Ao Thalane Tide Times: Which Session, Which Month

The best time to kayak Ao Thalane is whichever session sits nearest high tide on your day, and high tide moves by the day, so there is no single best hour. Find the time of high water for Krabi on the day you want, then book that session on Krabi: Ao Thalane Mangrove Kayaking Tour with Pickup by V Welcome Travel, priced from US$24 on promotion, usually US$40 a head (checked November 2026): it starts at 9:30 AM, 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. On every date we tried, the first two were US$39.80 a head and the sunset one US$59.85. For drier weather as well, aim for mid-January to April.

The cancellation is free until 24 hours before, so a session booked now can be swapped once you have the tide for your date.

Why high water changes the paddle

Ao Thalane is a tidal bay. When the water is up, the kayaks get into the narrow channels under the mangroves, through the canyons and into the lagoon; when it drains, parts of the route turn to mud and sand. The operators build their routes round it. On V Welcome Travel’s half day the canyons and lagoons you reach depend on the tide, and the programme can change with it. On For Friends travel &tour’s trip high water takes you deeper into the forest and low water is muddier. Sea Kayak Krabi’s channels are passable at all but extreme low tides.

None of this is a reason to stay away at low water. Some reviewers liked it: a mother and daughter on the sunset paddle in June wrote “Low tide is the best tide!”, a September group at low water saw jellyfish, starfish and crabs, and a Turkish reviewer in October, with the sea at least a metre down, walked on ground that is normally under water. But if you want the full loop through the channels, plan for high water.

How to read the tide for your date

1. Find a tide table for Krabi for the day you want. Your hotel can help, or you can message the operator after booking.
2. Note the time of high water that day.
3. Book the session that starts nearest to it: 9:30 AM, 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM.
4. If high water falls in the night or the early morning, try the next day or two: it comes round later each day.

A rule of thumb on For Friends travel &tour's trip: around a full moon, high tide usually comes in the morning. The full moons from November 2026 to April 2027 fall on the dates below.

Moon phases and sunsets computed for Ao Thalane in Thailand time; weather from the Department of National Parks’ page for Than Bok Khorani National Park, which includes Hong Island (checked November 2026).

What reviewers found at each session

Reviewers of V Welcome Travel’s paddle from April to November 2026 met high and low water on all three sessions. In May one advised going “when the tide is high”, or some of the mangrove is closed to you. In October a morning group that finished in under two hours recommended mornings “as during the day water level goes down”. In the same month a sunset booking was cancelled for low tide and moved to another day, and a group of six could not finish the route for the water. A November reviewer simply wrote “watch the tide times”.

So read the reviews as proof that the tide matters, not as a guide to which session is better.

Book whichever fits your morning:

Prices, ratings and review counts from the GetYourGuide listings (checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.

The season

On Than Bok Khorani National Park’s page, Thailand’s national parks department puts the rains between late April and December, heaviest in September, and the dry months between mid-January and April, February being the driest. The Tourism Authority of Thailand expected the dry season proper to settle on the Andaman coast by December (20 October 2026). The tours run through the rainy months too, and reviewers who paddled in the rain mostly liked it; several mention the shade of the mangroves. Getting to Ao Thalane covers the pickups for each session.