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We first visited Krabi in 1992 when we drove through Ao Nang before deciding to head to Phi Phi as there wasn't enough at Ao Nang to tempt us. Returning in December 2005 we could hardly recognise the place, but although it is much more touristy now it has been developed in a nice, low key way and is a very easy, laid back place to stay. There are plenty hotels, restaurants, shops and a few bars.
The beach at Ao Nang isn't great but if you're looking for a nice beach they don't come much better than Railay which is a 10 minute longtail boat ride away. Because of the facilities, we believe that Ao Nang is the best place to base yourself, but make the most of the lovely islands and beaches in the area and either book a tour at one of the many travel agents in Ao Nang, or hire a longtail boat to go there. There are many places worth a visit - click here for our Krabi photo gallery and more information on tours and beaches in the area. Ao Nang is also a good place to do a Thai cookery course.
We have stayed in two hotels in Ao Nang and would thoroughly recommend them both.
Ao Nang Princeville Hotel
Perfectly situated down a short lane from the main road in Ao Nang, across
the road from the beach and close to where the longtail boats leave for most
destinations. This is a small hotel with a nice swimming pool and two different
types of room, deluxe and superior. Breakfast is served in the little outdoor
restaurant just past the pool. There is also a massage area just next to
Reception where we had a couple of good massages. The staff were very friendly.
We stayed in a deluxe room (Room No 1308 upstairs and the very last room
at the end of the corridor) which we thought was gorgeous. It was a very
large room with a double bed, balcony, toilet with bath and a huge walk-in
shower, air conditioning. We stayed at this hotel in December 2005 and would
have returned in December 2006 but rooms were fully booked. Visit Ao
Nang Princeville's website. If you book a room at Ao Nang Princeville
after reading this review, we'd appreciate if you'd let them know that you
found them on TravelJimmy.com - thanks!
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Deluxe Bedroom (1308) in Ao Nang
Princeville |
Pool at Ao Nang Princeville |
Ao Nang Princeville
- superior rooms to right, pool to left. deluxe rooms at end of path and upstairs to left |
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Stayed here in December 2006. The hotel had just opened earlier in the year and is a lovely small hotel with nice spacious, spotlessly clean rooms, comfy bed, large walk-in shower, large balcony overlooking the pool, a pleasant breakfast area with good selection of food, and friendly staff. The hotel is situated between Ao Nang and Nopparat Thara, up a very quiet street with nothing much around it. It is walkable to the centre of Ao Nang in about 10-15 minutes or you can get a motorbike taxi for just 20B per person*, so it's not a major problem and is ideal if you're looking for somewhere quiet. Duang Jai has the same owners as Ayara Villas in Khao Lak. Visit Duang Jai's website. If you book a room at Duang Jai after reading this review, we'd appreciate if you'd let them know that you found them on TravelJimmy - thanks!
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Bedroom (B4)
at DuangJai |
Pool at Duang Jai
- view from room balcony |
Breakfast at Duang Jai |
 Corridor leading to ground
floor rooms at Duang Jai - swimming pool half way down to
right
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Duang
JaiReception area - reception desk to left, rooms ahead or upstairs
to left, breakfast/restaurant area to right |
Pool at Duang Jai looking over to hotel rooms |
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Restaurants and Bars in Ao Nang Ao Nang has a great selection of places to eat and drink. It's not a party town and is more geared towards couples and families, not for you if you're looking for nightclubs and girly bars. We have had a few really nice meals, our favourite being Tanta Restaurant. It's very popular, very reasonable and excellent food. They specialise in Thai food and seafood and you can choose your fish from one of the tanks outside - very fresh! We loved their Thai curries and their spring rolls are the best we've ever had. They also have reasonably priced bottles of Ozzie wine. Wine can be hard to find in Thailand and can be hit or miss when you do find it! We had pizza once at Tantas but it was a bit disappointing. We had nice Thai food at Aning on the main street - and again very cheap. Eden, also on the main street, was a very popular restaurant and the kebabs we had to start were delicious, but we found their Thai curries a bit bland. We ate at Azzurra Italian restaurant in 2005 and loved it but when we went back in 2006 we had a really disapointing meal - it's more expensive than most too.
Our favourite bar was 'Upstairs' just next to Tanta's. The staff are very friendly, they have a great cocktail list and it's a great place to chill. JJs on the main street is an English owned bar with friendly staff and cheap pitchers of beer. They sometimes show Premiership football matches, as does the Irish bar just up the side street from JJs. At the other side of Ao Nang, the Full Moon bar was nice and so was The Lost Pirate - both good places to chill and watch the world go by. Ao Nang's good for that!
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