Krabi: Railay
My favorite place in Thailand? Krabi. Plain and simple. Here’s why:
Getting here is a little bit of a challenge, because in my opinion, the place to stay is right in the middle of the action, on the end of the peninsula in a town called Railay. It’s only accessible via boat, so get to the Ao Nam Mao Marina, spend a few bucks and hop on a boat over to Railay, where you should stay for three days in my opinion.
In terms of where to stay, you’ll find Railay has a bunch of great options, and all cheap - that is all except the exquisite Rayavadee, one of Thailand’s best resorts. I stayed at the Railay Princess Resort, which I very much recommend. It was $20 a night, with breakfast included, and had a stunning rooftop infinity edge pool with breathtaking views to go along with a nice lagoon-style pool as well in the back. It’s actually a sneaky large hotel as well, which made checking in a bit of a drawn out process, but hey, $20. Solid enough rooms that provide just what you need and an ideal ideal ideal location makes this place somewhere I highly recommend.
Railay is famous for its backpacker style, rough and tough, rock-climbers-only vibe which I loved. The food is obviously superb and its served in a fun, energetic setting all over the city.
Unfortunately, many of the restaurants in Railay were closed for dinner thanks to COVID, which definitely left us limited with options. We ended up pleasantly being surprised with Railay Thai Cuisine, located on the main walking street of the town. So in terms of places to eat, the only place I can firmly recommend is:
The Grotto: This place is the most unique restaurant I think I have ever been to. Its expensive, sure, but its so beyond worth it. Not only is the cuisine just superb (get the seafood platter, totally worth it), but its also located right smack underneath a grotto complete with rocks hanging down, and just edge the edge of the beautiful, clear waves lapping at the foot of the restaurant. Plus, our waiter was one of the cutest men I have ever had as a waiter, he was an absolute sweetheart (I fully forgot his name, whoops).
You come to Railay for the nature though. There are two bloody awesome hikes that you have to do:
Railay View Point: There’s a walkway through from East Railay Bay Beach to Phra Nang Beach, and just off the walkway, you’ll see some ropes and a bunch of rocks. Its absurdly daunting, but trust my when I say that its worth it (and actually possible). You’ve got to be wearing the right shoes and whatnot, and not to mention you really should be in good shape, because you’ll be pulling yourself up ropes, jumping across rocks, and ducking through holes to get to this viewpoint. I personally loved it, I found it to be exhilarating, and totally worth it once you get up top and can enjoy the views from the top of this massive limestone cliff. Pro tip too - if the tides are correct and you time it out right, you can also scramble to the Princess Lagoon, which is near the view point and provides a pretty unique experience given that you’re on top of a massive cliff and can swim in a lagoon.
Bat Cave: Walk to the far end of Phra Nang Beach and you’ll see a tiny little trail through the trees that will lead you up to the Bat Cave. This is an absolutely SICK trail - but, with that said, its fucking hard and pretty scary at some moments. “But Milad, how is a hike scary?” Um, how about a climbing up a rinky dink ladder in the pitch black inside the belly of a cave whilst bats whistle past your head. Yeah. It was freaky. But easily the most unique hike I have ever done, and the most stunning view once you get to the top. Following the trail is tough, but just know that if you find the ropes and ladders, you’re on your way. Also, it was wild sitting and looking at the view while rock climbers were doing their thing right next to me (rock climbing is something I did not get the chance to do here but net time I go I certainly will because it is really what makes Krabi famous around the world).
Phra Nang Beach: I’ve mentioned this beach a few times and I have to clarify something. This beach is the best beach in the world. White sand? Check. Crystal clear water? Check. Incredible setting, sandwiched between two massive cliffs? Check. An island with limestone cliffs and a small beach just a few minutes swim offshore? Check. Oh, and the most unique restaurant arguably in the world? Check (see: Grotto, above). I got super lucky and saw it almost completely devoid of the crowds of tourists which usually flock to this top 10 beach in the world (according to many travel sites), so I may have had a bit of a more fortunate and favorable situation for this experience, but regardless, this beach is simply next level.
Name a more idyllic beach…I’ll wait!
Beyond the town of Railay, there are a couple of other things you should do as well.
These ain’t your grandma’s stairs either - at some points it felt as though I may as well have been climbing vertically.
Tiger Cave Temple: This is truly only for those who have it in them. Almost 3,000 steps round trip to get up to the top of this temple, but if you can do it, the views are totally worth it. I’m not trying to toot my own horn when I say that this is truly a difficult climb and that if you are not in good shape, you should not attempt climbing up these stairs. If you do it though, commit to it, because it’ll be a special experience at the top. Make sure you don’t piss of the monkeys though, cause there are a LOT of them en route. And in terms of water, bring your own bottle, and don’t worry, you can refill at the top as well (and go to the bathroom if needed). I just bet you can’t do the climb faster than I did (20 minutes up, 15 minutes checking it out, 15 minutes back down - I had a flight to catch so I was moving moving).
Long way up, but very worth it
Four Island Trip: This is the most popular day trip from Krabi, and even though it is extraordinarily touristy, it is quite a lot of fun. These islands (Koh Po Da Nok, Koh Poda, Railay, Koh Thap) are all stunning, the snorkeling was great, and the lunch on the beach was surprisingly good! Definitely something you should do for a half day trip (obviously, if you can, I would say its very worth it to get your own boat/long tail).
Highly recommend getting kayaks from Railay West Beach and going out around the tip, through some narrow passages, and finding hidden private beaches like this one. One of the highlights of the trip for sure.