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Railay Beach

Railay Beach

About
West Railay, Phra Nang, and East Railay Beach make up this tranquil strip of sand. Accessible only by boat, you can easily find a secluded and peaceful spot to relax, sunbathe, and enjoy the crystal clear waters. There are pursuits like cliff jumping, rock climbing, and kayaking for the more adventurous. Park yourself at a Reggae bar and sip a delightful cocktail as you watch the sunset. The dry season between November and March is the best time to visit Railay. You can take a boat from Krabi, Phuket, or Koh Phi Phi to get there. – Tripadvisor
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  • manchester1976
    Manchester, United Kingdom476 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gorgeous beach but over run with tourists and tourist boats
    We stayed in Railay beach, the beach itself is small, perfect sand, shallow, warm sea you can walk in for a good 20-40 meters. Great caves and mud patches to explore when the sea goes out. However come 9.30 everyday it’s full of noisy, petrol motored tourist long boats that pollute the sea, bringing excessive amounts of people to the small bay. There are no sun loungers and the sand is over run. However the beach remains stunning. Not great for snorkelling as not many fish. Enjoy a cocktail at sunset on a beach mat
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 14 November 2023
  • 1234emma
    England, United Kingdom692 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Not so good on a day, magical on a night!
    Too many boats, noisy, fumes and pollution. Lots of people visit for the day and leave at dusk, this is when the beach transforms. Spectacular, you can get a mat and a lantern and chill on the beach. There’s a walking street with bars, restaurants, shops and massages. The ferry arrives on the opposite side of the strip, not far to walk.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 2 December 2023
  • Wendy M
    43 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth a trip
    We stayed in Ao Nang and took the long tail boat to Railay for a day out. Lovely fine, sandy beach. Plenty of cafes and restaurants for food and drink. Beautiful scenery.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 December 2023
  • Lea
    Portsmouth, United Kingdom46 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lush lush lush!
    Such a nice vibe here. The beach is busy but gorgeous. Lots of bars and restaurants with a cool vibe and reasonable prices. A must to visit for either a day or couple of nights. Tip - Cross over to the other side, there's a bar on the outskirts with amazing views.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 6 January 2024
  • Katrine S
    8 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Crowded and loud.
    Went here twice during our 2 weeks stay in Ao Nang. Beach is crowded and loud because of the long tail boats. Water isn’t that clear and lots of big waves (because of the boats coming and going.) Second time visiting we walked across the island to the Princess cave and Phra Nang beach. The hike to the view point was great but Phra Nang beach was even more crowded than the main beach but had lovely clear water and much better views - and no boats! Overall fine beach to visit but lots of people and lots of noise. Won’t be visiting again.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 January 2024
  • Kevin and Rhond... T
    Sherwood Park, Canada242 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Stunning!
    Beautiful, albeit busy beach with people and longtail boats. It has jaw dropping, limestone cliffs surrounding it that take your breath away upon first sight. The sunsets here are the most beautiful we have ever seen of all our travels around the world!
    Visited February 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 13 January 2024
  • Masya Z
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A place to destress
    It's my first experience going to Railay, and I got to know about Railay from a friend. I went there solo, with no expectations. I stayed in Railay for 4 nights. The view in Railay is really breathtaking. I basically doing nothing in Railay. I woke up at 7 ish, and I'm already at Phra Nang Beach (near Rayavadee Hotel) by 8 ish am. Stayed there, getting massage, reading and stayed there till noon. Went for lunch after that, get some rest at the hotel I stated, and went back out to Railay Beach (i believe it's the West Pier). And this is my routine during my stay. Never regret, and will repeat again, probably during the low peak season.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 25 January 2024
  • Erin W
    78 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Sea lice
    Railay Beach is beautiful and the water is inviting. But there was sea lice and no warnings. My husband is not affected by them but me and my daughter were. We could not enjoy the beach. Instead we hired a long tail boat to explore.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 25 January 2024
  • JustSiea
    Phuket, Thailand21 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must See in Krabi!
    We LOVED Railey! We highly recommend that everyone who comes to Thailand visits Railey. We took a speedboat from Phuket to Ao Nang then a long tail to Railey. It is a small little town with much to do! The beaches are beautiful, lots of hiking and long tail boats that will take you around. We rented a long tail for the day for 3500 baht and he took us to the 4 islands. We would recommend doing this but only for half a day, as a full day was too long. The restaurants are good, basic Thai and Pizza, with live music and rooftops. We loved our stay at Railey Village Resort!
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 February 2024
  • Rasel Hussain
    Manchester, United Kingdom164 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing sunset and views
    Most beautiful sunset view ever!!! Make sure I stay till sunset and see the amazing views and beautiful sunset. Highly recommended and well worth the wait..make sure I see the viewpoint too
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 16 February 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles5,869 reviews
Excellent
3,012
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1,665
Average
740
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258
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194

SergioPQ
Paderborn, Germany69 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Our thrid and last time on Railay beach, which should now rather be called Railway Station beach - this is how it looks like. An exremely overcrowded beach, where swimming is now no longer possible. Mass tourism is no longer a proper word for this. When you cannot even place your towel then something absolutely wrong there. The authorithies simply don't want to reduce the influx on daily visitors to this nice place. Staying here makes no sense. If you would like to swim, then search for other serene island, where you can at least stand for minute without being pushed by other people every several seconds.
Just believe me: when a new boat with dozens of new tourists arrive evey 10-20 seconds (this is NOT! a joke!), then they cannot really call it a beach.
Written 5 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

baronoir
8 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
Take the public boat (long tail) from the Pier for 100 baht per way per person at 8am. Boat leaves when full (8-10 people)

Go to the smaller beach and book a place under the trees. Nice view and beaches.
On the flip slide: lots of noisy boats
Written 12 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nikky P
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK81 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Easy 5 minute longboat trip from Ao Nang beach ( 100baht) tickets at a kiosk on the seafront.
We went to climb but it was too hot and busy with the local climbing school using the popular areas.
Lots of places for lunch or hotel complex but what I loved were the longboats providing cold drinks, fabulous smoothies, club sandwiches ( delicious 😋) and lots of other great food. Loved this and just sat and absorbed the lovely views. Lovely for swimming too. Well worth a visit....oh and there were a few monkeys too
Written 1 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WYC
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia184 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
took boat (by ao nang boat service club, blue shirt) from ao nang beach to railay (west) beach, walked from railay beach to phra nang beach, return to ao nang beach from phra nang beach. ticket 100B per way (bought return ticket 200B). at phra nang beach, the boat operator asked to pay another 200B (for 2) to go back to ao nang beach or have to wait till full board of 8 person. i rejected and walked back to railay west (15min walk), and boarded the boat, headed to ao nang beach, with only 2 person on board. no waiting.
Written 9 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kari Q 🇨🇦
Picton, Canada923 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Friends
Beautiful setting for a meal on the beach. Lots of floating longtail boats to buy a meal (ours was included on our tour). Or just buy a cold beer and enjoy the magical sunset. The cliffs on the far end turn red with the setting sun, stunning 👍👍
Written 16 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Yvette F
Buckingham, UK382 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Couples
Was staying in ao nang so got a longboat taxi from beach to railay. 100baht each way, 15 mins in longtail. Can buy return ticket and the boats go when they have 6-10 passengers waiting. Went immediately going out and had to wait about 20 mins on way back for boat to fill. Beach is beautiful, with several bars coffee shops and tourists shops in the town. Very chilled hippie vibe to it, advertising mushroom shakes and hash brownies, though not sure about authenticity. Also access to phra nang beach 15 min easy flat walk. You cannot access these beaches by road and they are worth the visit, crystal clear waters, rock climbing, kayaking. There is also a chemist if you need.
Written 11 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Linda M
Hastings, UK28 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Friends
The islands are worth visiting. We had a group of six so hired a long boat. This took us to four islands we could stay at each as long as we wanted then back on the boat to the next one. Railey island has a few eating places and we ate at a hotel restaurant. The food was expensive but really nice.The island has several caves. It's nice to swim there with lots of fish in the water.
Written 15 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Oscar D
23 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
Would highly recommend going early in the morning to beat all crowds. The beach on a good day had incredible views and crystal clear water. Arrived around 8:30am and basically had a private beach.
Written 17 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Miguel N
New Westminster, Canada2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
All the beaches at the Railay region are astonishing... Literally jaw dropping but, due to the non-stop boat traffic it is close to impossible to hear the nature or enjoy some quiet moment. Due to the nature of my work I'd say that if you close your eyes it is the same as being inside a open pit mine.
Written 12 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

50cab50
Bracknell, UK424 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Family
Paid 200 THB return per person for the long tail boat to Railay. This does not seem to be negotiable as the Ao Nang Long Tail Boat Service Club seem to have a monopoly on it, with booths along the promenade and at the pier entrance. If you buy from the booths further away from the pier, they will taxi you to the pier, but you need to get your own transport back to town - plenty of tuk tuks around for negotiable prices.

The long tail boat won’t travel in bad weather and the booths will put a sign out.

We had a fab day on Railay, despite overcast weather. We went early (about 9am) and arrived at Tailay West which is a beautiful arc with towering cliffs at each end. There are select hotels along the front, and then a shopping street with mainly restaurants and bars, juice stands and a couple of massage parlours. Walk along this street to the end, and turn right (following the wall on your right) to get to Railay West. The tide was in by late morning so not much beach, but follow the signs to Phra Nang Cave for a wow beach where you can see Chicken Island in the distance, watch people having a climbing lesson (book on the shopping street) and see the famous cave (a bit disappointing).

Boats leave at 5, but we left at 4 to avoid any rush. Boats leave when full so we had a ten minute wait.
Written 6 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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RAILAY BEACH (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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