To most people, Ao Nang will be a stopover from Bangkok before heading on to Ko Phi Phi or any of the other Islands of the coast of southern Thailand, and so they will rarely stay here for more than a day or two. Rather than just lounging around on the beach or going on a saturated and crowded ‘4 Island Tour’, here’s how we spent a day in Ao Nang.
We had the option to go on the well known (and very crowded) ‘4 Island Tour’ but after having read reviews on TripAdvisor we decided not to risk wasting our money and instead hire a two person kayak for a whole day and make our own way around the coastline.
We started early from Ao Nang beach so that we could have a full day out on the water and even though we were paddling by 9am, it was already getting hot so we used the shade provided by the massive limestone pillars to help us cool down.
Without a map or a compass we decided to simply head out and make sure we kept the coast on our left. That way if we got lost we just had to paddle with the land on the right and we’d easily find our way back!
After paddling through a narrow cave our first stop was on Railay beach. We had a quick rest but it was already getting crowded so we hoped back into the kayak and paddled further around the cliffs until we found another place to stop. We managed to find a small rock at which point Frida jumped out to take some photos.
Turns out kayaking on the sea is quite tiring so before long we’d worked up quite an appetite so paddled over to Ao Phra Nang Beach where we spotted some long boats parked up that were serving food. We pulled up alongside the rows of boats and ordered a Pad Thai which were much cheaper than in town and only about ฿120
Refuelled and ready to paddle some more, we headed back the way we came and found the tiniest little beach where we had another little rest before calling it a day and heading back towards Ao Nang.
We loved paddling around on the open sea, and even though we had to dodge out of the way of several roaring long boats it was so nice not having a strict schedule to stick to, something we wouldn’t have been able to avoid on the 4 island tour.
The kayaks cost us about £10 each for the whole day which included life jackets and some snorkels. They also had options for half day or hourly rental but we didn’t want to keep checking the time, instead only turning around and heading back once our arms could take no more! Overall, this is a great way to avoid the crowds in a now very touristy area of Thailand, and travelling at your own pace also makes for a great day on the water.
