11 Days in Phuket and Krabi

We arrived in Phuket at around 9am. The visa process was already done on arrival at the Bangkok airport. After collecting our bags we went to one of the shops at the airport to buy a Thai sim card.

Our hostel was in town and after looking at the cab prices on Grab we decided to take the Airport bus instead. The bus ticket is 100 TBH and the stop was only about 500m from the hostel. Our stay was booked at Phuket Sunny Hostel, it was right in the town and had plenty of cafes and shops within 2Km of our stay. We booked a 6-bed AC dormitory room but if you are comfortable with slightly higher temperatures, you can also book a fan room as it does not get too hot in the night. The host was a lovely lady from Burma who helped us to hire a bike for the day. We decided to go to the Big Budha statue about 17Km away.

After looking around the Big Budha we decided to watch the sunset from a nearby cafe as there was not enough time to go to Promthet Cape, the popular destination to watch the sunset from. After the sunset we went to Kata beach, the water was very calm that night (maybe because of the new moon) and people were swimming in it. The sand was also very soft to walk on. We had dinner near the beach at the street food area where you had a variety of shops to choose from and can sit, buy beer from a nearby 7-11 and enjoy.

We decided to go see the Bang Pae waterfall way north 22 Km from the hostel. There is also a Gibbon Rehabilitation Center at the beginning of the hike, you can see some of the Gibbons which have been kept in there as they are not suitable for survival in the forest, however, they have released several Gibbons in the wild after successfully rehabilitating them. It is a great cause they have taken up to reestablish the Gibbon population and stop illegal breeding of these animals just to be kept as pets and photo opportunities. Our timing was apt as they had just had their lunch and we were able to hear them singing. Later we went to the waterfall which is a small hike from the parking area and it is very narrow but you can still take a bath in it or just take lovely photographs against it.

We did not spend a lot of time there as we had a long drive back. There was a night market in town very near to our hostel, in the market we got to know from one of the tourists that the Sunday Night Maret only takes place on the last Sunday of the month. It is beautifully decorated and highly crowded but the variety of food makes it all worth it. Also after every 5 shops or so, there will be a performers working for tips. We did spend more than the intended time there.After leaving the market we went to Patong Beach and had dinner in the market.

Day 3:

We booked a one day tour of James Bond Island. They took us to the sleeping Buddha temple. Girls should carry a scarf with them in case they are wearing tank tops or short shorts to cover yourself up as they do not allow you inside the temple otherwise. Later we went for lunch to a Muslim village, you can visit some of the shops nearby if you finish your lunch early but they don't give you much time to go inside and visit the village. After lunch, we went to James Bond Island or Koh Tapu, made famous by the movie "The Man with the Golden Gun". You can swim up to the rock, the water is not too deep and also fairly clean, plus it is a good photo opportunity as the view is spectacular.

James bond island

The next part of the tour was canoeing through the mangroves, the rower pointed to a bull rock and elephant rock, named because of their respective shape. You can sit and relax for the ride. This was the last activity planned for the tour, and after coming to the pier we were dropped to the hostel.

We freshened up a bit and decided to visit a G-market 2Km from our hostel. It was a small market set up inside the premises of a mall but had a variety of food dishes at a reasonable price. On our way back we came across a Jazz bar called "Music Matter", we sat on the side of the road and relaxed with some great music before retiring for the night.

Day 4:

We had booked another tour to Racha and Coral island as we had read that they were one of the good places to go for snorkeling. Both of them are white sand beaches with corals at the surface. The boat took us to Coral beach for a swim and lunch, we were given plenty of time to relax and enjoy the water.

Corral beach

Later we went to Racha island for swimming, the water was again fairly clean with some plastic waste floating around. After spending good enough time at the beach, the tour guide took us to an area in the open sea for snorkeling. He gave us the eye mask but not the tube for snorkelling, however, if you have your gear then it is less expensive and more hygienic and you will be needing the gear later in the trip anyways. There was some variety of the fishes and corals but don't expect to be swarmed by fishes, its possible due to human interruption the population had decreased. After snorkelling was back to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for a cabaret show we had booked earlier through Klook app. It is advisable to reach 45 min before the show to get good seats, we were lucky to get the seats in the third row right in the center of the stage. It was a nice show, there were different dance performances and the performers were beautiful.

Day 5:

Sunset in Phi Phi Island

We took a ferry to Phi Phi Island and got an open ticket for Krabi from Phi Phi. Since we decided to stay for the night on the island, we booke a room for the night. Our plan was put together at the last minute but if you book early, you might find a cheaper room. Also, Phi Phi is a pretty costly island and some of the hostels do not have very good reviews, most are not clean and you have a risk of getting your stuff stolen. For the evening we booked a longtail boat for 3 hours, he took us around the island to monkey bay, Maya beach ( made famous by the movie The Beach) and then into the open sea to see the sunset. After freshening up, we went around the village, the hotel was close to the pier and Tonsei beach. The market, of course, is great, you can shop and eat by the sea. Also, we booked a Scooba session for the next morning via Princess Divers.

Day 6:

We woke up at 7:00 am after a good long sleep and got ready for our diving session. On our way, we had a couple of bananas and met the rest of the crew. The itinerary contained a small training session, one dive, snack and then another dive before returning to the island. We had one instructor between the two of us and all the instructors were very clear and supportive during the whole session. The diving locations were chosen properly as we got to see a lot of variety and a large number of fishes. One guy even got to see turtles during his dive. After the dive we still had about an hour before catching the ferry to Krabi so we decided to go to Tonsei beach, it is a small beach with restaurants along the coastline, the water is clear and it is all in all a good place to relax. We took the ferry which took about 45 min and from there we took a cab for 100TBH per person to go to AoNang beach where our hotel was.

View from hotel

We freshened up and went outside for dinner and later went to a nearby Raggae bar.

Day 7:

We woke up pretty late as we were tired from the day before. The first thing we went to was a bike rental shop, there are a lot of them one after the other to choose from. After that, we had some iced tea and decided to go to the Tiger Cave Temple. It was about 20Km from our hotel. There is a beautiful Budha statue built on top of 1260 steps.

Golden buddha at Tiger Cave Temple

You will get tired but the effort is worth the view. It is a temple so there are clothing restrictions. After climbing down we went around the temple. Part of it was under construction but there is a cave temple and a Chinese temple to visit. For the night we decided to go to the town to visit the night market. After tasting the various dishes and buying some souvenirs we went to Krabi Crab statue and sat by the shore for a while before heading back to the hotel.

Day 8:

We got up early, had a couple of bananas and got ready for the hike to dragon crest mountain. It is a 3.5 Km long hike and you get the view of the Krabi coastline along with the islands nearby. There is also a very small waterfall on a diversion from the path. The difficulty level is not high if you have been on other hikes but if it is your first, it might take you a little longer and more effort to climb to the top.

After coming down we had some iced tea and chips. I also lost my cap there and the staff was nice enough to help e look for it and even gave me another cap from their lost and found. After coming back to the hotel we freshened up and rested for a while. Later we went to the Ao Nang beach and had dinner there, on our way back we ran into the girls we met earlier and some other friends and drank with them for a bit.

Day 9:

In the town, we had booked a 4 Island tour package via a longtail boat. The van came to pick us up by 8:00 in the morning. The plan was to go to Pranang Beach where you can go swimming and rock climbing. Then we went to Tup Island which is two islands connected by a sandbar, in our case the water level was high which meant we could not walk to the other island. Later the boat took us near Chicken Island to see the rock formation which gives it its name. Nearby is another island called turtle island.

The boat stopped in an area to go for snorkeling. The water was very clear and you could see the fishes from above too. The last stop was KohPoda where we had lunch and sat by the beach for a while. It is considered to be one of the prettiest islands and the water is good for swimming. I would recommend spending more time there if possible. After coming back to the hotel we decided to walk to the Ao Nang Beach which was 2Km from the hotel. We bought some beers and sat by the beach for a while.

Day 10:

We decided to take the longtail boat tour to Hong island. Before going to the island the boat took us to an area for snorkeling where some people encountered jellyfishes too. Later we went to the island, there is a small trail through the forest and if you are lucky you might get to see monitor lizard. Since Hong Island was one of the affected areas in the Tsunami, the guide showed us a boat wrecked right in the middle of the trees. We had our lunch there and went for a swim. The cold water is welcome in the Thailand heat.

Hong island

After this the next stop was the Hong Lagoon, it is a beautiful area surrounded by rocks and mangroves. the water is very shallow so that you can walk around the lagoon easily.

Entrance to lagoon

At night we again went to the beach and sat there listening to music before going to bed.

Day 11:

We packed up our stuff and took the bus back to Phuket which took about 3:30 hrs. We decided to again go to Phuket Sunny Hostel to stay for one more day and booked a bike for the rest of the day. We had lunch at a nearby restaurant in the town itself and head for Promthep Cape to see the sunset. There are three areas you can see the sunset from, one is next to the road, the other from a rocky trail and then you can climb down to the rocks near the sea and watch the sun go down from there.

After that we went to Patong beach, we decided to look around and walked into a night street with all the strip clubs and dance bars there. After having dinner we went back to the hostel and packed up for early flight tomorrow.

Pointers:

Night market dishes usually cost 20TBH for a slice or a piece, you can easily and reasonably fill your appetite.Renting a bike should not be more than 200TBH. Make sure you are confident in your driving because Phuket has pretty steep roads and they drive fast there. Always park your bikes in the designated parking areas.If you do not wish to stop by Phi Phi then take a bus for traveling between Phuket and Krabi. It will be cheaper and will take less time.Plan the trip so that you get to spend a lot of time on the islands.Carry a mosquito repellant and pain relief balm.Stay in Phuket - Phuket Sunny Hostel, non AC room price is 160TBHStay in Krabi - Harry's Lake House, price for a night is 340TBHStay in Phi Phi - Harmony House, price for a night is 600TBHScooba costs 3400TBH and boat fees is 400TBH. We were told that this is the standard rate.Ferry via Phi Phi - 700TBHBus from Krabi to Phuket - 350TBHJames Bond Island tour - 1200TBHRacha and Corral Island tour - 1300TBH4 Island Tour And Hong Island tour - about 900TBH to 1000TBH eachPrefer buying beer from 7-11 or any other mart. Simon star cabaret show - 700TBH

*National Park fee of 400TBH was included in the tour fee, not to be paid seperately.