By Heneage Mitchell & Paul Lees 

Krabi Province in Thailand features some of the most stunning landscape to be found anywhere in the world within the protected boundaries of Noppharat Thara Marine National Park.  

The coast of the mainland and numerous offshore islands feature a mixture of sheer rocky cliffs, elevated jungles and coconut trees which majestically roll down to the water’s edge to meet with glorious sandy beaches. The rusty red and grey cliff faces are scarred with numerous caves and crevices and can be climbed to reach a mountain top lagoon.  

Away from the mainland in Ao Nang bay, limestone karsts stretch the imagination as they tower from the water, forming curious monolithic statues. Giving the appearance of melting under the scorching sun, jutting overhangs along the edges of. their rocky icicles provide natural mooring points. 

Krabi province is located some 940 km south of Bangkok and 55 km due east of Koh Phuket. General activities are centered around the two beaches of Ao Nang and Railae, although they are slowly making their way towards Had Nopparat beach as well. Krabi Town, too has its share of the action, there are numerous hotels catering to gradually increasing numbers of tourists before they relocate to one of the beaches. There’s plenty of reasons for people to actually stay for a while in Krabi town itself.  There’s cafes and restaurants serving most international flavours, and of course the town’s very own 5 Star IDC Dive Center.  

Located some 14km’s away from the town lie the beaches of Railae and Ao Nang. For amenities, the latter is the most popular in the area. While Railae is noted for its spectacular beaches and climbing, it cultivates a more bohemian image, so we’ll concentrate on Ao Nang.  

Thankfully there’s an absence of those horrible electric lines cluttering up the skyline! For photographers, this is a Godsend, as many a would-be image has been thwarted by these thoughtless eyesores. But the renovations to this tourist haven have not stopped there, there’s now a selection of top notch hotels, resorts and spas lurking in the background, sensibly placed within easy grasp of  beach amenities without obscuring the vistas of the bay. As you would expect, there’s a great selection of eateries along and beyond the road that traverses the beachfront. All the local fayre is to hand, and at affordable prices, as are those crafty tailors and gold stores that seem to pop up everywhere there’s a tourist!  

Style & service
This beach is also rich in its selection of diving operators, which begin and end before and after you hit the main drag. The interesting thing about this particular destination is that each dive operator has their own special points or style of service. For instance if its equipment you’re after, tech-friendly One Stop Dive Centre maintains a fully functional service centre and retail outlet stocked with an extensive range of major brands as well as a selection of handy knick knacks otherwise unseen in Krabi. One Stop recently changed strategy and their signage now depicts the ‘Dive Supply’ motif and the building itself displays Dive Supply’s familiar colour scheme.  

Liveaboard
Heading down the road towards the beach are Phra Nang Divers, who operate the areas only liveaboard service, with regular trips scheduled to the southern sites of Hin Daeng and Muang. Access to these remote sites is not restricted to liveaboard excursions; the super-fast boat of Sea Fa Divers whisks divers to these sites on a daily basis.     

Ao Nang has two islands, locally known as Ko Poda Nai and Nok; to the west of these islands is a handful of limestone outcrops. Along with the two islands themselves, it is the perimeters of these eroded structures that provide the area’s dive sites.  

Diving
Diving is relatively shallow around fringing and patch reefs, reached in a maximum of  45 minutes on Longtail boats, about half the time by dive boat, which also visit sites further afield.  

Local diving parallels local tourism: they are both very much in their  infancy here, as people are only just learning of Krabi’s existence. The locals corals have suffered minimal damage, with the conditions improving towards the south of the bay. Visibility ranges from day to day with an average expectancy of between 5 and 15 metres making these waters perfect for diver training and qualified divers alike. There are gentle, sloping reefs, caves and exciting swim-throughs, and first class snorkelling in easily accessible shallow waters. Currents at particular sites are strong at different times of the day and month. Dive leaders here are well aware of their local conditions and accurately select the sites accordingly to suit the conditions present on the day.  

The reefs here primarily consist of clusters of staghorn, cauliflower, leaf and plate corals, along with generous patches of soft coral varieties. The presence of marine life is as diverse as it is colourful, and divers and snorkellers can expect to see small reef sharks such as black-tip and leopards. Turtles too are a familiar site, as well as stingrays and moray eels.  

Sites further afield include ‘Shark Point Marine Sanctuary’ and the ‘King Cruiser’ wreck, the Koh Phi Phi and Koh Ha Yai Island groups and, as previously mentioned, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang in the deep south. This selection of diving really caters for all levels of diver, with opportunities to learn in ‘nursery’ like waters before taking that giant stride at accessible world-class locations.  

Natural charm
All in all this area maintains a good degree of convenience as everything is either close to hand or can be reached quickly and comfortably. The area still maintains its natural charm; there are no sky scrapers or super highways nor are there any plans for any in the near future. The recent introduction of Kabi’s very own airport has elevated the area to International status, but in a user friendly way. This area should not be missed by any visitors to Thailand, especially divers!