Railay Bay Beach 's Information and Activities

The beach seemed much less crowded than a previous March visit, so probably you could have found a room easily on the beach at East Railay, but previous visits left me underwhelmed by the lower-budget offerings there.

West Railay was its usual gorgeous self when I waded ashore on arrival. I’d been traveling 20 hours continuously overnight from Australia apart from the usual delays, so rather than waste time finding a room I walked to the northern end of the beach, put my bag in the shade of the rocks and went for a glorious swim followed by some sun. Not a bad way to start the holiday.

As the quality and price of accommodation in and around Ao Nang inevitably increases, backpacking tourists are slowly but surely moving out to Ton Sai beach, next door to Railay West.

Potential visitors should be aware, however, that Ton Sai is far more inaccessible than its neighbour - which is just how the people who stay there like it. During the monsoon months, waves can be too big to ensure a safe passage, while all year round at low tide, longtail boats must moor far from the shore, leaving passengers to wade to dry land, with their luggage, over slippery rocks and mud.

The beach itself used to be beautiful and a nice place to relax on, but heavy traffic, both foot and boats, as well as an uninterrupted line of bars and cafes along its length means the only truly quiet and sandy part of it is at the far side towards Railay - at least during high season (Nov - Apr)*. The much nicer Railay West beach can be reached over the rocks at low tide, or by the clifftop path (some clambering involved) at any time. If you don't wish to walk you can also jump on a longtail boat catch to here.