Once you have finished exploring the mainland from Chiang Mai to Ayutthaya, it’ll be time to fly to one of the islands to anchor yourself for the rest of your trip. The most common destinations include flying into Krabi or Phuket. A one-way ticket to Krabi can be as low as $62 USD (and possibly cheaper) for a Spring time holiday, for example in April. For the same time of year, a one-way ticket to Phuket will cost around $47 USD (and can be found cheaper most likely). However, regardless of this price difference, I recommend flying into Krabi if you have time because you will have easy access to Koh Lanta, a beautiful and relaxed island.
Krabi (1-2 nights)
Krabi is the gateway to many of the islands. It is well-worth spending a night or two here in order to check out Railay beach, ranked 4.5 stars on Google, this beach is a beauty! Additionally, it houses one of the main ferry ports of Krabi, which can be found at Railay West. On Railay beach, you will see stunning limestone cliffs and golden sand! There’s also a phenomenal hike near Krabi that you should seek out via hostel reception (sorry, I cannot find the formal name of this trail).
Edit – June 30, 2025 – The name of the trail is East Railay Viewpoint
Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/thailand/krabi/railay-viewpoint-loop
Depending on your energy following a few nights here, you can head onto Koh Lanta or Koh Phi Phi. Koh Lanta is a more relaxed, family / adult-friendly island known for rest and restoration. In contrast, Koh Phi Phi is known for parties and being a gateway to other islands.
Koh Lanta (2-3 nights)
This relaxed island is located about 3 hours (by car or ferry) south of Krabi town. Here, I stayed at a small laid back hostel right off the beach and sipped drinks over Christmas of 2018. The main activity on this island is exploring via motorbike or resting by the waves.
For more adventure, head to Koh Phi Phi~!
Koh Phi Phi (2-3 nights)
Next on the list is Koh Phi Phi, a gem of the Thai islands. While on the island make sure to take a tour of nearby attractions in addition to hike up to the Phi Phi Viewpoint where you can see the island divided by trees as water forms beautiful “U-shapes”.
On the way back to Krabi, make sure to check out the night market. Thailand, along with Taiwan, Korea and Japan are famous for night markets with food, music and souvenirs.
Stampchaser Photography 