Ao Nang Beach is where most visitors stay as this is a good base to explore the area and there is a high concentration of hotels, resorts, restaurants and shopping, as well as good transport infrastructure inland and offshore. The beach itself is an attractive one, lined with palm trees and dominated by karst cliffs at its southern tip. Sunsets here are spectacular.

Railay is the name of a small peninsula just south of Ao Nang, which is accessible only by boat, or by foot, due to the towering cliffs that cut it off from the highway. There are two very popular beaches here, Sunset Beach and Phra Nang Bay, both of them exceptionally beautiful. Hotel rooms are often fully booked at peak periods, but rooms are usually available on the eastern, mangrove fringed side of the peninsula. There are no cars or roads at Railay, adding to the getaway feeling of the peninsula.

Pha Nga Bay, located between Phuket and Krabi, is famously noted for the towering karst pillars that jut out of the ocean and landscape. Organised and individual tours can be taken out of Krabi and from some of the beach resorts. The best-known attraction is James Bond Island, which received its name after The Man With The Golden Gun was filmed here. Kayaking is popular, visitors being taken out into the bay by boat and then boarding inflatable kayaks to enter caves and the karst towers that have been hollowed out by wave action. One of the most intriguing sights in Pha Nga Bay is the Moslem fishing village of Koh Phan Yee, which is stilted and huddled beneath a karst cliff entirely surrounded by water. Many of the tours stop here for lunch, fresh seafood being the mainstay of the menu.

Koh Lanta is a quiet island whose interior consists mainly of mountains covered by virgin rainforest, but on the west coast are numerous lovely beaches with accommodation available. Along the western side and at the northern tip near Laem Kho Kwang are coral reefs, and at the northern tip there is Saladan Pier, with banks, shops, restaurants and tour operators. The island is home to the Chai Leh, the Sea Gypsies, a  living from fishing and shell collecting.

Koh Phi Phi is two small islands, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh, connected by a sandy isthmus. Phi Phi Don is the larger of the two, and is famous for its coral formations and spectacular beaches. The island is the only one to be inhabited, and offers accommodation at its two scenic bays, Ton Sai and Loh Dalam. Phi Phi Leh was used for the filming of The Beach.