Phuket/Khao Lak or Krabi

Can anyone advise me? We are thinking of going on a beach holiday with our 2 kids(7 %26amp; 10) but we are undecided which part of Thailand we should go to. We%26#39;ve been to Samui 3x and simply loved it. Thought of trying Khao Lak or Krabi. I%26#39;m hesitant about Phuket cuz I%26#39;ve been there quite some time ago and didn%26#39;t like the crowds. We would like to go somewhere where there are nice white sand beachs, nice pool and good food nearby. My girl likes the beach, my boy likes the pool. And I like to chill out at either place to read.

Have narrowed it down to:

Khao Lak: Baan Khao Lak (seems to have great reviews on TA) or Araya Villas (photos look great, only thing, we have to cross the road bet the beach and pool and also it%26#39;s not so near town as BKL) or Namg Thong Bay Resort. (have not read much about this but vaguely know of some good reviews)

Phuket: Naithonburi Resort. But.... is it better to go to Khao Lak?

Krabi: ??// I%26#39;ve heard that Krabi%26#39;s beaches are not as nice as Phuket%26#39;s. But Krabi is a good place to start if you want to go explore the other islands like Phi Phi etc. So should I just stay at Khao Lak?

Also, we would like to do some snorkelling. My kids can swim but we are not strong swimmers. Which place has a good beach which we can snorkel nearby? Khao Lak to Surin Islands?

I%26#39;d appreciate your replies. We are thinking of going in mid June.

Phuket/Khao Lak or Krabi

Thoroughly answering your questions would probably take a book - but I will try to do the short version.

If you want a less crowded place than Phuket (what PART of Phuket did you visit?) - then Khao Lak and Krabi are good options. If you were on Phuket ';quite some time ago'; - you will find it MUCH more crowded now - except for a few very nice areas in the north of the island like Naithon, NaiYang and Mai Khao Beaches.

Pretty good info on those beaches at: www.PhuketNorth.com

Pretty good snorkeling can be found at the headlands on each end of most beaches on Phuket. Though - not on MaiKhao (it is a long straight stretch of beach that runs about nine kilometers, and the south end is a bit of a tidal mud flat.

The Naithonburi is also across the street from the beach. That street is not super busy, but it does have some traffic.

All three Khao Resorts you mention are excellent. Ayara does have bungalows on the beachside of the road - but yes, the pool is on the other side of the road. However, that is a relatively quiet road and not heavily trafficed. But - yeah, I wouldn%26#39;t want to have to worry about my kids crossing it all week. Baan Khao Lak%26#39;s pool would allow you to sit in a location where you could relatively easily keep an eye on one kid in the pool and one eye on the other out on the beach. Almost possible at Nang Thong Bay Resort - but not really. I like both of those resorts.

Out front of Nang Thong Bungalows is a rocky area - that has great snorkeling (it%26#39;s where I go) that is easily walked out to at low tide and an easy swim at high tide. Easy to walk to from the Baan Khao Lak - just a couple hundred meters is all.

Khao Lak is probably the easiest area for swimming in the sea - and Nang Thong Beach is probably more gentle/safer for kids than Bang Niang.

Good resource for Khao Lak: www.KhaoLakLovers.com

Krabi - certainly has its fans, and I like it there - but it just never caught my fancy as Khao Lak did/does. I think maybe www.gokrabi.com is a decent resource for there.