Holidays to Krabi

Krabi is one of the most beautiful beach resorts in Thailand. It has clear waters and glorious sandy beaches framed by incredible limestone scenery. Less commercialised than other Thai resorts and amazing natural scenery mean Krabi is an ideal retreat, however, there are plenty of local bars and restaurants to enjoy when you are feeling sociable. As with all of the Thai resorts, you can combine your holidays in Krabi with other destinations in Thailand.

During your holidays to Krabi you will see the landscape around Krabi featuring rubber tree plantations and mangrove swamps. Fossilized shells, more than 60 million years old, are found along the coast.

While on holidays to Krabi, the beaches, below steep cliffs, are idyllic. Hat Nang is tucked into a bay, but there are others, even more spectacular, stretching around Phang Nga bay. Hat Re Lai is surrounded by towering rocks and tapers off into a coral reef. In Holidays to Krabi, Khao Phanom Bencha National Park culminates at 1,397 m (4,583 ft), providing a watershed for Krabi province. It incorporates 80 coastal isles and is largely moist evergreen forest. The fauna includes wild pigs, panthers, black bears, mouse deer, langurs, gibbons and hornbills. Just 350 m from the park headquarters, Huai To waterfall is 70 to 80 m (230-262 ft) high and cascades over 11 levels into a clear pool. A 2-km hike from the headquarters, Khao Phueng cave has spectacular stalactites and stalagmites in interesting formations.

During your holidays to Krabi you will find Thai food can be so spicy that it's tempting to gulp a glass of cold water to put out the fire. Resist that urge! A few mouthfuls of plain rice are much more effective. And say mai phet, "not hot", when ordering, if you want the cook to go easy on the chillies. There are many more subtle flavours that characterize Thai cuisine, notably lemon grass, coconut milk, coriander, garlic, ginger and mint. In Holidays to Krabi the local seafood is a major attraction: hor mok pla is a fish curry with vegetables and coconut milk. Pla preow wan is fish in sweet-and-sour sauce. In most of the country, boiled rice is the mainstay.

Like elsewhere, shopping is enjoyable during your holidays in Krabi. Thai crafts and souvenirs, fabrics and jewellery are among the world's most attractive and appealing. Thai silk is justly famous, but the quality of what you are offered varies. Pottery runs from the simplest pot to the most elegant figurines. Look for teak salad bowls and wood-carvings, and lacquerware from miniature dishes to furniture.

You'll be offered precious and semi-precious stones from amethysts to zircons, rough or cut and polished, but you either have to know the business or trust the merchant. On holidays to Krabi knowledge is also essential if you're going to buy antiques, for the counterfeits are convincing. And a very big complication: it's forbidden to export genuine Thai antiquities without special permission.