Hiking to Pai Plong Beach Along Monkey Trail Ao Nang, Thailand

Disclosure: This posts may contain affiliate links. I may make a small commission on purchases made after clicking the link. I do my best to try and keep information up-to-date but please check direct with businesses for current opening times and prices. For more information visit the Privacy & Disclosure Policy. Thank you for your support!

A fun thing to do in Ao Nang Thailand is to hike along the Monkey Trail to Pai Plong Beach! It’s a super short hike, approximately 350m and takes around 10 minutes in one direction. And yes, being true to its name there are monkeys along it! Here’s everything you need to know about the Monkey Trail in Ao Nang.

Monkey Trail Ao Nang

Monkey Trail | Pai Plong Beach

Hike Stats

• 🗺️Start/Finish Point: Ao Nang Beach to Pai Plong Beach
• 📏Length: Approximately 350m
• 🕗Duration: 10-15 minutes one way
• 🚶🏻‍♀️Difficulty: Moderate

Monkey Trail

How To Get To Monkey Trail Ao Nang

Monkey Trail starts on the far end of Ao Nang Beach near the limestone cliff faces. You can either walk along the beach to reach it, or along Soi Ao Nang 17, the pedestrian pathway along the sea wall (near Ao Nang Longtail Boat Service Club).

You’ll pass several businesses, such as hotels, spas offering massages, and restaurants. With the last being the C2 Beach Club.

Once you reach a small shrine you’ll see a bridge and the start of the trail, with a sign saying it’s part of the National Park. Unlike some of the other National Parks in the Krabi province, Monkey Trail is free to walk along.

Once you reach Pai Plong Beach, there is a ranger with a visitor book that you sign in and out of. However, I walked the route twice, once in the rain and once in the dry. On the rainy day, the rangers stayed in the booth and didn’t make people sign the book. I only had to do it on the dry day!

Ao Nang Monkeys

As the name would suggest, yes there are monkeys on the Monkey Trail! They are a species of Macaque. They tend to hang out close to the beginning of the route, next to the bridge, and near the shrine. The monkeys also swim in the river, which is quite fun to watch!

Both times I walked the route, the monkeys were there. A 3rd time when I just walked along Ao Nang Beach, but there were none near the bridge area.

Despite there being signs saying don’t feed the monkeys, some of the local staff from the hotel on Pai Plong Beach will give them fruit to eat. This is when you are most likely to see them. I saw tiny babies all the way up to fully grown monkeys!

They are not scared of tourists. Which is quite a bad thing in reality. The monkeys associate humans with food (not the human!). They have no fear of rummaging through a bag if you have food inside (even if it’s on your back) and they will happily rip stuff from your hand.

I saw one guy with absolutely nothing, not even looking at the monkeys, and one jumped on his back. Of course, the man literally SCREAMED the beach down, he tried running, shouting for people to get the monkey off him…and the monkey just held on and enjoyed the ride!

Monkeys do bite. I didn’t see anyone get bitten though. I hadn’t had a rabies injection, so I tried to avoid a situation happening like that to me. Sometimes along the trail you do have to pass quite close to them. It’s best just to let them go on their way.

I didn’t have food in my backpack and I didn’t try to touch them, and they paid no attention to me.

What To Expect Hiking The Trail

As mentioned, the Ao Nang Monkey Trail is very short. It’s approximately 350m in length and takes between 10 to 15 minutes to complete at a leisurely pace (in one direction).

Most of the trail consists of a wooden boardwalk and steep stairs. In some places, it’s almost like a ladder. The boards aren’t particularly even and some are missing in sections. There is a bamboo handrail along one side of the path only…and you may have to share it with a monkey.

At a squeeze, two people can pass. I had no problem stepping out of the way and letting people coming from the other direction pass me, if it was particularly narrow.

It is possible to walk in flip flops, many people were doing it, however, I wore my Teva hiking sandals that have a strap around the back of my foot. Especially when visiting Krabi in rainy season, when it’s wet the wood can get slippery. It’s just one less thing to have to worry about losing a flip flop through the gaps in the boards and down the cliff.

The middle section does flatten out. Sandbags act as stepping stones, protecting the trail from erosion and helping on the rainier days when the mud would just get wet and slippery. It is pretty well shaded but obviously, it can still be tough to complete on hotter days.

Pai Plong Beach

Once you make the final descent down the last wooden staircase (the biggest and steepest along the Monkey Trail), you come to Pai Plong Beach. You may or may not have to sign in, but you are free to stay for as long as you wish.

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi

Pai Plong Beach is mostly a private beach for the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi. As Pai Plong Beach is in a secluded bay, guests at the hotel either need to use the hotel shuttle boat or walk along Monkey Trail to get between Ao Nang and the hotel. For this reason, the trail is lit up at night.

The hotel has a sectioned off swimming area and all facilities are expected for guest use only. There are no other facilities on the beach, outside of the hotel boundaries. The hotel itself has restaurants, a swimming pool, several restaurants, a beach club, and more. Some of the rooms are ocean-facing, with views overlooking Pai Plong Beach.

Public Beach

The section of Pai Plong Beach, closest to the end of Monkey Trail, is for public use. There are no sun loungers etc but you can lay down a towel and swim in the sea. Make sure to take plenty of water with you, especially on hot days.

Honestly, if you don’t mind the lack of facilities and only really want to swim or sunbathe, Pai Plong Beach is much nicer (and quieter) than Ao Nang Beach. Ao Nang Beach kind of feels a bit like clay or mud underfoot, especially near the water line, but Pai Plong Beach is more sandy.

There are also less boats on Pai Plong Beach. Ao Nang Beach to Railay Beach is a ‘high traffic’ route for long tail boats.

Once you have finished at the beach, you can simply follow the Monkey Trail in the opposite direction back towards Ao Nang.

Other Things To Know

There are public toilets near the start of the trail on Ao Nang Beach, but there is a small fee to use them. I found many times in Thailand, that even if you had to pay to use the toilet, they were NOT maintained at all. They were often very dirty and had no toilet paper, so it’s best to always carry tissue.

Once I got back to Ao Nang Beach, I bought a coconut from the Beach Fruit Bar, close to the beginning of the trail. They do food too, if you don’t want to sit down at one of the restaurants.

Other Krabi Thailand Posts You May Enjoy

• 📅Krabi Itinerary | 11 Days In Southern Thailand (Koh Lanta, Ao Nang & Phi Phi Islands)

Ao Nang

• 🍜A Guide To Visiting The Ao Nang Night Market – Krabi, Thailand
• 🏖️A Complete Guide To 8 Ao Nang Beaches in Krabi Thailand
• 🛏️Where To Stay In Ao Nang Thailand (Low & Mid-Budget Option)
• ☸️Visiting the Mountain Buddha Temple Ao Nang | Thailand

Railay

• 🧗🏻‍♀️Everything You Need to Know About the East Railay Viewpoint Hike | Thailand
• 🚤Ao Nang or Railay Beach Thailand? (& How To Get From Ao Nang to Railay)
• 🏝️A Guide To Phra Nang Beach In Railay Thailand!

Inspired? Pin it for later!