Krabi's beaches are the reason most people visit — a long Andaman coastline of white sand backed by limestone karsts and fringed by islands. The most developed base is Ao Nang, long and palm-fringed, lined with hotels, dive shops, and seafood restaurants; from there, long-tail boats serve the spectacular Railay peninsula, a cluster of beaches cut off from the mainland by cliffs and only reachable by boat. Hat Noppharat Thara, next door to Ao Nang within the national park, is a quieter stretch of casuarinas and tide pools. Further south, Had Yao (Long Beach) in Khlong Thom district is a rural escape that most of the bus tours miss. And offshore, the usual cast of islands — Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Jum, Koh Hong — each offers its own take on the Andaman formula of sand, karst and clear water.