On Koh Kradan you swim, snorkel, walk and watch the light change. Around it, the Trang islands add a sea cave with a hidden beach, more white sand and some of the best snorkelling in the province. These are the ten places we would build a Kradan trip around — four on the island itself, four around it and two on the mainland.
Things to Do on Koh Kradan
Ten places that turn a beach stay into a proper island adventure.
Koh Kradan
Koh Kradan The East Beach, Koh Kradan
Kradan’s long white beach facing Koh Muk
The island’s main beach runs along the east coast: fine white sand, shallow turquoise water and a view across the channel to the limestone cliffs of Koh Muk and, on clear days, the mountains of the Trang mainland. Almost all of Kradan’s resorts sit behind it, and day-trip boats pull in here around lunchtime.
Koh Kradan Sunset Beach, Koh Kradan
A short jungle walk to the west coast
A small, wild beach on Kradan’s west side, reached by a signposted path through the forest from the east beach in roughly a quarter of an hour. There is little or nothing built here — just sand, rocks and the open Andaman Sea — which makes it the island’s favourite place to watch the sun go down.
Koh Kradan The Kradan House Reef
Snorkelling straight off the east beach
A fringing reef runs along parts of Kradan’s east coast, close enough to swim to from the sand at the right tide. It is the reason most Trang island-hopping trips stop here: hard and soft corals, reef fish and, with luck, a turtle — all in warm, usually clear water in the dry season.
Koh Kradan Island Trails & the Sunrise Viewpoint
Forest paths across a car-free island
Kradan has no roads and no cars — just sandy paths between the resorts, the cross-island trail to Sunset Beach and short walks through coconut groves and forest. Early risers can watch the sun come up over Koh Muk and the mainland from the east beach and the rocks at its ends.
The Trang islands
The Trang islands Emerald Cave (Tham Morakot), Koh Muk
Swim through a sea cave to a hidden beach
The most famous stop on the Trang 4-islands trip: an opening in the limestone cliffs of Koh Muk, through which you swim or are guided along a dark passage of roughly 80 metres to a small beach enclosed by sheer, jungle-hung walls. Entry depends on the tide, and boats time their visits to it.
The Trang islands Koh Muk (Koh Mook)
Kradan’s neighbour, with a village and cliffs
The larger island across the channel from Kradan, with a Muslim fishing village, small shops and guesthouses, Charlie Beach on its west side and the towering cliffs that hide Emerald Cave. It is a good base if you want a little more life than Kradan offers, and an easy longtail hop away.
The Trang islands Koh Ngai (Koh Hai)
Soft sand, resorts and clear water to the north
A forested island north of Kradan with a long, soft-sand beach on its east coast, a handful of resorts and some easy snorkelling just offshore. It belongs to Krabi province administratively but is usually counted among the Trang islands, and it is a regular lunch or swim stop on 4-islands trips.
The Trang islands Koh Chueak & Koh Waen
The 4-islands trip’s snorkelling stops
Two small, steep limestone islets between Koh Muk and Koh Ngai, uninhabited and ringed with coral. They are the snorkelling stops on most Trang 4-islands trips: boats anchor beside the cliffs and you drop straight in among reef fish — and often a crowd of other boats in peak season.
Trang mainland
Trang mainland Pak Meng & Hat Chao Mai
The mainland coast and the boat piers
The Trang coast west of the city: Pak Meng beach and pier, the long casuarina-shaded beaches of Hat Chao Mai National Park, and Hat Yao pier further south. Most boats to Kradan leave from here. The coast is worth an evening in its own right — for seafood and sunsets behind the karst islands.
Trang mainland Trang Town
Gateway city with famous food
The provincial capital, with the airport and the railway station, is where most journeys to Kradan begin. It is an easygoing, little-touristed Thai city known for its breakfast culture — dim sum, strong coffee and Trang’s famous roast pork — and for the frog-faced tuk-tuks waiting outside the station.
A sensible four days: Day one, take the boat from Pak Meng or Hat Yao and spend the afternoon on the east beach, with sunset at Sunset Beach. Day two, an early private longtail to Emerald Cave, Koh Chueak, Koh Waen and Koh Ngai. Day three, snorkel the house reef and do nothing at all. Day four, back to Trang for a dim sum breakfast and a seafood dinner on the coast.
Plan your days in the Trang islands
Turn a Koh Kradan beach stay into an island-hopping adventure
Swim through the Emerald Cave to its hidden beach, snorkel the reefs of Koh Chueak and Koh Waen, lunch on Koh Ngai and watch the sun set from Kradan’s west coast. Compare the best-rated experiences and book in a couple of taps.