Phi Phi or Krabi
 

Hi there... we had originally planned to go to Phi Phi for 5-6 days (having been told that the Princess resort was a real paradise on earth)... then we read some reports that said it was cheap, tacky and not very nice... so we started looking at Krabi area... same story...starts off good but then some bad reports... Can I have some opinions from people that stayed (or even visited both)... thanks

Most opinions are based upon pre-conceived ideals. That means that people place a 'picture' in their mind of a place or an experience and then judge upon that 'ideal'.
In more 'down to earth terms' if your taxi driver is polite, the recptionist smiles, any minor inconvenience is dealt with, your love blossoms or grows and you get out of your holiday/vacation more than you anticipated, any negatives points become insignificant. The opposite is that if you look for hassles and problems they sure will find you!

The beaches of Phi Phi and Krabi are not as pristine as they once were, and before the arrival of electricity, convenience food stores with disposable drink cartons, bottles the like there was little or no rubbish/garbage. Don't just blame the tourist, the blame often lies with authorities not providing sufficient facilities to cope with visitors whilst gladly accepting the money and tax.

My point is that both are now busy tourist resort areas, with that comes plus and minus points. If you want a total pristine beach without the signs of being touched by toursim they can be found, but in the same breath don't expect decent accommodation, roads, electricity or facilities.

If 'you' can see the beauty that is all that matters. If you see some trash on a beach pick it up. What you shouldn't do is allow it to upset your plans or your well earned holiday/vacation.

People complain about there being a 7-11 store on Phi Phi, well, if it had no business it would have shut down by now!

Don't listen too much to other's opinions ( not even mine! ), if you set out to enjoy you will enjoy. So a little thing isn't just right, service is a little slow, hey, it's Thailand, relax, take it easy, don't worry. Both places have enough beauty but it is your own eyes that will see that, or not,!

Thanks... some great words of wisdom. Have you been to each place...what's your personal favourite ? In terms of places to stay what seemed most interesting was the Princess Resort on Phi Phi and the hotel Pranang Bay on Krabi. Have you seen/been near either ?

Ah..maybe becuase I have lived in Thailand so long now....
I've been to both. I would stay in Krabi area as simply being on the mainland or close means it's easy to get about. Phi Phi is worth it for a trip, if you want a quieter beach area try Phulay or Railey beach. Depends on what you want to pay, if you can afford the Tubkaak in Krabi it's worth it.

I would take a look at this Thai site and check the reviews which are pretty honest whether good or bad.

http://www.freewebs.com/koh_samui_hotels/krabi.htm

Thanks James.. sounds like a good suggestion. Will have to check it out tomorrow though as its close to midnight here and I am about to log off.

I've been to both PhiPhi and Krabi. We stayed at the PhiPhi Princess, we had a nice time, but I wouldn't call it paradise on earth. My favorite thing about PhiPhi was going to PhiPhiLey and seeing Maya Bay where they filmed the movie the beach. Paradise to me is Railay Beach near Ao Nang. We rented a house last year at the Railay Beach Club and this year we stayed at the Sand and Sea Resort. I highly recommend Railay, we loved just hiring a boat each day and going out to some of the neighboring islands. We have some pictures of our 2002 trip at our website.
http://kerstentraveler.tripod.com/thailand2002.htm

I agree with the previous post. We were in Krabi in November and found it much more laid back than Phuket. All the same Krabi is getting busier. There was quite a bit of road works going on along the main road above Ao Nang beach, very noisy and dusty. Don't know if it is finished yet but we were very glad we had booked the Pakasai and didn't stay along the front.

Hi

My wife and I went to Krabi (Ao Nang) last year and we had a good time there. The Ao nang beach is not really nice for swimming but beautiful beaches are just a short boat ride away (e.g. Phra Nang beach). We have also been to Phi Phi but that is a few years back and we only went there for a day to snorkle.

I have posted a couple of long trip reports with pictures from our trips to Thailand on my homepage www.gardkarlsen. Maybe you can find some useful information there :-)

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Phi Phi versus Krabi. For what it's worth, I'll say that while we are curious about going out to Phi Phi for a night or two, Krabi is by far superior in terms of being able to get around and do things. We were there three weeks ago and while it rained/poured at Phi Phi island and another uninhabited island we visited, when we got back to Krabi, the weather was fine and the seas calm. Undoubtedly it helps to be staying at a nice place and we stayed at Rayavadee on Railay Beach, but pretty much all the places on Railay would be able to offer the same combination of great beaches, easy access to Krabi town and a quiet place to relax. The lack of roads/cars probably has something to do with this. I suppose you can find something comparable at the resorts on the outer or east side of Phi Phi, but then the weather might not cooperate and you'd be stuck with a long boat ride back to the mainland.
Based on our experience, my opinion might be biased since we saw very little else of the other Krabi beaches except what could be seen from the speedboat a distance offshore. Krabi town, on the other hand, we visited several times by long tail boat and while we liked it's laid back atmosphere, we didn't see any place suitable to stay at. (I can confirm that it does have at least 4 pet stores) When we arrived, we did see evidence of some construction going on but assumed it was for the APEC conference. Whatever, the delays were far worse in Phuket where the main street is now partially blocked. That said, I'd agree with JamesA and just do day or overnite trips to Phi Phi from Krabi., at least that's what we plan to do again next year.

For what it's worth ever since I was young a couple of times a year we would spend a week on Phuket but since a year ago we now always go to Krabi, helped by Silk Air direct flights but even so we did not mind the couples of hours drive from Phuket Airport o Krabi. We find the Krabi area far nicer thatn Phuket. I can agree about the roadworks in Phuket, and the prices in Phuket are not cheap for anything now, Krabi is much nicer.
Do not bother with Krabi Town as not very much there, Ao Nong is busy and it suits us for a short break. There are some very nice new properties there now. It is easy to take a longtaled boat to the islands nearby and the swimming is better than Ao Nong beach. We plan to also go to Koh lanta from Krabi when we next go in November.