Ao Nang and Railay
Ao Nang is reached by white songthaew or airport bus from Krabi town, and is the launch point for the longtail boats that are the only way into Railay and Ton Sai, which have no road at all.
- Researched
- 28 September 2026
- Reviewed
- not yet
- Ways of moving
- 11, 25 sources
- Not confirmed
- 7
- Fares seen
- 2016–2026
11 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed ten ways of moving to, from or around Ao Nang: four by water, three by road, one hired or on demand and two under your own steam, from 25 sources. One entry is not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Three of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be.
The fares were seen in 2016 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Six fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 6 of the 11 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 28 September 2026, and ends with seven things we could not confirm.
By water
Ao Nang beach longtails to Railay, Ton Sai and Phra Nang
Ao Nang beach to Railay West, Ton Sai and Ao Phra Nang (Pranang Cave beach)
There is no pier. Buy a numbered ticket at one of the boat co-operative kiosks, then wait until your boat number is called. The kiosks sit at the east end of Ao Nang beach where Ao Nang Road first meets the sand, at the west end of the beach, and at the Wan Sai restaurant on the east end of Nopparat Thara beach. You then wade out several metres to board, so put your shoes and anything electronic somewhere you do not mind getting wet, and carry your own bags through the surf. Railay West is about 10 to 15 minutes, Ton Sai is on the same boat and gets dropped on the way, and Phra Nang is about 20 minutes. Railay has no road access of any kind, so this boat, or the one from Ao Nam Mao, is the entire transport system.
- When
- All day, roughly 08:00 to 18:00 in the high season, but a boat leaves only when it is full. Wikivoyage's Rai Leh page puts the minimum at 8 people, its Ton Sai page at 10 to 12; either way, in high season expect about 20 minutes to fill a boat and considerably longer in low season
- Takes
- 10-15 minutes to Railay West and Ton Sai, about 20 minutes to Phra Nang
- Fare
- 100 baht per person in daylight and close to double after 18:00; one Wikivoyage page still quotes 80 baht by day. To leave straight away you charter the boat and pay roughly the price of ten tickets, about 800 to 1,000 baht. The year these figures were last checked is not confirmed, so treat them as the order of magnitude rather than today's number
SeasonYear-round, subject to weather. In the May to October monsoon the co-operative shifts many departures to Ao Nam Mao on the sheltered side. BookingNone. Buy the ticket at the kiosk, pay cash, wait for your number. Run byAo Nang Boat Service Co-operative (owner-driver longtails, fixed posted fares).
Ao Nam Mao pier longtails to Railay East
Ao Nam Mao pier, about 6 km east of Ao Nang on Route 4204, to Railay East
Ao Nam Mao is a proper concrete pier rather than a beach launch, on the mangrove side of the headland past Shell Cemetery. Any Ao Nang taxi or a hired scooter will get you there. Because it faces the sheltered water it keeps running when the Ao Nang beach boats are being thrown around, and it runs far later into the night. You land on Railay East, the mangrove side, and walk five minutes across the peninsula to Railay West. Tiger Line and Andaman Wave Master both use this pier under the name Krabi (Ao Nammao), which is worth knowing when a ferry ticket says Krabi and you assume it means the town.
- When
- On demand through the day and, according to railay.com, until around midnight all year
- Takes
- About 15 minutes
- Fare
- Charged per person on the same co-operative basis as the Ao Nang boats, with a per-boat charter if you do not want to wait. No current posted tariff for this pier could be confirmed
SeasonYear-round, and the recommended route in the May to October monsoon. BookingNone, pay at the pier. Run byLocal longtail owner-drivers.
Nopparat Thara and Railay East ferry to Ko Phi Phi
Nopparat Thara pier (Ao Nang) and Railay East floating pier to Ton Sai pier, Ko Phi Phi
This is the big island-hopper that Ao Nang people still call the Ao Nang Princess, run by Ao Nang Travel and resold through Seatran Discovery. It sails from the national park pier at Nopparat Thara, which is a couple of kilometres west of Ao Nang beach and not the same place as the longtail kiosks, then calls at the Railay East floating pier 15 minutes later before running out to Phi Phi. Any travel agent in Ao Nang, Railay or Ton Sai sells the ticket, usually with a hotel pickup thrown in. Going the other way there is one afternoon sailing back from Ton Sai. From Krabi town the equivalent boat leaves from Klong Jilad pier, not from the old Chao Fah pier in the centre, and is cheaper.
- When
- One sailing each way daily on the operator's schedule: 09:30 from Nopparat Thara and 09:45 from Railay East, returning 14:30 from Ton Sai
- Takes
- 2 hours from Nopparat Thara, 1 hour 45 minutes from Railay East
- Fare 2026
- 650 baht one way from either Nopparat Thara or Railay East to Ko Phi Phi. The Krabi town alternative from Klong Jilad pier is 450 baht in standard class and 900 baht in first class on Andaman Wave Master's 09:00 and 13:30 ferries
SeasonSold year-round on the operator's own booking system. BookingOnline with the operator or over the counter at any agent; buy the day before in high season. Run byAo Nang Travel, sold through Seatran Discovery; Andaman Wave Master on the Klong Jilad route.
Andaman speedboat network from Nopparat Thara and Railay East
Nopparat Thara pier and the Railay East floating pier to Ko Lanta, Ko Jum, Ko Yao Noi, Ko Yao Yai, Ko Ngai, Ko Mook, Ko Kradan, Ko Lipe and Phuket Rassada
Bundhaya and Tiger Line both run the Andaman chain out of Nopparat Thara and Railay East, and this is how you get south to the Trang islands or Ko Lipe without going back through Krabi town. Tiger Line's Ao Nang pickup point is the bus station, not the beach. The useful thing about these operators is that they publish which routes are seasonal: Ao Nang and Railay to Phi Phi, Ko Lanta and Phuket run all year, while Ko Jum, the Ko Yaos, Ko Ngai, Ko Mook, Ko Kradan and Ko Lipe only run inside a window that opens around 15 October or 1 November and closes between 4 and 20 May. Book the far southern legs a day or two ahead, because one missed boat can cost you a day.
- When
- Daily in the published season, typically one departure each way per route; several a day on the Phi Phi and Lanta legs
- Takes
- 1 hr 10 min to Ko Lanta from Railay, 1 hr 30 min from Ao Nang; 1 hr to Ko Jum; 5 to 6 hours to Ko Lipe
- Fare 2026
- Bundhaya's published from-fares: Ko Lanta 1,250 baht, Ko Jum 900 baht, Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai 650 baht from Ao Nang and 800 baht from Railay, Ko Ngai 1,650 baht, Ko Mook and Ko Kradan 2,000 baht, Ko Lipe 2,400 baht, Phuket Rassada 1,090 baht, Phi Phi 1,000 baht
SeasonPhi Phi, Ko Lanta and Phuket all year. Ko Jum, Ko Yao Noi, Ko Yao Yai, Ko Ngai, Ko Mook, Ko Kradan and Ko Lipe seasonal, roughly 15 October or 1 November to 4 or 20 May depending on the route. BookingOnline with the operator, or through any Ao Nang or Railay agent. Run byBundhaya Speedboat; Tiger Line Ferry.
By road
White Krabi Town to Ao Nang songthaew
Krabi bus terminal at Talad Kao and Krabi town centre to Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara, via Klong Jilad pier, Sai Tai and Ao Nang Junction
Krabi's songthaews are colour coded by route and the Ao Nang one is white, with the destination written in English on the side. Catch it outside the bus terminal, or in town at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Soi 8 and Maharaj Road, or by the Vogue department store on Maharaj Road; the ones coming from the bus terminal stop at the 7-Eleven for about ten minutes. Going the other way, stand on the beach side of Ao Nang's beach road, not the inland side, which feels wrong because Krabi is behind you. Press the buzzer for your stop and pay the driver as you get off. Ignore the taxi drivers who intercept minivan passengers 75 m short of the bus station and quote 400 baht for the same trip.
- When
- Every 10 minutes or so through the day, every 30 minutes from 18:00 to 22:00 in high season; daylight hours only in low season
- Takes
- About 45 minutes end to end
- Fare 2016
- 60 baht until 18:00 and 80 baht between 18:00 and 22:00; shorter hops inside Ao Nang from 20 baht. The 60 baht figure carries a February 2016 date on Wikivoyage and is repeated undated elsewhereSeen in 2016: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round, with a shorter evening service in low season. BookingNone, flag it down. Run byKrabi songthaew owner-drivers.
Krabi airport bus to Krabi town, Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara
Krabi International Airport to Krabi town and the ferry terminal, then Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara
Buy a ticket at a counter in the arrivals hall; several operators sell the same air-conditioned bus and the departures are timed to meet flights. It runs airport to Krabi town, then the ferry terminal, then on to Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara, and it will drop you at your hotel door if you tell the driver the name when you board. Coming back, you can either call the hotline the day before for a hotel pickup or wait at one of the four marked stops in Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara, one of which is in front of McDonald's; tickets are sold on the bus or at any of the ticketing shops. Note the two-stage alternative: the local songthaew network will also get you there for less, but it goes airport to Krabi and then Krabi to Ao Nang and takes close to two hours.
- When
- Throughout the day, timed to arriving flights
- Takes
- About 1 hour to Ao Nang
- Fare
- Around 150 baht per person to Ao Nang and about 90 baht to Krabi town. The year of both figures is not confirmed, so check the counter price on the day
SeasonYear-round. BookingBuy at the airport counter on arrival; hotline booking a day ahead for the return pickup. Run bySeveral licensed shuttle operators selling from airport counters.
Lomprayah bus and catamaran to the Gulf islands
Ao Nang hotel pickup to Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao, by coach across the isthmus then catamaran
Sold as one ticket that you cannot unbundle. The Ao Nang pickup point is the McDonald's by the Avani hotel; there are separate pickup points for Ao Nam Mao, Klong Muang and Krabi town if you are not staying on the beach. The coach runs across to the Gulf coast and you join the Lomprayah catamaran there. It is the only same-day way from the Andaman side to Ko Tao, and the live booking system will tell you how many seats are left, which matters in December and January.
- When
- Two departures daily, 07:20 and 10:45, year-round
- Takes
- About 7 hours to Ko Tao on the 07:20 (arriving 14:15)
- Fare 2026
- 1,300 baht adult and 650 baht child one way, Ao Nang to Ko Tao
SeasonYear-round on the operator's system. BookingBook ahead online or through an agent; the pickup needs your hotel name. Run byLomprayah High Speed Catamaran.
Hired, booked and on demand
Fixed-price airport taxi and shared minivan
Krabi International Airport to Ao Nang, Krabi town or Ao Nam Mao
There are booths inside the terminal selling authorised taxis at a fixed, prepaid price: you pay inside and are pointed at a driver waiting outside, so there is no negotiation and no meter. The same booths sell seats in shared minivans, which is the cheaper middle option between the taxi and the shuttle bus. Hotels will arrange a pickup at about the same money. Going on to Railay, the taxi can only take you as far as Ao Nang beach or Ao Nam Mao pier; the last leg is always a boat.
- When
- On demand, whenever flights land
- Takes
- About 30 to 40 minutes to Ao Nang
- Fare
- Roughly 600 baht to Ao Nang for up to four people and about 350 baht to Krabi town. Wikivoyage describes the airport limousine monopoly as charging 600 baht and up. The year of both figures is not confirmed
SeasonYear-round. BookingPay at the counter in arrivals; hotel pre-booking also possible. Run byKrabi airport taxi co-operative.
Rules, permits and closures
Low season: what still runs and what does not
Ao Nang, Nopparat Thara, Ao Nam Mao and Railay, May to October
The thing people get wrong about Krabi's low season is that they assume everything stops. It does not. The longtails to Railay and Ton Sai keep running all year, because Railay has no alternative, but the co-operative moves departures from the exposed Ao Nang beach to the sheltered Ao Nam Mao pier when the swell gets up, and the wait for a boat to fill gets much longer because there are fewer people. The ferries are the part that thins out: the Phi Phi, Ko Lanta and Phuket links stay open all year, but the operators' own published windows close the Ko Jum, Ko Yao, Ko Ngai, Ko Mook, Ko Kradan and Ko Lipe speedboats from around early May to mid or late October. Individual sailings are called off by the harbourmaster on the day when the sea is rough, so an agent's timetable in June is a statement of intent. Boats between Ton Sai and Railay generally do not run at night in any season.
- When
- The monsoon runs roughly May to October, with the heaviest weather in July to September
- Fare
- Not a priced service
SeasonMay to October. BookingNothing to book. Keep a spare day either side of a flight. Run byKrabi harbourmaster and the boat co-operatives decide on the day; the ferry operators set the seasonal windows.
On foot, by bike, or otherwise
Railay to Ton Sai on foot, and the tide
Railay West to Ton Sai, and Railay East to the Diamond Cave jungle path
Whether you walk or take a boat between Railay and Ton Sai is decided entirely by the tide. At low tide you scramble around the rocky outcrop at the north end of Railay West into Ton Sai in about 20 minutes. At high tide that route is under water, so you take the path from the south end of Ton Sai beach up over the headland and come out on the north side of Railay West, also about 20 minutes but with a proper climb. The third option, longer but smoother, goes inland from Ton Sai past Wee's Climbing School and comes out on Railay East near Diamond Cave in about 50 minutes. None of them is sensible at night without a torch and all of them are slippery after rain. There is also a trek from Ao Nang to Ton Sai of about 1.5 hours, but people on it are regularly set on by macaques and it is no route to carry luggage.
- When
- Whenever the tide allows; the short scramble is low tide only
- Takes
- 20 minutes on either short route, 50 minutes on the jungle path, 1.5 hours from Ao Nang
- Fare
- Free
SeasonYear-round, but the paths are treacherous in the wet months. Run byNone.
Ao Nang scooter hire, and tuk-tuks inside the resort
Ao Nang, Nopparat Thara, Klong Muang, Ao Nam Mao and the road to Krabi town
Rental shops line the main strips in Ao Nang and you can have a bike within minutes. It is the cheapest way to reach the places the songthaew does not serve: Ao Nam Mao pier for the Railay boats, Shell Cemetery, Klong Muang and the hot springs inland. A scooter is useless for Railay itself, which has no roads, so leave it in Ao Nang. For short hops inside Ao Nang there are tuk-tuks, which since around 2019 have asked a flat 100 baht for a trip inside the resort and about 400 baht for the whole vehicle to Krabi town, against 60 baht a head on the songthaew. Shops usually want a cash deposit rather than your passport; decline any that insist on keeping the passport.
- When
- Shops open daily through the day
- Takes
- Ao Nang to Ao Nam Mao about 15 minutes, to Krabi town about 40 minutes
- Fare 2019
- 150 to 200 baht for 24 hours for a reliable automatic scooter. Tuk-tuks quote about 100 baht inside Ao Nang and 400 baht for the vehicle to Krabi town, figures dated to the 2019 high season on WikivoyageSeen in 2019: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round; riding in the monsoon downpours is genuinely dangerous. BookingWalk in. Run byIndependent rental shops.
What we could not find out
7 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
The brief describes the Ao Nang longtail co-operative as having one fixed per-person price and a minimum-passenger rule. Both are real but the numbers disagree between sources: Wikivoyage's Rai Leh page says 100 baht and a minimum of 8 passengers, its Ton Sai page says 100 baht and a boat full of 10 to 12, and its Ao Nang page still says 80 baht by day and 100 baht after 18:00. None of the three carries a date. Ask at the ticket kiosk at the east end of Ao Nang beach, or at the Wan Sai restaurant kiosk on Nopparat Thara, for the posted tariff and the current minimum.
- 02
Pier fees could not be confirmed. No tariff for a landing or terminal charge at Nopparat Thara pier, the Railay East floating pier or Ao Nam Mao was found on an operator or Thai government page, and the ferry operators' own booking pages do not itemise one. The likely holders of the answer are the Krabi Marine Office of the Marine Department and the Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park office that runs the Nopparat Thara pier; ask at the ticket window before you buy.
- 03
The national park entry fee charged on arrival at Ko Phi Phi, which applies to anyone taking the Ao Nang or Railay ferry there, could not be confirmed from an official source in this pass. portal.dnp.go.th serves over HTTP/1.1 but the fee schedule page was not located; dnp.go.th itself is behind a bot wall.
- 04
Krabi airport shuttle bus and fixed-price taxi fares are quoted here from Wikivoyage and railay.com, neither of which dates the figure. The Department of Airports minisite for Krabi and krabiairportthai.com both failed to resolve, and krabiairportonline.com is an advertising shell with no fares. Check the counter price in the arrivals hall.
- 05
Correction to the brief: Songserm's published time-table.json now covers only the Gulf routes between Surat Thani, Don Sak, Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao. It carries no Krabi, Ao Nang or Phi Phi route, so it is not a source for these waters. Raja Ferry likewise only serves the Don Sak crossings and Boonsiri is Trat, Ko Chang and Cambodia, so neither touches Krabi.
- 06
Correction to the brief: Andaman Wave Master lists Ao Nang (Nopparat Thara Beach) and Krabi (Railey East Floating Pier) as stations but returns no timetable from either, in high season or low. It sells the Krabi Klong Jilad to Phi Phi ferry instead and treats Ao Nang and Railay as pickup add-ons.
- 07
Ferries from Ao Nang or Railay to Ko Jum were not found on the Seatran Discovery resale index; only Bundhaya publishes them, and only inside a seasonal window. A direct Ao Nang to Ko Lanta sailing is likewise speedboat-only on the operators checked, despite Wikivoyage describing a twice-daily public ferry at around 200 baht. That 200 baht figure could not be confirmed with any operator and should not be relied on.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Ao Nang is this.
- Y
- Scheduled flightsKrabi (KBV), 20 km
- Y
- Trains and coachesTransitous carries 1 timetable feed for this country, 0 with real-time
- Y
- FerriesAo Nang Beach Pier, 0 km; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.