After enjoying a stopover in Dubai and Bangkok and a week in Chiang Mia, we headed to the coast of the Krabi Province to enjoy all of the splendor provided by the Thailand coastline along the Andaman Sea. We were feeling extra adventurous when planning this part of our trip – we booked two nights at the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas between Ao Nang and Railay Beach and left the rest of our trip unplanned so that we could island hop accordingly.
We hired a car to drive us from the airport to the Nopparat Thara Pier where we met the Centara Grand speed boat for transportation to the resort. The pier was quite interesting. We made a decision then and there that we would ovoid this pier at all costs for the remainder of our stay. To say it was a busy place is quite an understatement.
We arrived at the Centara and were overwhelmed by the absolute beauty of the area – every direction we looked, we were treated to something incredible to see. We checked-in our ocean view suit and immediately headed to the Monkey Trail, the walking path between the Centara and Ao Nang, for some dinner, shopping and relaxation.
The next day, we took a long tail boat from the Centara boat dock to Railay Beach. Wow! This place was spectacular. We grabbed breakfast, walked along the beach and shopped for a few souvenirs before hiring a long tail to take us on a private tour of Phang Nga Beach, Phra Nang Cave and the four islands – Tup, Poda, and Chicken. The weather was great allowing us to really appreciate the blue green water, limestone cliffs and bright white sand. The private tour allowed us to miss a lot of the tourists so it felt like we had the islands all to ourselves.
We returned to the Centara, grabbed dinner and booked a full day excursion for the next day to Maya and Pileh Bays and Phi Phi, Bamboo and Monkey Islands. Other than a little run-in David had with a monkey, the day overall went great. While Maya Bay is very crowded (even at 8:00 a.m.) it was well worth the visit. We have never seen water that shade of blue anywhere. It truly is an incredible place – it makes complete sense that it would serve as a backdrop for the move The Beach.
We arrived back at the Centara, grabbed our bags and headed to Phulay Bay, A Ritz Carlton Reserve in Nong Thale for the remainder of our stay. This is one of only two Ritz Carlton Reserve properties in the world – and after traveling for two weeks we were ready for some papering. To make matters even better, we were upgraded to an Ocean Pavilion suite!
This property is absolutely stunning and the service was just as good. Our butler, Mai, was awesome. She took care of every request or need we had during our stay. We took full advantage of the resort – hanging by the pool, taking a Thia boxing class, embarking on the resort long tail to the Hong Islands, and even learning how to give a Thia massage.
It was a short drive to Ao Nang, so we were even able to get in some nightlight during our stay.
Bottom Line:
The Southern Thialand coast is absolutely stunning! The pictures simply don’t capture the true beauty of the islands. Thus is an absolute must on any Thialand itinerary.
Habitual Tourists 
Leave a Reply