4 islands

The 4 islands group is a group of small islands about 10 minutes away from Ao Nang to the west. It is one of the most popular destinations for a day trip or excursion from Krabi. The island group consists of these islands:

Koh Poda

Koh Poda is just 6 km away from Krabi mainland and is easily accessible from Ao Nang. You can travel there by yourself by longtail boat for around THB 300, or you can join a group tour by longtail boat or speedboat. The longtail boat takes around 20 minutes from the mainland. Koh Poda is the largest of the 4 islands but is still no larger than 1 km in diameter. The island is covered in palm trees on a white sandy beach and pine trees closer to the inland. When visiting Koh Poda you can see why it’s so popular: in an instant you will see the typical tropical pictures with crystal clear water and fine grainy sands on the beach. It is one of the best areas to go snorkeling as you can find a coral reef no further than 20 meters away from the beach. As with the other 4 islands it’s becoming increasingly busy during high season. In low season you will find that it’s not that crowded.

Koh Gai (Chicken island)

Koh Gai means Chicken island in Thai. And you can immediately see why: the shape of the island is exactly like your feathered friend. The island is quite small and most tours from either Krabi or Phuket make a short stop here so you can see the chicken shaped rock on its southern point. It’s a nice photo opportunity. Another cool aspect of Chicken island is that it’s connected by a strip of beach with Koh Mor and Koh Tup at low tide. This gives you the opportunity to walk between the islands (but only during low tide). On either side of the beach you can swim in crystal clear water. The coral reefs around the island are still in good condition, which makes it the perfect spot for snorkelers and divers.

Koh Mor & Koh Tup

These two very small islands also belong to the 4 island group. They are located next to eachother and connected by a sandbar during low tide. As mentioned above, you will be able to walk between the three islands during low tide. Chicken island is a short 500 meter walk. Both islands are your typical tropical getaway: white sandy beaches with water on both sides (Talay wek in Thai, or divided sea) and palm trees make it look picture perfect. The best way to get to one of these islands is by daily speedboat or longtail boat tours as listed below. You can also visit the islands by yourself. In that case you can grab a longtail boat from any of the beaches around Ao Nang and wait for it to fill up (minimum 8 passengers for them to actually go). This will set you back around THB 300 when leaving from Ao Nang.

As the 4 islands are located close to Ao Nang, the dry and wet season are no different from mainland Krabi. That means that the best period to visit the 4 islands is between November and April, when clear blue skies, sunny weather and calm seas are expected. Please note that this is also the most busy time to visit, especially during the Christmas break and Chinese New year. The islands will be flocked with tourist on affordable trips. If you prefer a quiet visit to the 4 islands, then its best to visit them during low season. Chances of rain are higher but its guaranteed more quiet than the dry season. Another option is to book a private tour and visit the islands before the usual crowds do!

A popular tour from Krabi is the 7 islands sunset tour. This is essentially the same tour as the 4 islands tour, but it takes place during sunset. This is the time of high tide and a couple of beaches that connect the islands are separated from eachother, essentially creating 7 islands. During this trip you can see bio luminescent plankton. These tiny creatures float in the water. They can’t swim against the current so they stay wherever the current takes them. The plankton produces a small light that is visible in the evening and night. You can jump in the water and enjoy this impressive light show. Just swim with them and you will see the plankton glow. It tingles a bit, but is the most amazing sight you can see if the conditions are right. They don’t show up all the time and it’s impossible to predict when that happens. Experience tells us it happens on at least 90% of these sunset tours though!