Nartheen Village

Ban Na Teen — signposted for visitors as Nartheen Village — is a Muslim fishing and rubber-farming community about 14 km from Krabi Town, tucked inland from the beaches that draw most people to Ao Nang. There’s no ticket booth and no set circuit: you walk between stilted wooden houses and watch a working village go about its day.

The village’s signature craft is coconut-shell carving — a local handicraft group turns discarded shells into bowls, spoons, and ornaments, and it’s become well-known enough to support several families. Elsewhere you’ll see batik cloth stretched out to dry, Nypa-palm leaves woven into roofing panels the traditional way, and sugarcane pressed by hand into juice. Longtail boats line the tidal creek where the community still fishes, and rubber trees on the higher ground behind the houses are the other steady income source alongside the sea.

Insider Tip: Go through a community-based tourism operator (Andaman Discoveries and similar outfits run day trips and homestays here) rather than just wandering in unannounced — an English-speaking local guide gets you into the craft workshops and explains what you’re watching, instead of you standing outside someone’s kitchen.

Tourism has changed the village’s economics since a community-based tourism club formed here in 2001: locals estimate average household income has grown roughly five-fold, from about 4,000 THB a month to around 20,000 THB. That’s given families a reason to keep the coconut-shell and batik crafts alive rather than let them fade out.

Watch out: This is a residential Muslim community, not a staged attraction — dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees), keep voices down near the mosque during prayer times, and ask before photographing people rather than their boats or houses.

Early morning is the best window, when boats head out and net-mending happens in the shade before the day heats up; late afternoon catches the fleet returning. Bring your own transport or arrange a guide in advance, since public songthaews run infrequently this far off the Ao Nang strip.

Pair a visit with Ao Nang Night Market for dinner after, or Noppharat Thara Beach if you want sand and a sunset once the village day winds down.