Railay, Krabi: limestone cliffs and the Andaman Sea

The cliff and the boat

Two things decide your trip here: the boat and the tide

No road reaches Railay. Limestone cuts the peninsula off from the mainland, so every arrival and every departure is a longtail boat or a speedboat, and once you are on the peninsula you walk. Wikivoyage's figure for the crossing from Ao Nang is about ten minutes; boats to and from Krabi Town use Railay East, which has a pier.

That leaves two fixed points. The boat sets your timetable and your fares, and the tide decides what is walkable: the sandbar between Tup and Koh Mawr only exists for two to three hours around low water, Railay East drains to mud at low tide, and swimming at Phra Nang is a low-tide affair.

The figures on this site come from Wikivoyage and from the partners' own listing pages, and each one names its source so you can check it before you book.

The layout

Four areas, ten minutes apart

Railay West is the sand: fine white sand and shallow water, cliffs at both ends, the landing point for most longtails from Ao Nang, and the best swimming at the north end. Railay East is the mangrove side: the boardwalk, the restaurants, the bars and the cheaper rooms, and Wikivoyage is blunt that it is not good for swimming or sunbathing.

Phra Nang is the southern tip, sand under cliffs with the cave and its shrine next door, and the busiest water of the day when the island tours arrive. Ton Sai is the cove around the corner: the climbing, the climbers and the cheapest beds on the peninsula.

What Railay feels like