Limsetone formations in the Krabi province, Thailand.
Average costs
Stay – A hostel located only a few minutes walking from the beach cost me 150 THB a night (€3,75 or $4). Prices lay between 100 and 250 THB a night.
For budgethotels or one person rooms expect to pay a little more. Between 200 and 300 THB (€5 to €7,5 or $5,5 to $8,5).
A nicer hotel, ressort or bed-and-breakfast still wouldn’t cost a lot of money. Prices start at 500 THB a night (€15 or $16,5).
A full list of accommodation throughout Krabi, you can find on this page.
Eat – Street food is easy to find and is the cheapest way of eating in Krabi. Expect to pay between 50 and 75 THB (€1,25 and €2 or $1,5 to $2,5) for a dish that’s made for you on the streets of Krabi. In a restaurant you’ll pay double at least. But there you might get a soda included.
Transport – Public transport is pretty much non-existent in Krabi. A tuktuk or scooter is the cheapest option to explore Krabi. Taxi’s are a little more expensive, but also more comfie.
To explore the different islands around Krabi, your best bet is to take an organised tour. These take you to the islands on the typical long boats.
You can even hire a longboat yourself, but for a half day this will cost you around 2000 to 2500 THB (€51,5 to €64 or $57 to $71).
If you go with multiple persons, you can split this cost. To hire one of these longboats, you need to go to the pier in the center of Krabi.
Railay Beach, Krabi.
Saving money
Street food – The difference might not look like a lot, but on a timeframe of 10 days you can easily save 50 to 100 euro’s if you only feast on street card food.
Haggle – On markets, with taxi’s, tuktuk’s and scooters. The original price is always way too high. You easily will get a pretty penny off.
Take transport together – Ask other people where they need to go and pay for the tuktuk or taxi together. Splitting costs can easily save you some good money.
The typical long boats from Thailand.
Do’s
Explore the islands – All around Krabi there are a lot of islands. Big and small ones. Don’t overlook the little ones. Personally, I liked these the most. Take a tour and look at the seven most popular islands in one day. If you can’t get enough from these paradise islands (believe me, I couldn’t.) just rent a private boat the next day to bring you back to your favourite. This way you can stay longer, without seeing too much tourists around you.
Diving or snorkelling – Explore a whole new world. The southern Thai waters have a great temperature and excellent visibility. Because of that, you can see the lively under water world very safe with the help of an oxygen tank or a snorkelling set.
Drinking cocktails – Delicious cocktails for delicious prices! Bars in the center of Krabi offer cocktails for only 90 THB (€2,25 or $2,5). Absolutely no money for these cocktails from excellent quality and taste.
Freshly squeezed juices – This time without alcohol. Regulate your intake of vitamin C by enjoying your daily fresh squeezed fruit juice or coconut. Fresher and better is just not possible. For only 50 THB (€1,25 or $1,5). In the rest of Thailand it is often twice as expensive.
BBQ on the islands – In some tours this is included. A yummy BBQ on one of the smaller islands with a cosy bonfire. Paradise on earth!
Bioluminescent plankton – For some people it might be a little scary, but seriously… Try it! Go swimming at night and jump into the sea. At certain parts of the Krabi coast, there lives a bioluminescent plankton that gives light when you swim between them. Try arranging this with a tour, because you can’t see the plankton everywhere.
The tiger cave temple.
Don’ts
Monkeys – On some islands there are little monkeys. They may look cute and friendly, but watch out. A bite from a monkey can cause rabies and ugly scars. And a Thai hospital isn’t exactly the place where you want to be during your holidays…
Swim far off the coast line – It doesn’t matter if you’re swimming near one of the islands or near Krabi. Always watch out for longboats. Their protruding propellers can cause a lot of damage. For the boatsmen, safety isn’t really their main concert.
Sea urchins – Before you go swimming you might think of wearing flippers or shoes in the water. You never know if you meet one of these underwater porcupines. They aren’t deadly, but they can cause damage that makes you sick for a couple of days. Urchins mostly are found under water on rocky surfaces.
Emerald Pool.
