Mixed among the karst landscape of the Krabi region Railay is a climber's and beach lover's mecca. Railay, also known as Rai Leh is only a short boat (there is no road) ride to Krabi so it seemed like a perfect place for one final beach fix before heading north to Bangkok.
Railay is a peninsula of sorts, with 2 and a half beaches and some quite amazing karst scenery dividing the beaches. I say 2 and a half because you can't really call Railay East a beach as it is mostly mangrove and where the long tails arrive/leave. However the other two beaches, one of which is consistently touted as one of the best in the world, are stunners, which invariably draws a crowd of families, package tourist the Phi Phi crowd and those, like us.
Accommodation is spread between east and west Railay, with cheaper rooms focused on on east Railay. As there is limited beds, but high demand, prices are generally higher than other areas in Krabi, so we had to 'splash out' a little and spend about £30 on a bungalow, but it was worth it.
The view from our bungalow at View Point Resort was fantastic... the room wasn't that bad either (even though it no hot water) - it was a nice step up from what we had had before. We climbed the rather rickety stairs, but it was worth the effort every time for the view over Railay East. It also had unlimited tea (Julia was very pleased) and coffee (Chris was chuffed... even if it was the instant variety), which was a bonus and we spend a good amount of time sitting on our balcony with a beverage in hand.
We had limited time so we decided to head straight for the beach - Phra Nang - which is known as one of the best in the world. It is an interesting walk there, along the edge of east Railay, skirting the Karst hills, walking around and under Stalactites and Stalagmites. Eventually, after dodging the customary monkeys posing for tourists, we found the beach. You first come across a huge cliff, with a lovely sandy beach and blue waters.... oh and a cave full of penis shaped wooden offerings.
The cave, which the beach is named after, had something to do with good luck, a princess and fertility... but we didn't take much note, as the beach was beckoning.
The beach, if you calved away the 100s of tourists, boats (100s of long tails) and hawkers, was beautiful. The setting was a triumph of nature, with soaring limestone karst formations at either end of a slightly curved beach. The sand was lovely and soft and the backdrop out to sea was dotted with other karst islands. Obviously this is a favourite spot for alot of people, which is understandable, and I am sure they were all thinking the same, that it would look amazing if there were no humans there, so we vouched to come back at sunrise, before finding out own patch of sun and relaxing for the afternoon.
One word of caution is the longtails.**rant alert** We like long tails, as they are very Thai and a great way for getting around, they even sell snacks, ice creams and drinks on this beach. But we felt they really spoild the beach and were a serious danger to all the beach goers. If, like us, you like a dip, be very careful and keep an eye out for longtails, which race through at break neck speed along the edge of the beach. They also cause people to group in certain areas of the beach as they don't want to look out on the boats, causing quite a cramped beach. To be honest, this is the first time we had felt this in Thailand, but we heard that Phi Phi and other such popular beaches are just the same. Thailand... do something about it!
After a few hours of heating up, getting sweaty and getting a Julia getting tad more brown (not sure she could get any browner) and Chris going his customary red, we headed back to chill out at our room and think about dinner.
Railay has a bit of a bad rep for food. This is mainly due to food hygiene, causing many upset stomachs, but we needed to get some grub so headed out to see sunset (on West beach) and find somewhere around Walking Street (its name nicked from Koh Lipe we suspect). There are many places to have a drink and eat, so after looking at about 10 identical menus, we opted for one suggested by other travelers. Its the usual BBQ fish and squid, but we went for noodles as per usual and a well deserved beer... then crashed!
As our flight wasn't until the evening, we woke early to catch the sunrise and see Phra Nang in its full glory. We would highly recommend doing this. There was no-one there, apart from a few sporadic joggers and locals - no tourists, no boats = Bliss! Perfect for an early morning dip!
And at this time of day we could see why it is seen by many as one of the best beaches in the world.
After catching breakfast and did a little bit of planning on our veranda, we headed to the second main beach - West Railay. This is backed by hotels, so doesn't have such a natural backdrop, but the sand is finer than Phra Nang, if a little bit more compacted, and flanked by similar karst mountains - another great view. Again there were a lot of people and long tails, but it didn't feel as crowded or dangerous for swimming as Phra Nang, as there was an area cordoned off.
Only 2 hours later it was time to leave, and leave the Thai islands. We picked up our bags and jumped on a longtail (150 THB pp) to Krabi... when the heavens opened, the seas got rough and we got wet... very wet. Having stalled half way we arrived into Krabi with another storm threatening, as soon as we arrived we headed to a cafe we had read about. We got there just in time as the heavens reopened, but properly this time!
Now remember the note about hygiene in Railay, well Julia's stomach was starting to play funny games and she did not feel well at all and spent the next few hours running back and fourth to the rest room, to ahem rest. However, we had to catch a flight to Bangkok, so we grabbed a nice taxi and headed to the airport, sick bag (top tip - grab a few from an airline flight and keep them in your bag) in hand.
It was an unfortunate end to our tour of the Thai islands, as over the last two weeks they had been fabulous. We had experienced the full range of islands both large and small (check out our island round up), and still left a few for further adventures. We didn't make it to Koh Ngai, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Jum, three we had planned to visit, due to time and a warning that as it was Chinese new year Phi Phi would be mini Bangkok and crowded beyond belief...so we'll just have to come back!
Railay is a peninsula of sorts, with 2 and a half beaches and some quite amazing karst scenery dividing the beaches. I say 2 and a half because you can't really call Railay East a beach as it is mostly mangrove and where the long tails arrive/leave. However the other two beaches, one of which is consistently touted as one of the best in the world, are stunners, which invariably draws a crowd of families, package tourist the Phi Phi crowd and those, like us.
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| Phra Nang |
Accommodation is spread between east and west Railay, with cheaper rooms focused on on east Railay. As there is limited beds, but high demand, prices are generally higher than other areas in Krabi, so we had to 'splash out' a little and spend about £30 on a bungalow, but it was worth it.
The view from our bungalow at View Point Resort was fantastic... the room wasn't that bad either (even though it no hot water) - it was a nice step up from what we had had before. We climbed the rather rickety stairs, but it was worth the effort every time for the view over Railay East. It also had unlimited tea (Julia was very pleased) and coffee (Chris was chuffed... even if it was the instant variety), which was a bonus and we spend a good amount of time sitting on our balcony with a beverage in hand.
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| Balcony view |
The cave, which the beach is named after, had something to do with good luck, a princess and fertility... but we didn't take much note, as the beach was beckoning.
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| The cave of offerings! |
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| Photographing the beach to try and get the least number of people & boats in the shot! |
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| One of the many long tails serving food on the beach |
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| Phra Nang beach |
As our flight wasn't until the evening, we woke early to catch the sunrise and see Phra Nang in its full glory. We would highly recommend doing this. There was no-one there, apart from a few sporadic joggers and locals - no tourists, no boats = Bliss! Perfect for an early morning dip!
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| Phra Nang at sunrise |
After catching breakfast and did a little bit of planning on our veranda, we headed to the second main beach - West Railay. This is backed by hotels, so doesn't have such a natural backdrop, but the sand is finer than Phra Nang, if a little bit more compacted, and flanked by similar karst mountains - another great view. Again there were a lot of people and long tails, but it didn't feel as crowded or dangerous for swimming as Phra Nang, as there was an area cordoned off.
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| Railay West |
Now remember the note about hygiene in Railay, well Julia's stomach was starting to play funny games and she did not feel well at all and spent the next few hours running back and fourth to the rest room, to ahem rest. However, we had to catch a flight to Bangkok, so we grabbed a nice taxi and headed to the airport, sick bag (top tip - grab a few from an airline flight and keep them in your bag) in hand.
It was an unfortunate end to our tour of the Thai islands, as over the last two weeks they had been fabulous. We had experienced the full range of islands both large and small (check out our island round up), and still left a few for further adventures. We didn't make it to Koh Ngai, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Jum, three we had planned to visit, due to time and a warning that as it was Chinese new year Phi Phi would be mini Bangkok and crowded beyond belief...so we'll just have to come back!
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