Getting to Ao Thalane pier: pickups, ride times and your own options

The simplest way to get to Ao Thalane pier is to let the tour collect you. The trip sold here comes with pickup; the exact details appear once you check a date on the availability screen. That answers the practical question of where you meet the guide and how you get to the water. You are collected at your accommodation if it lies in the pickup area, and taken to the pier and back.

If you would rather make your own way, you are choosing a different trip, because the listings we checked are all sold with transfers built in. The pier sits north of the main beach resorts, near the communities that the listings name as pickup points: Pak Nam, Nong Thale and Ao Nang. Our map above shows those places and the pier together, which is the easiest way to see the geography.

Whichever route you take, plan to arrive early. The kayak point at Ao Thalane is the pier that the listings name, and a paddle has fixed start times shown on the availability screen, and tide and group size set the rhythm of the day. Ask your operator for a meeting point and a phone number, and share them with your driver if you hire one. A missed pickup is the costliest mistake in this whole trip.

Ride times depend on where you start and how many hotels are on the round. One listing gives a tuk tuk ride of 35 minutes from Ao Nang to the paddle and back. Another gives a car ride of 1 hour from pickup to the pier before the safety briefing, and the same again on the way home. The gap between those two listings is wide, so do not plan a tight connection on either side of the trip.

Other Krabi paddles show what a short drive looks like: the two freshwater canal trips each list a car ride of 30 minutes, from Ao Nang or from the other pickup points. Longer excursions list more: a Bor Thor trip has a car ride of 1 hour, and an Emerald Pool tour a van ride of 1.5 hours. Those are the listings' own figures for their own trips, so they show the scale of a drive rather than a timetable for yours.

Compare those numbers when you decide where to base yourself. If you want a morning paddle and an afternoon on the beach, a short tuk tuk leg leaves more of the day free than a long car ride each way. The trip sold here does not state its own ride time, so treat both figures as a range and confirm with the operator.

Visitors sometimes consider a scooter to reach the pier. The UK government warns that scooters and motorbikes on hire in resort areas are often unregistered and so cannot lawfully use public roads.² It adds that road accidents are common in Thailand, and that motorcycles feature heavily in them.¹¹ Those two lines are reasons enough to prefer a transfer on the day you paddle.

If you still hire a scooter, the rules do not bend. Thai law makes a helmet compulsory for anyone riding a motorcycle.¹² Check that your travel insurance covers the vehicle and the licence you hold, and read the lease for limits on engine size before you sign, because an uninsured accident abroad is expensive.

Hiring a car with a driver sits in the middle. It costs more than a shared pickup, but it lets you choose your start time and keep your gear dry. If you go that way, give the driver the pier name as the listing writes it and a phone number for the operator. The map above also shows the Krabi airport, the piers at Ao Nammao and Nopparat Thara, and Chao Fah Pier in Krabi town.

Count the transfers before you count the paddling: 4.5 hours is the programme, and the sister itinerary adds 1 hour of driving at each end. If you have a flight, a ferry or dinner booked for the evening, count back from it, and avoid a tight plan on the same day. Both transfer figures come from listings, so ask the operator for the timings of your own pickup.

Carry what you need for a wet, sunny day: swimwear, a towel, sunscreen, a hat and a camera that can take a splash. The sea kayaking listing names those items. Keep cash in small notes for snacks or a surcharge, since a transfer charge of THB 200 each is mentioned on one listing. Keep your phone in a waterproof pouch with the operator's number saved.

Finally, leave your accommodation a note of your plans and your expected return time. If your plans change, free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the trip sold here, and you pay later. That means you can fix the transfer first and book the paddle when you know which pickup your hotel falls under, without tying up money in the meantime.