Phuket & Krabi, Thailand

Limestone karsts, longtail boats, and beaches for every budget from Rai Leh climbing camps to Amanpuri.

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Best time to visit

Month	High	Low	Rain	Season
Jan	29°	25°	46 mm	prime
Feb	30°	26°	27 mm	prime
Mar	30°	26°	80 mm	prime
Apr	30°	26°	127 mm
May	30°	27°	247 mm
Jun	29°	26°	241 mm
Jul	29°	26°	229 mm
Aug	29°	26°	251 mm
Sep	28°	26°	284 mm
Oct	28°	25°	294 mm
Nov	28°	25°	212 mm	prime
Dec	28°	25°	98 mm	prime

30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.

Serves travellers at Backpacker→Ultra-luxury level. Typically around $70 a day on the ground.

Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.

Phuket runs on scooters and taxis. Krabi runs on longtail boats between beaches and ferries between islands. A car is useful on Phuket and meaningless on Rai Leh or Phi Phi, which have no roads to drive on.
getting around · editorial
Phuket has a full international airport; Krabi has a smaller one. Between the two it is roughly three hours around the bay by road or a boat across it. Rai Leh has no road at all and is reached only by longtail.
getting there · editorial
Rip currents on the west coast are serious in monsoon months and the red flags are not decorative. Longtail landings run on the tide, so getting onto Rai Leh means wading the last few metres.
know before · editorial
Cash baht for longtails, markets and beach food; cards at hotels and larger restaurants. Machines are everywhere on Phuket and scarce on the smaller islands.
money · editorial
The southwest monsoon, roughly May to October, puts swell and red flags on the west-facing beaches. At the other extreme the islands sell out entirely over Christmas and New Year.
when not to go · editorial
On Phuket: Patong for nightlife, Kata and Karon for calmer sand, the Old Town for shophouses and food. On the Krabi side: Ao Nang as the mainland base, Rai Leh for climbing and no roads, Ko Lanta for long quiet beaches, Phi Phi for boats and noise.
where to stay · editorial

Railay
Reached only by boat. Limestone walls at both ends of the beach.
Phra Nang Cave Beach
A cave with fishermen's offerings, and the greenest water on this coast.
Maya Bay, Phi Phi
Closed for four years to let the coral recover. Reopened with a cap on numbers.
The Big Buddha of Phuket
Forty-five metres of white marble on top of the hill, visible from the whole island.
Phuket old town
Sino-Portuguese houses from when tin paid for everything here.
Ao Thalane
Mangrove between rock walls, passable at high tide.

Eat a massaman curry in a family restaurant
Massaman curry
Sweet, with peanuts and cinnamon. A Persian inheritance that turned Thai in the south.
Whole fish grilled in salt
Chosen off the ice, weighed in front of you.
Banana roti with condensed milk
Made on a hot plate, in the street, after nine at night.

Set out by longtail before 7am, ahead of the tour boats
A long-tail at sunset
A lorry engine on the stern and a propeller on the end of a three-metre shaft.
Bioluminescent plankton in dark water
On moonless nights, when you move your hand and the water lights up.

Tiger Cave Temple
1,237 uneven steps to 278 metres. An hour of climbing, in the heat.