Krabi: Practical information

• More practical info: Krabi expat guide

ON this page you will find selected information about banks, pharmacies, immigration, communications, local markets and useful phone numbers in Krabi. For more detailed information, please buy a copy of the Your Krabi guidebook.

You may also like to check our What to bring page for more practical advice on the area, as well as our Krabi Business Directory for specific service listings.

If you’re feeling ill, the best advice is to see a pharmacist first. Most speak English and give free advice and diagnosis. They can also issue some prescription drugs. If the problem is more serious than you suspected, you will be referred to a doctor. Pharmacies are usually open from 8 in the morning until 9 or 10 at night and can be found easily all over Ao Nang and Krabi Town. In Railay and Ton Sai there are no pharmacies.

There are many banks in both Krabi and Ao Nang. Opening hours are usually from 8.30am-3.30pm weekdays (9am-5pm in Ao Nang), excepting public holidays (see below). Currency exchange booths are generally open longer; most do not charge commission. ATM cash machines can be found in all tourist areas, including on the islands.

The main Post & Telegraph Office is on Utarakit Road in Krabi Town (Tel: 0-7561-1050). It is open from 8am- 4.30pm weekdays, 9-12am weekends. There is also a smaller branch in Ao Nang next to Ting Beauty Salon in the village. Packing services are available.

Mobile phone network coverage is almost 100 percent around Krabi, although you may experience difficulties in some remote areas, or when driving through the limestone cliffs. For cheap international calls buy a long-distance calling card or use the TOT public phone booths.

Internet cafes are easily found around the beach areas and in Krabi Town. A high-speed connection is around 1 baht a minute and other services such as downloading pictures onto CD are also available. The service will be faster and cheaper on the mainland than on the islands. There are relatively few hotels that offer in-room connections, though WI-FI access is on the increase.

Krabi Customs Office is located on ChaoFa Road in Krabi Town. Phone: 0-7561-1350.

Krabi Immigration Office is on Utarakit Road, also in Krabi Town. Phone: 0-7561-1097. All visa extensions must be applied for in person at this office.

A visa is classed as a permission of stay applied for at a Royal Thai Consulate or Embassy before arrival in the kingdom - not the 15 or 30-day permission of stay stamp given by Immigration officers on arrival.

If you have a tourist visa you may extend the two months’ permission of stay granted on arrival by a further month. To do this, you will need to present two photocopies of each of the following passport pages: personal information, visa stamp and arrival/departure card number; two passport-sized photographs; and a fee of 1900 baht.

30-day stamps given on arrival in Thailand can occasionally be extended up to a maximum of 10 days by the same procedure - at the discretion of the officer. The office is open 8.30am - 4.30pm weekdays only.

Please note that overstaying your visa is considered a serious offence in Thailand, punishable with a daily fine and/ or imprisonment. Your right to re-enter the kingdom in the future may also be affected.

On official public holidays, all banks and government offices, including the post office, will be closed. However, nearly all shops, tour companies and transport services will be open for business as usual. If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a 'substitution day' holiday is given on the following Monday.

If the holiday falls around a weekend, you may have trouble finding domestic plane and bus tickets, so book well in advance.

2009
1 January (New Year's Day)
9 February (Makha Puja Day)
6 April (Chakri Memorial Day)
13-15 April (Songkran Festival - Thai New Year)
1 May (National Labour Day)
5 May (Coronation Day)
8 May (Visakha Puja Day)
11 May (Royal Ploughing Ceremony)
1 July (Mid Year Closing Day) - substitution day 3 July
8 July (Asana Puja Day)
9 July (Buddhist Lent)
12 August (H.M. The Queen's birthday) - substitution day 14 August
23 October (Chulalongkorn Day)
5 December (H.M. The King's birthday) (7 December, day in lieu)
10 December (Constitution Day)
31 December (New Year's Eve)

*26 January 2009 (Chinese New Year) and 20 September 2009 (Eid-ul-Fitr, approximate end of Ramadan) are not official public holidays, but many businesses will be closed around this time.

In all these markets you will find food (raw and cooked), clothing and various household items:

-Klong Haeng: Thursdays and Saturdays from 3pm, main road
-Ao Nang: Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 3pm until around 7.30pm, at the junction of Ao Nang and Fossil Shell Roads
-Nong Thaleh: Wednesdays from 11am until around 5pm, main road
-Krabi Town: night market, every day, Sukhon Road (Soi 10) until around 9pm; food stands only every evening on Chao Fah Pier (Khong Kha Road) until 11pm.
-Krabi Town: morning market, every day from 6am-11am, Soi 9, Maharat Rd.
-Ao Nam Mao: Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons at the junction of Krabi and Ao Nang roads.