Krabi: where it is, the main areas, seasons and property values

Where Krabi is

Krabi (กระบี่) is a province in southern Thailand on the mainland shore of the Andaman Sea. Phuket lies to the west across Phang Nga Bay: close as the crow flies, but 156.9 km by road from Phuket airport to Ao Nang Beach, about 2 hours 25 minutes without traffic (OSRM). Boats and ferries link Krabi with Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and Phuket.

The province has 8 districts (amphoe). Resort life is concentrated in two of them: Mueang Krabi, with Krabi Town, Ao Nang, Noppharat Thara and Klong Muang beaches and the Railay peninsula, and Koh Lanta in the south, an island district with beaches on its west coast. The other districts are mostly farmland; the Emerald Pool and hot springs that day trips visit are there.

DOPA figures include residents of municipalities inside each district (Krabi Town 30,459, Krabi Noi 20,120 and others). They cover registered residents only, foreigners on long-stay visas are not included.

Krabi’s areas at a glance

Each area has its own page: who it suits, beaches, homes, schools, hospitals and travel times. The valuation is the median Treasury condo valuation for the subdistrict (snapshot 05.08.2024, our calculation). It is used for taxes and transfer fees, not a sale price.

Krabi’s seasons month by month

Krabi follows the same pattern as Phuket: dry from December to April, rainy from May to November. Under Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) normals, Krabi station gets 2,180.7 mm a year, Phuket 2,271.5 mm. February is the driest month and October the wettest. Average temperatures range from 26.8 to 28.8 °C, and March and April are the hottest (mean maximum 34.3-34.7 °C).

Koh Lanta’s dry season is deeper than the mainland’s: 31 mm and 4 rainy days in January against 97 mm and 8 days at Krabi station, but its summer is wetter. Maya Bay on Phi Phi closes every year from 1 August to 30 September; in 2026 it reopened on 1 October. More on months and places in our Krabi travel guide.

Getting to Krabi

By air to Krabi (KBV). The airport is in Nuea Khlong district, east of town. OSRM drive times on OpenStreetMap data, without traffic:

Via Phuket. From HKT airport to Ao Nang is 156.9 km, about 2 hours 25 minutes, and about the same to Krabi airport (153.1 km). See the comparison of Krabi and Phuket below.

By sea. The province’s main passenger pier is Klong Jilad near Krabi Town. In 2024 the transport ministry described it as the hub for boats to Phi Phi and Koh Lanta and is rebuilding it. Longtail boats run from Ao Nang Beach to Railay. Ferry timetables and fares change with the season and we found no single official timetable, so we do not publish them: check with the operator when you buy.

To Koh Lanta by road. There is no fixed bridge from the mainland, cars cross by ferry. The Department of Rural Roads is preparing a 1.8-billion-baht bridge between Ko Klang and Ko Lanta Noi subdistricts; according to Thairath on 09.10.2025 it is due to open at the end of 2028.

Property in Krabi and Treasury valuations

The Treasury valuation register (snapshot 05.08.2024, still the latest in October 2026) lists 20 residential condo buildings in Krabi with unit titles. Phuket has 286. The median valuation is 48,325 baht/m² in Krabi and 48,250 in Phuket.

The valuation is used for taxes and fees when a sale is registered; it is not a sale price. Method: all residential units, median per floor, then per building, then across the subdistrict’s buildings. Where there are fewer than five buildings the median is unstable, so look at the range. Koh Lanta and Railay have no condos on the register: building there is mostly villas and hotels, and villas are not in this register.

Krabi projects on sale are listed in our catalogue. A foreigner can own a condo unit freehold within the 49% quota but not land; how that works is explained in freehold, the 49% quota and leasehold.

Living in Krabi: hospitals and schools

Hospitals. The state Krabi Hospital is in town on Uttarakit Road (per OpenStreetMap). Licensed private hospitals on the Ministry of Public Health list of 31.07.2026:

Koh Lanta has no private hospital; the state Koh Lanta Hospital is on the island’s east coast. From Ao Nang it is 15.2 km (about 19 minutes) to Krabi Nakharin and 3.6 km to Wattanapat Ao Nang.

International schools licensed by the Ministry of Education (OPEC register, October 2026): four in the whole province. One in Ao Nang subdistrict (57 Moo 6), Krabi International in Nong Thale near Klong Muang (188 Moo 6), one in Thap Prik on the mainland and one in Saladan on Koh Lanta. That is far fewer than Phuket, where Chalong alone has seven.

Things to do in Krabi

Krabi is about the sea and the cliffs: the Railay peninsula with Phra Nang beach, Poda and Chicken islands on the four-island trip, Phi Phi and the Hong islands lagoon. On the mainland there are the Emerald Pool and the Tiger Cave Temple. Noppharat Thara beach and the islands off Ao Nang are part of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park: 200 baht per foreign adult, 400 baht on Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Le and Bamboo Island (DNP table, 02.06.2023 edition). Places, seasons and fees are in our Krabi travel guide; day trips from Phuket are covered in Krabi day trip.

Krabi or Phuket

People pick Krabi for the cliffs, islands and slower pace, and Phuket for choice of homes, schools and direct flights. For a long stay with children or buying a condo, Phuket gives more options: Krabi has few condo buildings and only four international schools. Phuket’s areas are covered on the Phuket page.

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