The best party beaches in Krabi

Krabi spreads its party across the mainland and the islands, so the honest picture is not one beach but a short chain of them. The everyday nightlife lives in Ao Nang, the busy resort town where bars, live music and clubs sit a few steps back from the sand. The famous, full throttle beach party belongs to the Phi Phi islands, a ferry ride out, where fire shows and all night bars line Loh Dalum bay. Between the two, the cliff backed beaches of Railay and Tonsai run a more relaxed scene of fire dancers and cocktails under the limestone.

We have ranked the beaches below for what actually makes a lively day and night work here, and we have written it with families in mind, because plenty of you want a soft sand swim by day and a taste of the buzz without dragging children into a 2am bar. So the scene comes first, then the practical things, how you reach each beach, where the daytime sand is gentle, and which to keep at arm's length after dark. We have also been straight about the world famous bay that has no party at all, so you plan around it rather than into it.

If you take one line from this page, take this one. Base in Ao Nang for the easy bars, take the ferry to Phi Phi when you want the real island party, and keep Klong Muang or Phra Nang for the calm family swim.

The thing to plan for in Krabi is the geography, because the party and the calm are often on different beaches reached by different boats. The wildest nights are on Phi Phi, an hour or more out by ferry, while the easiest nights are in Ao Nang, where you can walk home. That separation is a gift to families, because you can base on the quiet mainland coast, keep ordinary evenings gentle, and choose the one day you take the children to Phi Phi for the daytime snorkelling and skip the bars at night. You are never forced to sleep beside the speakers.

The daytime beaches are the real prize and they suit children well, with soft sand, warm shallow water and the constant theatre of longtail boats, though the heat and the sun are strong so shade and a midday break matter. The party itself is bucket drinks and fire shows rather than dressy clubs, which means it is cheap and informal but also a place to keep an eye on young ones near open flame and crowds. Ferries and longtail boats are how you move here, schedules tighten in the wet season from roughly May to October, and conditions and the sea are typical and never guaranteed, so watch the water and never count on a lifeguard.

If the party is not your aim, Krabi has plenty of calm. Klong Muang and Tubkaak north of Ao Nang are quiet resort beaches with shallow water, and Phra Nang and Poda Island give you postcard sand for a peaceful swim. Use Ao Nang or Phi Phi for the lively part, then let the northern beaches and the boat day coves take care of the rest.

Krabi's scene is more beach bar than dress code club, but the smarter beachfront venues and day bed spots around Ao Nang and the resort beaches still fill in high season, so reserving ahead saves a wait in the heat with the children. Ao Nang runs the easiest mix, the Railay beachfronts the prettiest, and the island bars the wildest. We do not invent minimum spends or amenities, so where a venue is unconfirmed we say so. Use our directory to see who is open and what they ask, then send one enquiry and let them come back to you.