Half Day Jungle Tour — Emerald Pool + Hot Spring Waterfall

About this trip

The Half Day Jungle Tour to the Emerald Pool and the Hot Spring Waterfall is the plainest of our five jungle days out of Ao Nang, and the one we send people on when they want the two famous freshwater stops and nothing bolted on to them. There is no temple climb, no ATV and no kayak. You go inland from Krabi into the forest, you sit in warm spring water, you swim in the Emerald Pool, and you are back on the coast in the early afternoon. It runs from 07:45 to 15:00, roughly seven hours, which makes it the shortest of the five and, at ฿800 for an adult and ฿600 for a child aged 4 to 10, the cheapest.

What the day looks like

Pickup is from your hotel lobby, and the window runs from 07:45 to 09:15. Departure is at 07:45. The drive takes you away from the beaches into Krabi's inland country of limestone hills and rainforest.

The first of the two stops is the Hot Spring Waterfall, a set of natural freshwater hot spring pools in a jungle setting. The water arrives warm out of the ground and collects in rock basins, so the stop is about sitting still.

The second is the Emerald Pool, a natural emerald colored jungle pool that you reach on foot. The nature trail through the rainforest is part of the point here and not just the means of getting there. The pool itself is clear and green and open for swimming, and because the day is short, you get an unhurried stretch of time in it before the drive back.

Both stops charge their own entrance fees, and the national park entrance fee is not included in the tour price. Bring cash for those. Hotel transfer, drinking water, a tour guide and insurance are included. Lunch is not listed among the inclusions on this particular tour, unlike the longer four, so ask us how you would like to handle food when you book.

Who this trip suits

Pick this one if the two pools are what you actually came for and you would rather have your afternoon back than fill it. It is the right choice on a short stay, on an arrival or departure day, for anyone traveling with young children who will not last a nine hour program, and for anyone keeping the budget tight, since it is the only one of the five priced at ฿800.

The other four are full days built on top of these same two stops.

If you want the temple as well, book the version with Tiger Cave Temple. If you want an ATV ride in the forest, take the ATV version. If you want both of those in one go, there is a combination that carries the temple and the ATV together. And if you would rather add mangrove kayaking at Ao Thalane, the kayaking version is the one to ask for. All four of those run later into the evening and cost more.

What to bring

Swimwear, worn under your clothes so you are not hunting for a changing room, and a towel. Shoes you can walk a forest trail in. A dry bag or a sealed pouch for your phone, since both stops involve getting into water. Sunscreen and something to cover your head for the walking sections. Cash for the hot spring and Emerald Pool entrance fees and the national park fee, none of which sit inside the tour price. A change of dry clothes for the drive back.

Good to know

Krabi's dry season runs roughly from November to April and its monsoon from May to October. The forest is green either way and the pools run year round, but the wetter months make trails slippery and can change how much water is moving through.

The program may change depending on weather conditions. Pickup is from the hotel lobby, so be down and ready inside your window rather than waiting for a call from the room.

Drinking water, hotel transfer, a guide and insurance are covered. The national park entrance fee is not, and neither are the separate charges at the hot spring and the Emerald Pool. Across the day the entrance fees come to about ฿600 per adult and ฿300 per child aged 4 to 10: the Emerald Pool at ฿400 adult and ฿200 child, and the Hot Spring Waterfall at ฿200 and ฿100. Both are charged per person and neither is in the tour price.

Booking

Send us a WhatsApp message with your dates, the number of adults and children, the ages of any children, and the name of your hotel. We will confirm availability, your pickup time inside the 07:45 to 09:15 window, and the current entrance fees. If you are weighing this against one of the longer jungle combinations, tell us what else you hope to see and we will say which of the five fits.