July 24, 2015 | talktraveltome | 3 Comments Krabi is a hotspot in Southern Thailand where a majority of people stay before visiting some of the 80 islands off the west coast, including the famous Phi Phi Islands. In fact, this is what we were planning to do until we realized that we were visiting western Thailand right in the middle of their rainy season. As they say, even the best-laid plans of travelers often go astray… or something like that. We checked the weather once we arrived in Krabi and noticed it was going to rain for nearly the next two weeks straight. Needless to say, we changed our plans. However, we still were able to spend three days in Krabi and made the most of our time there. Luckily for us, we were staying at the Amari Vogue, which is an incredible hotel located right on Tubkaek Beach. You might recognize the beach from the wedding scene in The Hangover II. We were happy to be staying at this great hotel before we found out about the rain, but with the less than stellar weather, the Amari Vogue was a saving grace for more than one reason. First of all, they have a beautiful, picturesque property with awesome pools and, as we already mentioned, it’s located on one of the nicest beaches in Krabi. For us this was great because whenever there was a break in the rain we could walk 20 feet and be sitting beach side. And don’t get us started on the epic sunsets that we saw every night from the hotel. On our first night, the clouds parted just long enough for us to watch one of the best sunsets we’ve seen so far. Seriously, look at this… it looks like the sky is on fire! Second, they have two great restaurants right on their property grounds, Bellini and Lotus, which made for a quick commute to grab a tasty meal. As you may have been able to guess from the name, Bellini is an Italian restaurant and it’s located right on the beach. Being from Northern New Jersey, we have a pretty good sense of what constitutes good Italian food and Bellini past the test with flying colors. We tried one of their brick oven pizza’s and a seafood pasta dish… eating good Italian food always makes us feel like we’re at home. The second restaurant, Lotus, features authentic Thai cuisine and is another great option for lunch and/or dinner. Of course, we sampled the fare and were not disappointed. We tried a few different curries over the course of our stay, all of which were delicious and worth trying. The hotel property has a total of 57-rooms, all of which are designed in classic Lanna style, so you get a feel of Northern Thailand while relaxing on the beach. We stayed in the Deluxe room and slept in one of the biggest beds ever. Last, but not least, the staff is incredible. Both managers, Wayne and Ian, are very personable and were extremely accommodating. We were planning on just staying in the hotel since the Weather.com forecast was calling for rain all day, but the manager, who has become an expert in predicting Krabi weather, told us that it was going to be a fairly clear day and we should see some of the local sites. As Wayne had predicted, the rain stopped, and that beautiful bright Thailand sun shined through! The ocean was still a little too rough to make the journey by longboat to Hong Island, so we opted to take a day trip to the Railay Peninsula. Railay is only accessible by boat due to the steep limestone cliffs cutting off access from the mainland, so you can either catch a boat from Krabi Town, Ao Na Moa or Ao Nang. The ride from Ao Nang costs 100 Bhat per person and takes about 15 minutes compared to 45 minutes if you leave from Krabi Town. Taking a long-boat journey is a must-do while visiting Thailand and the one to Railay offers incredible views of the southern coast! Once we departed the long-boat, it was time to start exploring! One thing that makes Railay so great is that there are no cars on this part of Thailand… so you best get steppin’ to see all that Railay has to offer! Most people that visit Railay are there to soak up the sun on some beautiful beaches or get real adventurous and take part in some world class rock climbing. Since we can barely climb a tree let alone dangle from a very steep cliff, we made our way to the beaches. There are three beach areas on Railay: Railay West, Railay East, and Pranang. Railay West and Pranang were our favorites and the ones we would recommend checking out first. How picture perfect is this place! The sun was out all day, so we spent the majority of our time laying out and taking in the beauty that surrounded us. Railay West Once we had enough time on Railay West we made our way to Pranang Beach, which can be a bit of an obstacle course as there are a ton of monkey’s lining the pathway. After posing with the monkey’s, we got to Pranang, which is a bit smaller than Railay West, but equally as impressive. Pranang Beach Oh and don’t forget to check out the, as we like to call it, “Ode to Penis Shrine” or as the locals call it, The Sacred Penis Cave. What could be better than swimming in crystal clear water surround by limestone cliffs with phallic carvings lurking in the background! Oh Thailand, you have a great sense of humor! Overall, we’d highly suggest taking a long boat trip over to Railay! The beaches are incredible, and it’s a nice break from all the Tuk-Tuks and traffic. Once we got back from Railay the sun was still out, so we decided to do a little exploring in the nearby Tab Kak Hang Nak Hill Nature Trail. Most people who visit Krabi come for the beautiful beaches, so we were surprised to have the opportunity to explore one of Thailand’s national parks. The nature trail is 3.7km, trekking through the tropical rainforest. Along the way you can take a dip in some pools, just be sure to bring some water, because it is hot and humid! Some of the other attractions we didn’t get a chance to experience for ourselves due to the weather, but would highly recommend checking out while in Krabi, include: 1. Boat trip to Hong Island: Hong Island is a located in Phang Nga Bay and supposed to be an incredible place to visit. You can rent a long boat or take a speed boat, but from what we’ve heard this is an absolute must while visiting Krabi. For more information on boat trips to Hong Island click here. 2. Day Trip to Phi Phi Islands: The Phi Phi Islands are some of the most well know islands in all of Thailand and a place we’ll be back to see someday. It’s also the filming location of the Hollywood hit, The Beach, featuring Leo…. we’re on a first-name basis these days, but you might know him as Mr. DiCaprio For more information on the Phi Phi Islands click here. 3. Snorkeling/Scuba Diving Trip: We were able to go scuba diving and snorkeling on the east coast of Thailand, but we’ve heard that the west coast has the better diving. This was difficult to believe because the diving off the east coast was awesome, but this is another thing we will definitely be back to experience. For more information on Snorkeling/Scuba Diving near Krabi click here. Although the weather wasn’t the best, we still had an incredible time visiting the Krabi area and staying at the Amari Vogue. Thank you Amari Vogue for hosting us during our stay! As always, our opinions are our own as we Talk Travel. Traveling around Thailand? Check out our other blog posts for tips and advice on what to do when you visit this amazing country! Get more information here > Comments comments