Is December a good time to visit Krabi

December is when Krabi turns from the rainy season to the dry one, and when Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta fill up for Christmas and New Year. Below are Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) normals for the province’s two stations, TMD’s outlook for December 2026, which islands and parks are open, how busy it gets and what to book early. Checked on 11 November 2026.

Krabi weather in December: TMD numbers

The Krabi station (48 563) is inland near Krabi Town, about 18 km from Ao Nang, and its record covers 1994-2020. The Ko Lanta station (48 566) covers 1991-2020. A rainy day means 0.1 mm or more.

Eleven rainy days are not eleven lost days: TMD counts any day with 0.1 mm, so most of them are a single shower. Nights at the Krabi station are about 3 degrees cooler than in Phuket Town, 21.7 °C against 25.0 °C. The station is inland, so a beach may feel warmer. All twelve months are on Krabi weather by month and Koh Lanta weather by month.

From the rains to the dry season: how December changes

December brings less than half of November’s rain, and thunderstorm days fall from 5.1 to 1.9. It is still a transition month, and the official sources do not fully agree on where the dry season starts:

• The Department of National Parks (DNP) counts December as the last month of the rainy season on its pages for both parks off Ao Nang: May to December for Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi, late April to December for Than Bok Khorani, the park of the Hong Islands
• The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) wrote on 20 October 2026 that the dry season proper should settle in by December
• TMD publishes no weekly normals, so the month cannot be split by data. Our reading of the monthly averages: the first days of December sit closer to November, so leave more slack for boat days if you come early in the month

TMD outlook for December 2026

From TMD’s cool season outlook issued on 9 October 2026 (TMD’s seasonal page showed no update on 11 November):

• Andaman coast in December: minimum temperatures of 24-26 °C and rain over 10-20% of the area, down from thunderstorms over 40-60% of the area in November
• Andaman Sea waves of 1-2 m through the cool season
• In November and December low-pressure systems may become tropical storms that pass near or across the Gulf of Thailand and the south, bringing heavy rain. TMD expects the highest waves, 4-5 m in places, in the Gulf
• TMD expects El Niño to strengthen by the end of 2026, which may keep temperatures above normal

This is a long-range outlook. For your dates, check the TMD 7-day forecast under Southern (West Coast).

Sea, waves and boats in December

The swell that stops longtails comes with the southwest monsoon, from May to October. In December both stations record the wind from the northeast, at a mean of 3.9 knots at Krabi and 3.1 knots on Koh Lanta, so it blows off the land at Ao Nang, West Railay and the west coast beaches of Koh Lanta. This is our reading of TMD wind data, not a wave measurement.

• Longtails to Railay and the nearby islands leave from the beach, speedboats from Nopparat Thara pier: Ao Nang: piers and boats
• A passing storm can still stop boats for a day in December. Keep one spare day and put island trips early in your stay, so there is room to move them
• TMD normals have no sea temperature or wave height, so we publish no figure for either

What’s open in December

Closure periods are from the DNP closure table (data as of 7 January 2026, read on 11 November), fees from the DNP table for individuals (2 June 2023). Children pay half. The same table lists Ko Yung in the Phi Phi group as closed indefinitely. For Ko Rok the DNP status list still carries an older closure entry, so confirm your date with the operator or the park.

TAT notes that six marine national parks, including Phi Phi and Ko Lanta, have used electronic tickets since October 2025: buy yours in advance and have your passport ready.

Day trips that work in December

• Railay and Phra Nang. About 15 minutes by longtail from Ao Nang and half a day without a tour
• Hong Islands. A lagoon, beaches and a viewpoint in a 6-9 hour day: Hong Islands from Ao Nang
• Phi Phi. By speedboat from Ao Nang or by ferry from Krabi Town, times and fares on Krabi and Ao Nang to Phi Phi
• Poda, Chicken and Tub islands. The short island round off Ao Nang, listed with the other boat trips on Krabi excursions
• Koh Lanta. Better as 2-3 nights than a day trip: Koh Lanta, boats and minivans on Krabi to Koh Lanta
• A day on land for a wet morning. The Emerald Pool and the Tiger Cave Temple do not depend on the sea

Christmas and New Year: crowds, prices and what to book

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) counts hotel occupancy for Krabi province as a whole, which includes Ao Nang, Railay, Koh Lanta and Phi Phi. In December 2025 it was 80.91%, up from 75.76% in November and second only to April (84.14%) that year. The province had 617,148 visitors, 390,850 of them foreign, the most foreign visitors of any month in 2025.

New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday and New Year’s Day on a Friday, so Thai residents have four days off in a row, 31 December to 3 January, on top of foreign arrivals. As of 11 November TAT had not published Christmas or New Year countdown programmes for Krabi, and we list no events we could not confirm.

What to book early:

• Rooms for the holiday week. The 80.91% is an average for the whole month and the whole province, so expect less choice between Christmas and 3 January
• Ferries and island stays. TAT’s advice for the Andaman coast this season is to book ferries and island accommodation early for December and January
• Flights from Bangkok. On 31 October the AirAsia MOVE fare calendar for Bangkok to Krabi ran from 1,122 baht in early November to about 3,500-3,950 baht, with the peak in late December: Bangkok to Krabi
• Transfers. From Phuket see Phuket to Krabi, from the airport Krabi Airport to Ao Nang and Railay

We do not publish hotel rates until we collect our own dated measurements.

Krabi, Phuket or Koh Samui in December

TMD normals for December, 1991-2020 (Krabi 1994-2020):

Krabi and Phuket are close in December: 90.3 mm against 82.0 mm. Koh Lanta is the driest of the four. Koh Samui is still in its rainy period, with almost three times Krabi’s rain. How the two Andaman bases differ beyond the weather is on Phuket or Krabi, and the same month elsewhere is on Phuket in December and Koh Samui in December.

Should you go to Krabi in December?

Go if:

• you want the first dry weeks of the season and accept a shower on about one day in three
• you plan boat days to Railay, the Hong Islands or Phi Phi and can keep a spare day
• you want Christmas or New Year by the sea and have booked rooms and transfers

Choose another month or base if:

• you want fewer rainy days: Krabi in January has 7.7, and February is the driest month with 35.9 mm
• you want the driest Andaman beach in December: Koh Lanta gets 64.6 mm
• holiday crowds and peak fares bother you: aim for mid-December, between the long weekend of 5-7 December and Christmas

The province guide is the Krabi travel guide, the whole country is in Thailand in December, and closures for the islands shared with Phuket are on Phuket islands open by month.