How To Fly Your Drone On These 3 Islands

During my most recent trip to Krabi, Thailand, I was able to visit a few of the stunning islands this country is known for. The best part, I captured them with my Dji Mavic Pro. Many people ask me how I manage to fly my drone in different areas. I'm here to tell you about that and share my drone flying experience in different places around the world.  I'm not much of a beach gal,  but after this experience, I can definitely say I cannot wait for my next island and beach discovery! 

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1. Rai Leh (Railay Beach)- Railay, also known as Rai Leh, is technically not an island, its a peninsula between the city of Krabi and Ao Nang in Thailand. You can only get there by boat since there is high limestone cliffs cutting off mainland access. In my case, I took a long tail boat that cost about 100 baht per person, one way. There are so many hidden resorts and scenic paths that lead to Instagram-worthy photos, so don't be afraid to go off the beaten path to see these. I stayed at a resort (since they are quite affordable) on the south side, but you can also use Airbnb if you want to be more authentic. It took about 30 minutes to travel there by shuttle from the Krabi airport and then another fifteen minutes to the island by long tail boat. My main take aways about flying my drone here was that everyone is so relaxed and in vacation mode that they are not concerned with what it is you're doing. The ambiance, nightlife and various walking/hiking trails nearby are worth checking out too, plus it gives you more angles and shots to capture with your drone. Overall, I did not have any trouble flying my drone here. 

2. Koh Pai (Bamboo Island) -Bamboo Island, known as Koh Pai in Thai, is the most north-easterly island of Phi Phi Archipelago in the southern Thai province of Krabi. This island has the bluest, clearest water I have ever seen in my life! As you will see in my video above, this was the smallest Island I traveled to with the whitest sand. I only know this, because I was able to fly my drone around the entire island. One thing to note is I was asked to stop flying (thankfully, I got all of my shots in time). I'm not sure who asked me, I think it may have been someone who worked at the resort there, but not entirely sure. My rule of thumb is to stop flying if someone asks you out of respect. Another takeaway from this island is that you can stay here or go on a 1-2 hour day trip for some swimming, snorkeling and relaxing. Overall, if you're going to fly here, don't do it out in the open, seclude yourself and launch. 

3. Ko Phi Phi Don Island (Maya Bay)-One thing to note is that the Phi Phi Islands are a number of islands located in the Ko Phi Phi archipelago and  Ko Phi Phi Don is the largest of the islands. It was beautiful here, however, it was not my favorite, simply because I was not there long enough and it seemed less authentic when it comes to private island hopping. This was only because it was not as secluded as Bamboo Island and Maya Bay. Speaking of Maya Bay, (where the movie, The Beach was filmed), I was able to fly my drone for about five minutes until a man began screaming at me to bring it down. I don't recommend flying your drone here simply because you don't want any Thai police officer yelling at you. I swiftly landed my drone, apologized and went on my way. 

Hopefully, this article helped you with finding places to fly during your island hopping adventures in Krabi, Thailand.  If you like this video or blog post, please share with your drone and travel buddies! Thanks for stopping by!