Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Thailand or Bali?

Ao Nang is one of several beaches near the town of Krabi. It is at the stage of development between backpackers and large package tours, with a small airport with a few regional flights each day. There is more information at a commercial web site (http://krabi.sawadee.com/), which should give you a general picture. I just got back from a week at the Krabi Resort, which had clean, attractive (though not luxurious) facilities with friendly staff and service. The food there was not great (not surprisingly, the Thai items were the most reliable). I would go there again. Ao Nang is nicely located, with lots of tourist services and good transportation links to the nearby beaches and offshore islands, including the resort's private island Ko Poda, which offers superior snorkeling. The Ao Nang beach is nice, with calm, clear emerald waters and pretty scenery, but I would not call it perfect due largely to the brownish sand. The adjacent beaches of Railay and Phra Nang are prettier, as are those of easily accessible islands(10 minutes by longtail boat) with more spectacular limestone formations. These are accessible only by longtail boat (for a few baht). Accomodations and services on Railay and Phra Nang are more limited (an odd mix of one four-hundred dollar per night resort and a bunch of simple bungalows appealing to the backpacking set). If you stay at any of these beaches, expect things to be easy and efficient. Development is limited enough that the skyline is fairly unspoiled (though this will doubtless change)--there are some areas with minimal crowding during peak season (January), but it is relatively easy to find some areas of privacy. Another Thailand beach options would include Ko Lanta, about 1.5 hours by boat from Krabi--I did not get there myself, but word was that it is relatively rustic and unspoiled. Ko Phi Phi (which is spectacular, also about 1.5 hours by boat from Krabi) has suffered from the attention drawn to it by its use as a location in "The Beach." It was streched to the limit at high season, and was too crowded for my tastes, though I bet it would be much, much nicer in April/May. Ko Samui (on the other side of the Malay penninsula) is also said to be beautiful, and it is much easier to get there now that there is an airport. New airports at Krabi and Samui unfortunately will guarantee that they will not remain sleepy for long. Unless you want a Cancun-like experience, I would avoid Pattaya and Phuket. In April/May, expect the Thailand resports to be pretty empty, in large part because it is rainy (esp. in May, so keep that in mind). Ao Nang is a cheap beach vacation--I probably spent maybe $150 a day for two people for everything, including private boat trips, day trips, elephant treking, etc. But you could have a very pleasant time for a third to a half of that, and you could make do for less than a 10th of that. Bali would be cheaper still, especially at that time of the year. Given the current political turmoil in Indonesia, I would avoid making plans to go there at this point.