railay beach

 Railay Beach is absolutely beautiful, but very busy by day. From around 8 a.m., there’s a constant hum of long-tail boats coming and going nonstop until sunset. In the evening, it quiets down significantly, with only overnight guests remaining. We highly recommend spending atleast 1 night here.

Railay consists of the West and East Beach, with hotels situated between the two—just under 1 km apart. Railay Walking Street is the only “road” connecting them, with small offshoots leading to various resorts. It’s lined with restaurants, bars, and shops and is a must-visit for dinner or after-dinner drinks.

Be sure to walk “Monkey Road” for a close encounter with Macaques—hold onto your sunglasses and bags. These guys are thieves and will take from you whatever they can!  

From West Beach, head north at low tide and climb over the rocks to reach Tonsai Beach.

East Beach offers even more opportunities for exploration. A waterfront pathway leads all the way north to the final resort, Railay Great View Resort & Spa—true to its name, the views are spectacular. Stop for a cold drink at Tew Lay Bar. The south end of East Beach is ideal for beginner bouldering, or continue through limestone cliffs and caves to Phra Nang Beach. This more secluded beach offers intermediate bouldering routes, dramatic scenery, and access to the Railay Viewpoint hike. Expect fewer loungers and more adventure—and plenty of macaques along the way. If you’re lucky, you may even spot a large Asian water monitor lizard making its way through the area.

We spent 1 night at the Sand Sea Resort in a  Tropical Shalay and connecting Tropical Villa with Twin Bed. 

The grounds are very expansive stretching from the east to west side of the beach. Lovely tropical feel. 

The rooms are very large and clean, though ours had an unpleasant odour in the bathroom. The bathroom could use a facelift - there were rust stains on the walls and faucets were worn. We had a very nice terrace (lanai) in both rooms.  

Apparently, there are lots of monkeys on the grounds though we didn’t see any. It is recommended to keep doors closed if you don’t want to come back to monkeys jumping on your bed!   

• Check out is not permitted until housekeeping confirms no damage to room(s). Again, ensure to provide extra time for this process prior to departure. 

We tried to find one of the few hikes that are recommended on various sites. There are two main treks which are accessed on opposing sides of the beach. The entry points were tricky with the need to climb steep inclines with the aid of ropes. We were sure our kids would have been able to do this but even they seemed skeptical so decided it wasn’t for us.  

NOTABLE RESTAURANTS

Our concierge recommended that we have dinner onsite at the Sunset Restaurant, as it has a lovely view of the sunset. This is true. However, the food is mediocre, alcohol is not served and it has more of daytime beach lunch vibe (amazing milk shakes) versus dinner vibe.  I would recommend the Railay Walking Street for dinner and/or drinks. While there are many restaurants along the East Beach pathway, and many resorts to chose from, this walking street has many restaurants, bars, and an amazing vibe. Also because its patrons are all staying on the beach, Railay Walking Street is not overly busy with a vibrant and intimate vibe. I believe not going there for dinner was a miss on our part. 

For an upscale dining experience, try to book the Grotto at the ultra exclusive Rayavadee Resort. A What’s App request must be sent by 4pm the day before the desired lunch/dinner time. First spots go to guests staying at the hotel, so it is not guaranteed. I tried to book and was told both January and February were fully booked as it is the tourist high season. 

TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM RAILAY BEACH

 There are two main routes to arrive at Railay. The busiest option is to take a long-tail shuttle or hire a private boat from Ao Nang Beach. Pre-purchasing tickets can be worthwhile, as many tourists use this route for day trips.

The downside of this option for overnight guests is the arrival point: boats land directly on West Railay Beach. There is no pier, so you’ll step into the water and walk across the sand—sometimes a short distance, sometimes much longer at low tide—then carry your luggage through the hotel grounds to reach the lobby, most often located on the East side.

While I was initially skeptical, the concierge at Deevana Plaza where we were coming from, did us a huge favour by arranging a taxi to Ao Nam Mao Pier. The drive took about 20 minutes through Ao Nang, which was interesting in itself. Far fewer people were waiting to board a long-tail shuttle boat, and once 10 passengers had gathered (which took less than 10 minutes), we departed. The boat ride to East Railay took about 15 minutes.

This option was far easier: we arrived at a proper pier and had only a very short walk to our hotel lobby, which was located directly off the pathway. For overnight guests with luggage, this was by far the better choice. Be sure to check the map at the end of the pier to locate your accommodation — we initially walked up and down the seaside pathway before finding our hotel lobby. While lobbies may be more easily accessible on this side of the island, it can feel a bit chaotic with constant arrivals, departures, and explorers passing through.

Cash is required to buy a ticket on the Longboat to Railay Beach BHT150 each (C$5) If you can not wait for a long tail boat to fill up, arrange a private boat back to Aonam Mao Pier. Cost was BHT2000

TIP: Once you disembark, there will be a Pier representative offering a ride on a scooter. Take it. It’s free transport offered by the pier. The pier is very long so it’s helpful if you simply have your bags taken to the taxi area.   This service proved to be invaluable to us. When you get to the parking lot, there are many vans and taxis waiting. We could not locate our transport van. The Pier representative called our tour company to determine where we should meet our driver. We’ve no idea how we would have found the driver without the help.