Krabi doesn’t have a cruise terminal. Ships anchor offshore and tender to one of three small piers: Noppharat Thara near Ao Nang, Klong Jilad at Krabi Town, or Chao Fa.
Which one you get decides your day. Noppharat Thara is a 20 to 25-minute walk from Ao Nang Beach; Klong Jilad is 25 minutes from it by taxi.
Which pier you land at in Krabi, and why it changes your day
Most cruise lines tender to Noppharat Thara Pier, which serves Ao Nang, and the run from the anchorage takes 20 to 30 minutes. Small expedition ships often use Krabi Town’s river pier instead. Klong Jilad and Chao Fa also take Krabi’s tourist boats, so different sailings really can land in different places.
No cruise line publishes its Krabi landing point, no port authority assigns piers here, and there’s no tender timetable to look up. Your ship’s daily programme, or the meeting point on your shore excursion ticket, is the only answer that counts for your sailing.
The two main landings feel like different ports. Noppharat Thara has a floating pontoon that tilts with the tide, and you step off onto the coastal road with Ao Nang a 20 to 25 minute walk or a five-minute tuk-tuk ride away.
Klong Jilad sits in the mangroves about 4 km from Krabi Town, with no swimming beach anywhere near it. The closest is Ao Nang, 25 minutes by taxi.
Krabi is usually one stop on an Andaman Sea cruise, alongside Phuket and Malaysia’s Penang and Langkawi, on sailings that start or end in Singapore. Thailand’s Gulf ports, Koh Samui and Laem Chabang for Bangkok, are on the other side of the country and usually a different cruise.
Krabi cruise port map
Tenders bring you ashore at Noppharat Thara Pier. Tap a pin for directions.
- Noppharat Thara PierWhere tenders land
- Klong Jilad PierWhere tenders land
- Ao Nang BeachBeach · About 3 km from Noppharat Thara pier
- Ao Nang Monkey TrailWalking trail · About 4 km from Noppharat Thara pier
- Railay West BeachBeach · About 6 km from Noppharat Thara pier
- Tiger Cave TempleBuddhist temple · About 16 km from Noppharat Thara pier
- Wat Kaew KorawaramBuddhist temple · About 13 km from Noppharat Thara pier
- Krabi Town night marketNight market · About 13 km from Noppharat Thara pier
Getting into Ao Nang or Krabi Town from the tender pier
There’s no cruise-line shuttle at Krabi. You use the local transport: songthaews on set routes such as Ao Nang to Krabi Town, tuk-tuks and metered taxis at the pier, and longtails from Ao Nang beach. Songthaews are cheap and slow, which matters when your whole port day is five or six hours.
Ride-hailing works in Krabi, just not at the pier itself. At Noppharat Thara, Grab and Bolt drivers have to pick you up outside the pier car park, which is reserved for tuk-tuks, buses and metered taxis. At Klong Jilad, local taxi operators keep ride-hailing drivers out of the pier area altogether, so walk about 300 m out to Klong Jilad Road and be picked up there.
Pre-booked minivan shuttles are available and worth splitting if several of you are heading to the same beach. Everything runs on cash, from longtails to market stalls, and there are plenty of ATMs in Ao Nang.
Railay Beach: tender, road transfer, then longtail
Railay has no road access at all, so the trip comes in three legs: tender to the pier, road transfer to Ao Nang, then a 15-minute longtail. Count on half a day, and build in the waiting time.
- Longtails leave Ao Nang when they’re full, usually eight passengers, so allow about 20 minutes before the crossing even starts, and the same again for the return.
- It’s a wet landing. You step off the longtail into knee-deep water onto soft sand, so wear something that dries and carry a dry bag that keeps your phone and camera safe on the wet landing.
- Phra Nang Cave Beach is another 10 minutes on foot from Railay West, and it’s the quieter half of the same trip.
Phi Phi islands need the whole day, not an afternoon
Phi Phi is the one Krabi sight that won’t compress. Ferries from Klong Jilad to Ton Sai take about an hour on the fastest operator, which eats a short port day before you’ve done anything, so a speedboat is the practical version and it still wants most of your time ashore.
This is where a ship excursion earns its place, because it’s timed around the tender rather than around a ferry timetable. Windstar sells Krabi trips of 6.5 to 8 hours, including Phi Phi and Hong Island by speedboat, which is longer than most independent passengers allow themselves.
Star Seeker, the line’s 112-suite ship, is the most frequent ship here, on a route between Bangkok’s Laem Chabang cruise port guide and Phuket.
Tiger Cave Temple: 1,237 steps and no lift
Tiger Cave Temple, Wat Tham Suea, is about 20 minutes by taxi from Klong Jilad, and the climb to the summit is 1,237 steps with no lift, up to a viewpoint roughly 278 m above the plain. Entry is free, shoulders and knees must be covered, and nothing about the top section is accessible.
This is a climb, not a stroll: start early in your port day, carry water in a refillable bottle you can top up before the steps start, and leave yourself time to come down.
The last tender: be back 60 minutes early, 90 from Ao Nang
Be at Noppharat Thara or Klong Jilad no later than 60 minutes before the last tender, and give yourself 90 minutes if you’re travelling from Ao Nang back to Klong Jilad. Route 4203 between the two clogs up through the afternoon and turns a 25-minute run into 50.
Most Krabi port days give you five to six hours ashore once tendering is accounted for, though some calls run much longer, like Windstar’s Star Seeker, scheduled 07:00 to 23:00. Missing the ship isn’t a taxi ride to the next pier: the usual recovery is a three-hour drive to Phuket or a flight to the next port.
If your itinerary has more Thai ports after this one, the Thailand cruise ports guide covers what each of them asks of your day.
Money in Krabi: currency, cards and cash
Krabi uses the Thai baht, and you’ll need cash for most of a day ashore.
Cards work at hotels and the bigger restaurants, sometimes with a surcharge. Longtails, songthaews, taxis and market stalls are cash only, and so are tips. Shops and taxis quote you baht and take baht. Dollars and euros aren’t widely accepted. If a place does take them, it sets its own rate, so it’s simpler to pay in baht. You’ll find ATMs in Ao Nang, though the fee depends on the bank. Carry enough baht for the day rather than counting on topping up near the pier.
Is Krabi safe for cruise passengers?
Krabi is a safe port for cruise passengers. Crime is low, and violent crime against tourists is rare.
What you’re more likely to run into is petty crime. Pickpockets work the busy spots, bags get snatched by passing motorbikes, and the touts at Klong Jilad and Ao Nang will quote a high price for a private boat or a last seat. Taxis and songthaews overcharge too, so agree the fare before you get in.
Never hand your passport over as a deposit for a rental. Thailand’s Tourist Police hotline is 1155. After dark, stick to the lit, busy parts of Ao Nang Beach Road and give quiet stretches like Long Beach a miss. By day, Krabi is straightforward and easy to get around.
Where to eat near Krabi cruise port
For southern Thai food, head to Krabi Town: the night market on Khongkha Road, beside the giant crab statues on the riverfront, is where the dishes this coast is known for turn up cheaply and in quantity. Ao Nang’s beachfront road is the alternative for seafood by the water.
- Gaeng tai pla: a fierce southern curry built on fermented fish, and the dish that tells you exactly where you are.
- Kua kling: dry-fried minced meat with a serious chilli hit, no sauce and nowhere to hide.
- Khanom jeen nam ya: rice noodles under a fish curry sauce, served early and eaten at any hour.
- Massaman curry: the mild, sweet, peanut-rich one, if the first three sound like a dare.
Opening days for the night market change, so check before you build the evening around it. Stalls take cash only.
Weather in Krabi for a cruise port day
Krabi’s cruise season runs roughly November to March, the Andaman dry season. You’ll get calm seas and daytime highs in the low to mid 30s C. Overnight temperatures drop to the low to mid 20s.
It stays humid even in these drier months, so you’ll sweat through a shirt, and you can still get caught in a shower. Plan for a hot, sticky day ashore. Don’t expect it to stay dry. The wetter southwest monsoon runs roughly May to October, outside the cruise season, and brings heavier rain and rougher seas. There’s no hurricane season here. On a Krabi port day, heat is the thing to plan around, not rain, so build in shade and water, especially for the Tiger Cave climb.
What to wear in Krabi: outfit ideas for a port day
Krabi’s dress code comes from its temples, and it’s simple: shoulders and knees covered for Wat Kaew Korawaram in Krabi Town and for Tiger Cave Temple. A sarong you can wrap over what you’re already wearing is easier than a change of clothes, and you can borrow sarongs at temple gates.
The rest is about water. Railay ends in a wet landing, so quick-drying shorts, a swimsuit underneath and shoes that survive sand and salt do more for your day than anything else in the case. Krabi Town’s pavements are uneven with high kerbs, which is a vote for flat closed shoes over sandals when you’re in town rather than on the sand.
If you want more ideas, see these casual cruise outfit ideas for women and cruise outfit ideas for men.
Best photo spots in Krabi
The best photos in Krabi come from Railay, Ao Nang and the top of the Tiger Cave climb, all within reach of the tender if you move early. Railay West is the classic frame: limestone cliffs on both sides and longtails in the water, with Phra Nang Cave Beach 10 minutes further on foot.
- Ao Nang Beach and its promenade: the line of longtails waiting for passengers, shot from the sand rather than the road.
- The Monkey Trail boardwalk: at the south end of Ao Nang beach, wrapping around the karst rocks with the bay behind you.
- Tiger Cave summit: 360-degree views over the karst forest, earned with all 1,237 steps.
- Krabi Town’s riverfront: the giant crab statues by the night market, worth a stop if your ship lands at Klong Jilad.
Krabi tender port accessibility: the gap, the steps and the scooters
Krabi is a hard port for anyone with limited mobility. Tendering means stepping across a gap over moving water, there are no wheelchairs or scooters at the port or in the city, and motorised scooters are generally not permitted on the tenders.
Railay’s wet landing rules out longtails for many passengers, and the Tiger Cave climb is out if stairs are a problem. The Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas in Ao Nang is one of the few places in the area with accessible toilets, and it runs its own shuttle boat to Noppharat Thara Pier.
How to spend a port day in Krabi
A port day in Krabi depends on which pier your tender lands at, so pick one: a short beach day at Ao Nang if you land at Noppharat Thara, or a longer Tiger Cave and Krabi Town day if you land at Klong Jilad.
Before you sail
- Check your ship's daily programme for which pier you'll tender to
- Book a Phi Phi or Hong Island excursion if you want to see Phi Phi
- Bring Thai Baht in cash for taxis, tuk-tuks and markets
Short port day: under 6 hours
- On dockingTender ashore at Noppharat Thara PierPier variesThe pontoon tilts with the tide. Check your ship's daily programme to confirm this is your landing point.
- +20 minWalk to Ao Nang Beach20 to 25 minutes along the coastal road, or take a tuk-tuk if you'd rather skip the walk.
- +50 minAo Nang promenade and Monkey Trail boardwalkWalk south along the beach to the boardwalk, which wraps around the karst rocks.
- +2 hrLunch on the Ao Nang beachfrontCash onlySeafood by the water is the Ao Nang option, served along the beachfront road.
- +3 hrFree time on Ao Nang BeachSwim, shop or sit on the sand before heading back.
- All-aboard minus 90 minWalk back to Noppharat Thara PierGrab and Bolt drivers can't pick up inside the pier car park, so arrange a tuk-tuk if you need one.
The time on the map is the whole walk, every stop added together.
Open this walking route in Google Maps
If plans change: If Grab or Bolt can't reach the pier car park, walk out to the main road and flag a tuk-tuk or metered taxi instead.
Long port day: 8 hours or more
- On dockingTender ashore at Klong Jilad PierPier variesKlong Jilad sits in the mangroves about 4 km from Krabi Town, with no beach nearby.
- +20 minTaxi to Tiger Cave TempleCash for taxiAbout 20 minutes by taxi. Local drivers block ride-hailing cars from the pier, so walk out to Klong Jilad Road.
- +45 minClimb Tiger Cave Temple's 1,237 stepsBring waterNo lift, and the summit sits roughly 278 m up. Entry is free, but cover shoulders and knees.
- +2 hr 45 minTaxi back to Krabi Town for lunchTry gaeng tai plaLunch at the Khongkha Road night market, next to the riverfront crab statues.
- +4 hrWat Kaew KorawaramShoulders and knees covered; sarongs can be borrowed at the gate.
- +5 hr 30 minKrabi Town riverfrontWalk the riverfront past the giant crab statues before heading back to the pier.
- All-aboard minus 90 minTaxi back to Klong Jilad PierRoute 4203 gets congested in the afternoon, so build in extra time.
This map shows the taxi ride from the ship. The time is the drive only, not your time ashore.
Open the taxi route in Google Maps
If plans change: If the Tiger Cave queue for taxis is long, swap the order and start with Krabi Town before the climb.
Krabi cruise port FAQs
Which airport serves Krabi, and how far is it from the piers?
Krabi International (KBV) is about 15 km from Krabi Town and 25 to 26 km from Ao Nang. A taxi to Klong Jilad takes roughly 20 minutes; to Ao Nang, about 45.
Does Krabi have a train station?
Krabi has no train station. You reach the province by road or air only.
Is there a published tender schedule for Krabi?
There’s no published tender schedule for Krabi. Nobody runs a terminal there, no one publishes which pier a ship will use, and there’s no tender timetable, so your departure times come from the ship’s daily programme.
How far apart are Noppharat Thara and Klong Jilad?
Noppharat Thara and Klong Jilad sit roughly 25 minutes apart by taxi, on opposite sides of your day. One puts you at Ao Nang and the longtails to Railay, the other at Krabi Town and the night market, so they’re not interchangeable.
Do you need cash in Krabi?
You need cash in Krabi. Longtails, taxis and market stalls take cash only, and ATMs are plentiful in Ao Nang rather than at the piers.
Last Updated: 14 November 2026