Explore more curated experiences in Krabi
View all Krabi toursEmerald Pool, Hot Springs and Tiger Cave Temple Day Out in Krabi
Swim in a jungle-fed emerald pool, soak in warm mineral springs and climb to the cliff-top shrine at Tiger Cave Temple on a full day inland from the coast.
Highlights
- Swim in the jungle-fed Emerald Pool
- Walk the forest trail to the Blue Lagoon
- Soak in natural hot spring rock pools
- See the cliff-top shrine at Tiger Cave Temple
- Air-conditioned transport with a local guide
Full description
Krabi's interior is a different world from its beaches: dense lowland rainforest, warm water welling up through limestone, and a temple perched on a rock spire above the treetops. This full day inland covers all three, with an air-conditioned vehicle and a guide who knows the walking trails and the etiquette at the shrine.
The Emerald Pool sits inside a protected nature reserve, fed by a hot spring that gives the water its startling green tint. A short forest boardwalk leads there, and a further trail continues to the Blue Lagoon, a deeper and even more vividly coloured basin. Afterwards you soak in the natural hot spring waterfall, where mineral water has carved smooth bathtubs into the rock.
The day closes at Tiger Cave Temple, home to a working meditation community. Those with strong legs can take on the famous staircase to the summit; everyone else explores the shaded monastery grounds and the caves at the base.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Hotel pickup
Collection from your hotel and drive inland through rubber and palm plantations.
Emerald Pool and Blue Lagoon
Forest walk to the pool, time to swim, and an optional trail on to the Blue Lagoon.
Thai lunch
Local restaurant meal with vegetarian options available.
Krabi Hot Springs
Soak in warm mineral pools worn smooth into the limestone streambed.
Tiger Cave Temple
Explore the monastery grounds and caves, with the summit staircase optional.
Return to hotel
Drive back to Ao Nang or Krabi Town.
Detailed Itinerary
The van leaves the coast around 08:00 and heads inland, swapping karst-backed beaches for rubber plantations and rainforest. By 09:30 you are on the boardwalk into Khao Phra Bang Khram Nature Reserve, where the Emerald Pool sits in a clearing with water so clear the sandy bottom looks close enough to touch. Strong walkers carry on twenty minutes further to the Blue Lagoon.
Lunch is around midday at a local restaurant, then a short drive to the hot springs, where a warm stream cascades through a series of natural rock basins at roughly body temperature. Half an hour there is usually enough before the heat becomes soporific.
Mid-afternoon the group reaches Tiger Cave Temple. Those attempting the 1,260-step climb should allow the full ninety minutes and plenty of water; the reward is a panorama over the whole Krabi plain. The van heads back to the coast around 16:45.
Includes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- English-speaking local guide
- Thai lunch
- Nature reserve and hot spring entrance fees
- Drinking water
- Insurance
Excludes
- Temple donations
- Towels
- Locker rental
- Alcoholic drinks
- Gratuities
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel lobby pickup in Ao Nang, Krabi Town or Klong Muang
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
You might also like...
Traveler Reviews
The Emerald Pool is exactly the colour the photos promise and it was cold enough to be a shock after the walk in. Hot springs afterwards were the perfect order of events. Our guide talked us through the temple etiquette before we arrived, which saved some awkwardness.
A well organised full day, but understand that the 1,260 steps at Tiger Cave Temple are genuinely hard in the heat. I got about two thirds up and turned back, and the guide was completely fine about it. The Emerald Pool and Blue Pool were the best part for me.
Doing the temple climb last was smart because you are already tired and the sunset view over the karsts is the reward. The hot springs feel like sitting in a warm bath in the middle of the jungle. Bring a second dry shirt, you will need it.
Great value for eight hours with three completely different stops. The Blue Pool near the Emerald Pool is a short extra walk and worth doing even though swimming is not allowed there. Monkeys at the temple stairs will steal anything loose.
I came for the temple and left obsessed with the Emerald Pool. The water is warm at the surface and freezing underneath where the spring feeds in. Our driver was careful and the van was air conditioned, which matters after the steps.
Everything was good but it is a lot of driving, roughly ninety minutes each way to Khao Phanom. Lunch was a simple local place, tasty but basic. If you only have one inland day in Krabi this still covers the highlights well.
Our guide explained the meditation caves and the monks who still live at Tiger Cave, which turned a photo stop into something meaningful. Shoulders and knees must be covered at the shrine so pack a sarong. The hot springs were quiet in the late morning.
Did this on our first day to escape the beach crowds and it was the right choice. The Emerald Pool had maybe twenty people at nine in the morning and was packed when we left. Climbing the temple stairs with a cold drink waiting at the bottom is a memory I will keep.