In the morning we leave for Railay and we go to the pier on foot, Mickey stays behind in our hotel. When we arrive at the pier, we see that the ticket office is closed. A tuk tuk driver tells us that the sea here is too wild at the moment and that there are only boats leaving from the pier at Ao Nammao. He drives us to the pier and a little later we’re in a longtailboat towards Railay. Here too, the sea seems to be pretty wild because we jump in the air a few times. On Railay our search for a hotel begins.

The Monkeys in Railay

There are many luxurious resorts here, so it is quite difficult to find a cheap place. Anyway, It looks so beautiful here, that we take one look at each other and say 'come on, just for this once’. We take an aircon room with breakfast, in a resort with a big swimming pool. The hotel is located in Railay East, where there is no beach but there’s really a nice atmosphere in the village. And it’s just a few minutes walking to Railay West or Phranang Beach, where there are only high-end accommodations.

Railay East

Once settled in our room, we go for a dive in the pool. In the afternoon we walk to Tonsai Beach, only accessible via two jungle paths or by sea at low tide. We take the long path over the mountains, and immediately it feels like we're in the middle of the jungle. After an hour of walking, we arrive at Tonsai Beach. The beach sits in a beautiful bay surrounded by rock formations. On this beach you can find a place to sleep for any budget, but be aware that you are cut off from the rest of Railay. Especially in the rain or in the dark, the jungle trails doesn’t look like a good idea. We also see some people rock climbing here, something that is frequently done in Railay. We try to go to Railay West by walking through the low sea but with our flip-flops, it doesn’t go so well. We then take the other jungle path that leads directly to Railay West. Here we take a dip in the ocean.

Tonsai Beach

On the second day we want to explore the rest of Railay. We start with a heavy climb up to the lagoon. We have our good shoes on but we see a lot of people appear on their slippers and some even do it on their bare feet. The road to the lagoon includes many climbs but it all seems to go well. First, we arrive at the view point of Railay East.

This viewpoint was Worth the Climb

After enjoying the view a bit, we begin our search for the lagoon itself. We miss the side path a few times but eventually we find it. The path starts with a short descend and quickly we see the lagoon ahead. The floor is really slippery here, and the last part seems to begin with quite a steep descend. We are hesitating and in the meanwhile we see people coming back from the lagoon. They tell us the descent becomes more difficult and therefore gave up a while further. We are already looking at the first climb down and find it not worth the risk. Some go for it, but most go back.
After that, we walk to Phranang Cave which has two beautiful viewpoints. The first one overlooks Phranang Beach and for the second one, we have to climb through the cave. We have our torch with us because we have to do a big part in the dark. We are lucky, we’re all alone at the viewpoint.

View Over Phranang Beach

View over Tonsai Beach and Railay West

This is the nicest viewpoint we have seen so far, with a beautiful view over Tonsai Beach and Railay West. After leaving the cave, we take a dip in the water of Phranang Beach. This is without a doubt the most beautiful beach on Railay. In the evening, we enjoy the all-you-can-eat buffet at the restaurant in our hotel, and we end the evening with a cocktail in their bar. The bar is the coolest bar in Railay because it’s located on a boat.

Phranang Beach

More info on www.wijzijnweg.org