Railay

This is not an actual island, but because of the local topography, you can only reach it by boat - from Ao Nang, Krabi Town or Phuket, via Phi Phi. Anyway, it's a beautiful part of the world and very much feels like a tropical island. Development of tourist facilities has gone pretty nuts since I first went in 2003, and is disappointing, though the beaches are still beautiful and the climbing is world-class.

Getting there

Transport to Railay is possible by long tail boat from Ao Nang and Krabi and sometimes bigger vessels - depends on weather. Also boats run here from Phuket via Phi Phi. Depending on the weather and tides you might have to jump off the boat and wade in to shore - not too bad if you are in your swimmers, but can be tricky/dicey if you are laiden down with your backpack!

You can only get here by boat.

Areas

The Railay Beach area consists of 3 main beach areas, as well as Tonsai, just around from West Railay:

East Railay

Not a nice beach for swimming, but is the location of all the cheap accommodations on the peninsula and many restaurants, dive shops etc. The last time I was there (June 2008) there was A LOT of development going on and most of East Railay was a construction site. If you're looking for a cheap place to stay, East Railay is your best bet. It's about a 10min walk to both West Raily and Hat Tham Phra Nang beaches. Most of the bigger boats from Phuket/Phi Phi arrive on this side too, so it's convenient for that. The end of the beach closest to Phra Nang is a popular climbing spot and will have a stack of climbers there every afternoon. There are also some pretty spectacular look-outs there - tracks lead up not far from the climbing spot.

West Railay

A really nice beach with a couple of mid-range hotels and some decent restaurants. It can get kinda busy during the day-time with day-trippers and people walking over from East Railay/Ton Sai, but it's still pretty relaxed. If you want to shell out a little bit extra, this is definitely a nicer place to stay than East Railay. Every afternoon they have a soccer match with teams from 2 of the local hotels competing. It's pretty fun to watch and the atmosphere is great. A load of locals turn up to support their teams and can get pretty rowdy. It quietens down a lot in the evenings.

Hat Tham Phra Nang

Ranked as one of the best beaches in the world by Lonely Planet, it's a beautiful, beautiful beach. Unless you wish to shell out $US350+ a night for a room at the exclusive Rayavadee Resort, you won't be able to stay here. It's about 10mins walk from East Railay and 15 mins from West Railay, so not too far anyway. There are some beautiful caves and cliffs here and it's possible to climb up some of them, before scrambling through a cave and abseil out the other side. The views are pretty astonishing. At the Rayavadee end of the beach you can scramble up onto the rocks for some pretty photos. In the late afternoon/evening, you're lucky to see a bunch of monkeys around the entrance to the beach. If you head to the far end of the beach it's pretty deserted. It's a great place to watch sunset.

Ton Sai

Around a cove from West Railay. It is purported to have a good climbing scene and full moon parties to rival those on Ko Phangan, though perhaps on a slightly smaller scale. I've only been there once, and it's nice enough, but prefer West Railay/Phra Nang beaches. It is possible to walk around from West Railay but it's largely dependent on the tide or you scrambling up through the bush! You can also jump on a long-tail boat to get there for around 40baht.

Things to do

Climbing

Aside from relaxing on some lovely beaches, probably the best thing to do around Railay is rock-climbing. There are hundreds of routes already bolted and you can climb independently or with one of several climbing schools in the area. Bolted routes range from 5a to 8c (French gradings).

• Hot Rock Climbing School

  Run by a Thai Man and his Swedish wife. They're located on West Railay and are a decent climbing school.

• Kings - East Railay

  Another good climbing school that have been around for a long time.

• Several other climbing schools are around. There are also several schools on East Railay and Tonsai.

Half day rates are round 1000baht, 1 day 1800, 3 day courses are 6000baht.

They have all the gear there, and you can also buy shoes/chalk bags/carabiners etc. if you like.

Snorkelling

I snorkelled on a couple of the islands near Railay. To be honest it was pretty disappointing as so much destroyed reef, though a few cool fish.

Boat Trips

A day-long trip will take you to nearby islands (chicken island, maya bay (Phi Phi Leh) and a gorgeous island of white sand somewhere around Railay. They are pretty cheap and you get to swim at some lovely places, do some snorkelling and kayaking etc.

Kayaking

You can rent kayaks from West Railay and several agencies run kayaking trips around the area.

Accommodations

East Railay

• Diamond Cave

  Has a range of accommodation available and is not a bad option. They have a pretty nice pool.

• Rapala Bungalows

  A pretty basic option here but super cheap. I stayed in a bamboo hut in the forest. It was pretty cool. Didn't like the owner's dog though - kept chasing me and trying to nip me!

West Railay

• Sand Sea Resort

  Goes from West Railay almost across to East Railay. Good mid-range option. Nice pool. Good restaurant and services there too.