How To Get To Railay

Railay Beach is one of my favorite places in Thailand (together with Koh Phi Phi) precisely because of the fact it is so cut off from the rest of Krabi. If you’ve been to Krabi before you know it’s a pretty large province and there is a lot of good things there, however if you really want to escape then Railay is where you will want to make your way.

Railay is a small peninsula completely bordered by tall mountains. This means there is no way to get there by car. You’ll have to take a boat! Not only is it impossible to reach by car, there are no cars anywhere in the entire area.

There are two areas to reach Railay, and that is the piers at Railay East and Railay West. If you are coming for a day trip as part of a group, you will probably arrive at Ao Phra Nang Beach by longtail boat, but if you plan to stay at a hotel along with your luggage you’ll be going to either Railay East or Railay West.

Get To Railay From Ao Nang

If you are already staying in Krabi and want to go to continue your trip to Railay you can fortunately find plenty of longtail boats. The cost is usually 200 baht per person, but during the high season than can raise up to 300. Also, some vendors will charge for luggage while others do not.

You’ll be able to see ticket sellers all over Ao Nang walking street who can sell you there and back tickets. The boats do not generally have a set time when they leave, but rather when they are full. You may have to wait a bit if you are the first one on. Also the boats do not leave in bad weather, so don’t plan your day around the boat schedule.

From Krabi Airport

This is what we did since we were not planning on staying in Ao Nang during this trip. You can go to Railay East from two different piers coming from Krabi Airport. The one in Krabi town is called Klong Jilad, and for those who are staying in Krabi town it is super convenient. If you really want to save money, then taking a public bus from the airport to Krabi town, then walk to Klong Jilad pier is your best bet. We decided to take a taxi as the taxi to Ao Nam Mao pier was only about $25 and it was late. We just wanted to get to the hotel ASAP.

Ao Nam Mao is the pier we chose to go to, which is much closer to Railay. We took a boat at almost 9 PM after it was already dark and were the last ones on the boat, so I can assume that they will take people after dark. However that was just our experience, and maybe they only do that sometimes.

The price was the same as from Ao Nang, being 200 Thai Baht per person including luggage.

Coming from Ao Nam Mao meant the actual boat ride was much quicker, taking just about 20 minutes. We arrived at a floating pier in Railay East which was super convenient because we were staying at the Avatar hotel, which is just a block away.

From Koh Phi Phi To Railay

Koh Phi Phi is another amazing place that you might have visited first and are now looking for a way to travel from Koh Phi Phi to Railay. There are a few ferries a day from Koh Phi Phi that you can catch to Railay. The cheapest and the slowest one will take you 2 hours and costs around $12; The fast ferry takes about 30 minutes, but costs twice as much.

However you choose to get to Railay, I definitely suggest you do decide to go visit as it is truly a beautiful slice of tranquility in Thailand.

Check out things to do in Raily