Eating safely in Ao Nang

Ao Nang is the beach town of Mueang Krabi district, about 20 km from Krabi town on the Andaman coast, and the starting point for trips to Railay, Ko Poda and Ko Kai (Tourism Authority of Thailand). What keeps you well at the table is the same as anywhere in Thailand: food cooked to order and served hot, no ice you can’t trace, no raw freshwater fish or raw pork. That advice, with vaccines, food allergies, hygiene signs and emergency numbers, is on our page on eating safely in Thailand. What is particular to Ao Nang is a water supply that has had to be stretched for an important tourist area, which hospitals to call, an Andaman rainy season, and floods that have made people ill in the district.

On the map, restaurants shown as Low concern are places where our review found no food-safety concern in the last 12 months. It is a starting point for choosing where to eat, not an inspection or a guarantee, so check with the restaurant if you have an allergy.

Can you drink the tap water in Ao Nang?

No, drink sealed bottled water. The CDC advises travelers not to drink tap water anywhere in Thailand, and Ao Nang’s supply has a story of its own.

• Who supplies it. Ao Nang is served by the Krabi branch of the Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA), through its Nong Thale service unit.
• A supply that has been stretched. In December 2022, the PWA’s Krabi branch asked the Krabi Irrigation Project for more raw water, to raise production to 500 m³ an hour for Ao Nang and Nong Thale, which it called important tourist areas. Part of the plan was to draw on the Nong Thale reservoir in the dry season.
• Dry-season plans. In March 2026, Krabi’s governor said the province’s tap water comes mainly from the Khlong Krabi Yai and Khlong Krabi Noi canals, and that a drought plan in use since 2024 adds mobile treatment units at natural water sources, including Khlong Son, to take pressure off the two main canals. He said there would be enough tap water this dry season, but asked people to use it sparingly.

Brush your teeth with bottled water too; our guide to tap water and ice when traveling explains how to judge ice and refilled bottles.

Where to get medical help in Ao Nang

The UK government’s list of medical facilities in Thailand (updated in August 2026) names two hospitals for Krabi: Wattanapat Hospital Ao Nang, phone +66 75 815 555, and Koon Wattanapat Hospital, phone +66 75 812 555. It gives no address or specialities for either, and says the list was prepared by officials who are not medically trained.

For an ambulance, call 1669. What care costs, and the payment guarantee hospitals ask for, are on the Thailand page; the signs that mean you should see a doctor after a bad meal are in our guide to food poisoning while traveling.

When is the rainy season in Ao Nang?

Ao Nang follows the Andaman coast, not the Gulf islands. The UK government says the rainy season in Thailand is generally from May to October, while Koh Samui and the south-east, around Ko Tao, usually get theirs from November to March. For Ao Nang, that means:

• Boat trips. You reach Railay, Ko Poda and Ko Kai by boat from Ao Nang, and rough seas in the rainy season make crossings riskier; our page on Ko Tao explains why. If you are unwell, with vomiting or diarrhea, skip the longtail or speedboat trip that day.
• Jellyfish. They come closer to shore in the rainy season. Our page on Patong, on the same coast, gives the months and the first aid with vinegar.
• Rain outside the season. Krabi’s 2017 floods came in January, outside the May to October rainy season, and were followed by the leptospirosis outbreak below.

Floods and leptospirosis in Krabi

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection caught through floodwater, mud and soil, and Krabi has had an outbreak of its own.

• What happened. After floods in January 2017, Thailand’s Department of Disease Control investigated 62 cases (23 confirmed, 2 probable, 37 suspected) between 1 January and 8 February: 61 were in Mueang Krabi district, which includes Ao Nang, and 2 people died (1 confirmed case, 1 probable).
• Where it came from. Investigators grew the bacteria from soil near patients’ homes, not from drinking water. Wounds, especially on the feet, and direct contact with water were the risk factors among confirmed cases.
• Signs. Patients had fever, severe muscle pain, severe headache and pain in the calves.

If it floods while you are in Ao Nang, don’t walk barefoot through water or mud, and keep cuts covered. If you get a fever with strong muscle pain after being in floodwater, see a doctor and say so. The Thailand page covers leptospirosis and melioidosis in the rainy season across the country.