Spending 3 nights in Ao Nang on Krabi, Thailand, we decided to take on of those days and head out to Railay Beach. A scenic 10 minute long tail boat from Ao Nang, Railay is the perfect place to soak up the sun, rock climb, and indulge in some delicious fruit shakes!
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The Ultimate Guide To Railay Beach On Krabi, Thailand
How To Get To Railay Beach, Krabi:
From Ao Nang, you have to take a boat to Railay, which is only about a 10 minute ride. It’s a beautiful ride too, passing lots of limestone cliffs! There are ticket booths at Ao Nang beach. A one-way ticket on a longtail boat costs 100 baht per person, so buy 2 tickets if you need a return trip!
The boat station also offers multiple types of public and private tours, similar to numerous tour shops located in Ao Nang. Some popular tours include the 4 island tour (chicken island, poda, mor, and tub), as well as Hong island and Hong Lagoon.
Note that the public tours have a minimum number of tickets to sell before the boat leaves. For Railay, the boat needed a minimum of 8 people. Trust me when I say they will not leave until the minimum tickets are sold! Being the 2nd and 3rd in line, we waited for a good 30 minutes with 7 out of 8 people needed. Not wanting to waste any more time, we paid for the last ticket just so the boat could leave hehe! To us, the extra 100 baht ($3.11) was worth getting the show on the road 🙂
What To Do On Railay Beach:
Railay is separated into 4 different sections – Railay West, Railay East, Phra Nang and Tonsai.
Things To Do On Railay West:
We were dropped off at Railay West, which is where a lot of great restaurants are. We found that the beach here was a lot nicer than that at Railay East or Phra Nang, and there were SUP board and kayaks available for rental. A lot of the speedboat tours also get dropped off at the back of the island, so Railay West wasn’t as insanely crowded, and was better for taking pictures.
If you want to head to Railay East and Phra Nang, cut through the middle of the resorts near where you got dropped off, and you’ll see a sign that will take you to the back of the island. You can also just ask a local for directions, they are happy to help!
Things To Do On Railay East:
Railay East seemed the be the quiet side of the island, and it also had some resorts and small restaurants.
We heard a lot about Tew Lay bar, (and how Instagramable it is), but it’s at THE VERY END of Railay East! To be honest it was really far in the heat (20+ min walk) and the menu wasn’t catching our eye, so we found a similar spot that was a lot closer.
Things To Do On Phra Nang:
Phra Nang Hike
Phra Nang has a popular lookout hike, as well as caves and cliffs that a lot of people rock climb.
There are 2 penis caves, (because 1 just wasn’t enough?), also known as The Princess Cave.
Phra Nang Beach is a popular picture spot, although it gets overloaded with tourists.
Things To Do On Tonsai:
While we didn’t make it over to Tonsai, we did wish we had more time to bask in the sun under all those gorgeous palm trees! Tonsai is known to be quite laid back – a hippie haven!
We loved Railay, and wish we had more time on the island! Is Railay in your travel plans?
         
