorts, almost no nightlife. Ferries run from several piers, most frequently in high season.
Both reward three nights more than one day. If you are building a longer Krabi trip, our round-up of what else there is to do covers the mainland side as well.
Why High Season Is Island Season
From November to April, the Andaman settles. The sea flattens, underwater visibility climbs, the sky clears, and every operator runs a full schedule – more departures, more boat choices, far fewer cancelled days. The sandbar between Tup and Mor surfaces on a calm sea, the snorkelling at Chicken Island is at its clearest, and the cliffs photograph the way they do on the posters.
It is the best stretch of the year to be here, and it is worth booking boat days early in your stay to make the most of it. Our month-by-month guide to Krabi sets out what each part of the season looks like.
How to Choose Your First Island Trip
- One day only – the 4 Islands tour. Four stops, six hours, lunch included, and you will have seen the best of what is close in.
- Travelling with children – the same trip. Shallow water at Poda, a sandbar to walk on, short crossings between stops, and a boat that never goes far from shore.
- Here for the photographs – Phra Nang Cave Beach and the Tup sandbar at low tide, then Hong Island’s viewpoint on a second day.
- Here to snorkel – Chicken Island on the 4 Islands route, and Hong if you have a second day.
- Want the famous one – Phi Phi, with the understanding that you are paying in boat hours for it.
- Have a week – do the 4 Islands early, Hong mid-week, and spend the last few nights on Lanta or Yao Noi.
FAQ
From Ao Nang, Chicken Island and the Tup and Mor pair are the nearest – fifteen to twenty-five minutes by longtail. Phra Nang Cave Beach is closer still at around fifteen minutes, though it sits on the Railay peninsula rather than being a true island.
Yes. Longtails run from Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara piers, and you can charter one directly, agreeing the price and pickup time first. A tour is simpler for the four-island loop, since it handles the tide timing, lunch, and route in one booking.
Chicken Island, for the reef fish and the clear water through the dry months. Hong Island is the better choice if you want a second, quieter spot away from the main day-trip route.
Let the Tide Decide
Krabi makes this easy. The islands are close, the boats frequent, and from November the sea does most of the work. Take the four-island loop for your first day out, add Hong if the lagoon appeals, and save Lanta or Yao Noi for when you want to stop moving.
Start where everyone starts: the Krabi 4 Island Tour, six hours, longtail or speedboat, picked up from your hotel in Ao Nang – and if the tide is right, you will walk between two islands before lunch.