Krabi Nature - some of Thailand's finest wildlife and natural wilderness.

5 Unique and Fun Things To Do in Krabi in 2024

Krabi is a small Thai town in southern Thailand between the provinces of Phangna and Trang. Krabi has a number of islands, beaches, mountains, and other natural attractions that tourists come to see from all over the world.

Today, we want to show you five unique things you can do in Krabi that 99% of all tourists have never even heard of. Come with us now and choose one of these amazing experiences to remember for the rest of your life.

#1 Dinner and an Early Evening Wildlife Field Trip!

Upside down Tokay geckos on a cave roof.
Tokay geckos are just one species of gecko we can find on this night time wildlife field trip. You’ll love this one – we know it!

This field trip starts out with dinner at a nature resort set on the edge of natural rainforest (jungle) at the base of towering limestone karst formations east of Krabi Town. Dinner is always exceptionally well prepared by the cook and the price is just right at under 200 THB for most meals.

Dinner is followed by a 2-hour guided field trip at 7 pm. around the wilderness to find frogs, insects, spiders, slow lorises, lizards, geckos, and sometimes even a snake or two if you’re lucky. You can choose what to focus on, so if snakes are not something you want to see you can focus on frogs, or something else you’d like to see more!

The benefits of this tour are that you’ll see a side of Krabi at night that very few people are aware of. The sheer diversity of wildlife after dark is astounding and participants always find a number of interesting things to take photos and videos of. It’s a memorable night that is ideally shared with friends and family.

Tips for this Night Nature Field Trip

Because the tour is at night, you’ll be better off staying at the resort where this all takes place. The name of the resort is: Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort. The cost of a night in a wilderness bungalow here is only around 900 THB for 2 persons and it simplifies transportation because it is located about 15 km (9 miles) from Krabi Town center.

You should wear long pants, hard shoes (running shoes, hiking boots are OK but please no open-toed sandals or flip-flops). Bring a rain poncho you can buy in 7-11 for 40 THB. Bring your camera and a flashlight or headlamp (but we can provide if you don’ t have).

Request MORE INFO HERE for this amazing night time experience!

#2 Morning Bird or Snake Watching in the Mangroves

This second recommended unique thing to do in Krabi during your visit is a boat trip on a long tail boat through the mangrove areas while looking for nature like birds, lizards, or snakes. It’s up to you what you decide to target on your trip.

Krabi River runs alongside Krabi Town for a couple of kilometers (over a mile) and in the mornings it is nice to take a leisurely long tail boat ride through the dense areas of mangrove thicket that are growing all over in the brackish water of the river.

You can see dozens of bird species that you would not normally see in the area because they prefer to be out in the trees over the river. We have a number of Pita species, Kingfishers, Sea eagles, and so much more.

Our guide is a Thai man who is not a bird expert as far as naming them, but he knows where they are! He can also find mangrove pit vipers, and occasionally a python or banded cat snake in the trees.

Tips for the Mangrove Boating Tour

The boat tour is warm, sometimes hot even in the morning so you should be prepared for it. There is always the chance of a rain, especially during the rainier months of September and October but really anytime between May and December most years.

Bring the Following:

  • camera with telephoto lens if you have one
  • mosquito repellant
  • hat
  • loose-fitting long sleeves and pants to keep the sun off you
  • something to drink and snack on

Fill out the FORM HERE to request a field trip here.

#3 Climb a Hill to Viewpoints Most People Don’t Know Exist!

It’s safe to say 1 out of 10,000 or less see this natural attraction close to Krabi Town.

Krabi has some things that only locals know about. We’ve been here for over 10 years, so we know some of these places. There is a mountain close to town that has a couple of scenic viewpoints that most people, most expats, don’t even know about. We’ll tell you about it and you can go for free anytime you feel like some exercise!

This is a 3.7 km (2.3 mile) climb up to the top of a country mountain road that cuts right through secondary forest. It was originally made as a place for locals to go to escape town and other people and sort of like a park. However, for many years we were some of the only ones to ever go there. We climbed it for exercise for years before the pandemic (COVID) hit.

After COVID people discovered it because there were fewer people exercising there than Thara Park in town where they have walking paths. Now there are about 60 people each day who climb to the top from the bottom of the hill. It’s a great way to exercise as there are around 280 feet in elevation to climb up from bottom to top.

it’s a road, so you can walk, run, bicycle (it’s steep), or ride a motorbike up to the top and see the main viewpoint.

But wait. There are 3 viewpoints here. The first one is about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) up the hill from the bottom. This one shows some of the area south of Krabi Town.

The next viewpoint is the top of the road. The road stops and you have a viewpoint looking out onto Krabi Town and you can see the ocean a bit.

The next viewpoint requires hiking up that path you see on the left side of the top of the road. It is a series of steps you can climb up. It will take you 10 minutes. There are about 300 steps.

At the top is a concrete structure like a tower that will give you a viewpoint to see Wat Tham Seua Buddhist temple (Tiger Cave Temple), mountains to the west, and the ocean around Krabi Town. It’s a nice spot that hardly ANYONE KNOWS ABOUT!

The benefits of this hike are you can get some great cardiovascular benefit by climbing this road. Round trip is 7.5 km or 7.8 if you climb the last stairs. That’s about 4.5 miles in total.

Tips for Climbing this Secret Mountain Road

If climbing on feet, bring sports shoes, not sandals! The road is hard and slippery at times. Watch out for the green and black fungus on the sides of the road that can be slippery like ICE. Not joking!

Bring something to drink! It’s always warm and exhausting to climb or cycle this hill. Bring a snack for the top to give you some energy. It will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour from bottom to the 2nd viewpoint. More if you climb the stairs at the top.

Wear cool weather clothes. Bring a plastic rain poncho, it rains often during most of the year. Do not bring umbrellas. They are like carrying a lightning rod around in your hand!

If you see dark clouds coming or building, or hear thunder, do NOT start climbing this hill. Lightning can be very dangerous here.

Don’t drive your car up, you may hit the slippery fungus and go off the road and maybe off the hill. It can be quite dangerous especially during May through December when the fungus is all over the road. On a motorbike (scooter) you can see the fungus better to avoid it and stay in the center of the road to do so.

The name of this place is “Suan Phrueksa Sawan Nature Area”. You can find all the information here by scrolling down this page to the name of the place.

#4 Explore Hidden Caves!

Khao Phung cave is on the way to Huay Toh waterfall at the national park outside of Krabi Town.
Even the outside of the cave before entering is impressive!

You don’t need a tour to do this cave exploration in the limestone hill near the Huay Toh Waterfall, but it would definitely help.

The place is overgrown now, but still offers the same amazing cave experience it did in the past. Just that, in the past there was a woman who could not hear or speak who would take people in and give a tour. She has not been there this year so far.

The benefit of seeing this amazing cave is that you will be one of few to do it during your visit to Krabi. The tour isn’t even on the tour guide’s books anymore I think because the guide has disappeared.

You can do this tour on your own. You’ll definitely need a headlamp or flashlight for each person in your group. We may offer a field trip here if we get people asking us. We do have headlamps. We do know the caves.

Click here to see all the information about this FREE CAVE FIELD TRIP.

Tips for Exploring Hidden Krabi Cave

Probably the biggest concern here is safety. If your light drops and breaks, then what? Do you have a spare light? Spare batteries?

Bring these Items

  • wear pants and long-sleeved shirt
  • wear a hat
  • wear mosquito spray
  • bring a headlamp and extra batteries or another good headlamp
  • go when sunny and hot, not raining
  • tell someone else when you’re going
  • look for a girl or older woman around the cave to be a guide!

#5 Foothills Area of Tiger Cave Temple

Monks live in small kutis built into the limestone walls and caves.

Anyone who has the energy and youth will climb the steps at Tiger Cave Temple, and you should too! It’s an amazing 1,256 step climb up a limestone mountain to a Buddhist shrine on top with great views.

But there is a special part of the temple that few people see! This is the foothills area of the same temple. It only requires about 90 steps up and 90 steps back down into the valley.

There are Buddhist monk’s quarters (kutis) built into the caves. There are shrines. There are caves you can walk into. There is a path through thick primary rainforest with Jurassica Park type palms and other plants!

This foothills is a lovely place to go if you don’t feel like climbing up the big climb. Do this little one and you’ll have a great time and get photos that most people never do. Also, during some times there are cicadas SO LOUD in this area that it is surreal. Hot summer days are best for this. The sound echos loudly. It’s super fun.

There are a group of monks that live in this area and keep it clean. Go see it, you’ll be one of 2-3% of visitors to Tiger Cave Temple who see this amazing secret spot!

Tips for the Foothills Area of Wat Tum Seua (Tiger Cave Temple)

  • bring comfortable walking shoes
  • bring something to drink
  • bring your camera!
  • wear mosquito spray
  • walk past the 1,256 step climb and the foothills steps are on your left side about 60 meters (yards) after them.

Find Information on TIGER CAVE TEMPLE here. It’s free, but let us know if you need a taxi.

For Tours Info around Krabi Town and Beaches – Click HERE.