Koh Poda - A Paradise in Krabi

My this year’s stay in Ao Nang was quite different, not like the one last year in October, where it rained cats and dogs. I guess just I picked the wrong season for that trip. This time I finally wanted to see some of the beautiful islands offshore from Krabi. The coast is covered with plenty of rocks and small islands, so who wouldn’t want to visit some of them?

Koh Poda: white sand and crystal clear water – simply a dream

A little bit of research on the internet and my choice fell on Koh Poda. It was far beyond my imagination which I had from the reports on the Internet! A paradise with white sand and turquoise colored water. A dream!

How to get to Ao Nang

To reach Ao Nang or Chicken Island it’s best to travel via Krabi. With this option you can fly to the Krabi International Airport which is connected to locations in Thailand as well as e.g. Kuala Lumpur or Qatar. More information about flights, departure times and prices can be found on Skyscanner.

You can also travel by bus or boat (from Koh Lanta etc.) to Krabi Town. From there you can continue your trip to Ao Nang. From the airport or the bus station you will have to take another means of transport to get to Ao Nang.

A Songthaew (shared taxi) from the bus station costs about 80 Baht to Ao Nang. A taxi costs about 400 Baht from Krabi Town or the airport. The cheapest option would be the shuttle bus, which runs regularly from the airport through Krabi Town to Ao Nang, for a price of 100 Baht per person.

Furthermore, you can take the ferry from Koh Lanta or Koh Phi Phi directly to Ao Nang. These boats will arrive at Nopparat Thara Pier and not at Klong Jilad Pier in Krabi Town. To see connections, times, prices and tickets for buses and boats, visit 12go.asia.

Accommodation in Ao Nang – our hotel tip

The selection of accommodation in Ao Nang and the surrounding area is huge. We have stayed several times in Ao Nang and tried some different hotels. Since we are always traveling there by scooter, it doesn’t bother us personally if the accommodation is a bit further from the beach. This way you have peace and seclusion and can totally relax. Very suitable for this is the Deevana Krabi Resort, which is located in the middle of a beautiful green area. Both beaches, the Ao Nang Beach and the Noppharat Thara Beach, are just minutes away by taxi or scooter.

You can discover more beautiful accommodations in Ao Nang here.

How to get from Ao Nang to Koh Poda

If you want to get to Koh Poda you have no choice than taking a boat. No problem for me, as I love boat rides. You can find some ticket booths near the beach of Ao Nang, where you can easily buy a cheap ticket for a longtail boat, which departs just at the very same beach.

For a return ticket you will have to pay about 300 Baht for each person and the trip takes about 25 minutes. As soon as you purchase the ticket you will have to wait near the boats.

A boat offers space for 6 to 8 persons for the transport. Since many people are doing trips to the islands it usually doesn’t take too long to fill up a boat.

Info: If you like to visit Koh Poda in combination with Chicken Island, Tup Island and the Phranang Cave Beach we can recommend you to do an organized tour.

Arrival at Koh Poda

On arrival at Koh Poda you will have to pay a visitors fee because the island is part of the Had Noppharatthara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park. For foreigners it’s about 400 Baht and for Thais about 40. But for a beautiful island like this one I don’t have any problems to pay a fee.

The park ranger whom you will have to pay is waiting right at the beach on your arrival. Your boat driver will tell you a departure time – which is about 3.00 P.M. because the boat service stops running at 4.00 P.M.

Tip: Go there in the morning (about 9.00 or 10.00 A.M.) and you will have enough time to enjoy this wonderful island and you can even discover most of it by walking.

Time to discover the island. You can take some pictures, go for a swim, snorkel or just relax at some shady spots.

Most of the visitors remain at the beach where the boat drops you off and just enjoy the day. A nice option, but a better one in my opinion is to walk along the beach.

There you can find some nice lonely spots and if you walk to the end of the beach you can take some beautiful pictures with some of the surrounding islands like Koh Kai or Koh Tub (often referred to as Chicken and Tub Island) in the background. Just amazing!

Really beautiful. Not too crowded, almost no boats, only spots in the shadow are a little bit rare. After exploring the island, you can return to the beach where you arrived in the morning, since here you can find more shady places and a small shop with some refreshing drinks and beer of course, as well as a restaurant.

This is a part of the only hotel or rather a small bungalow resort, the Poda Island Resort. Apparently, there is only electricity between 6.00 P.M. and midnight and an internet connection is not available at all. If all that doesn’t bother you and you get along with a mobile internet connection from your smartphone (which works well in my experience), you can stay a night on Koh Poda.

Although at this beach all the boats are laying during the day, around 1.00 or 2.00 P.M. it gets really empty and you will get some stunning views and true postcard motives for your camera. Additionally, there is much space for swimming and snorkeling.

A last picture from Koh Poda and the absolutely amazing day comes to an end. I can totally recommend this trip to everyone who’s going to Krabi or rather Ao Nang. All this for about € 10 should be on everyone’s budget.

Ao Nang: Tours and tickets

Have you ever been to Koh Poda? How did you like it and are there any islands close by that you prefer? Leave us a comment below!