The best way to get to the resort side of the peninsula is to catch a long tail from Ao Nang beach. They run throughout the day (no service at night) with no set schedule. You can either pay between 5-800 baht for you own private long tail taxi service, or simply wait for a boat to fill up and make the trip for about 50 baht per person. I'd suggest waiting: it took about 20 minutes to get a full boat.
Here's a pic of the Ao Nang long tail we took to Railay:
Yes, you WILL get wet! The only way on is to wade out and climb over the stern - just part of the adventure!
And what did you get wet for?
This!
We stayed at the Railay Beach Bungalow Resort. A deluxe air-conditioned bungalow was about $65/day. Here's the one we stayed in:
I got up at the crack of dawn due to jet lag, so I decided to grab some pics when the beach wasn't "crowded" like in the first set. I screwed up and photographed the wrong beach first - oh well...
Northwest "Resort" Beach:
On the other side of the peninsula is the southeast "working" beach. This is a gravelly beach where you catch the longtail to Krabi Town.
The resorts on this side cater almost exclusively to climbers. I understand that the limestone cliffs of Railay are one of the top destinations in the world for technical climbers.
Southeast "Working" Beach:
The main activities besides climbing are snorkling, kayaking the limestone caves, and ogling euro and aussie babes on the pristine beach.
One downside about the beach - its a limestone-coral beach, so it can and will tear the crap out of your feet if you are not very careful. The coral sand under the light surf is strewn with a minefield of limestone patches. Surf shoes are highly recommended.
All of the bunalows are spread throughout the interior of the peninsula, with the shoreline reserved for bars and restaurants.
If you love fresh grilled seafood, this is definitely your place. Food is cheap and very high quality as long as you avoid what they call ham and eggs for breakfast!
Another caveat - air conditioning is at a premium here. NONE of the restaurants have it (they are all open air). The only place you will enjoy the blessed cool breeze of technology is in your bungalow. We were there in mid-April,and it was DAMNED hot. On the plus side, the ocean breeze is very refreshing and constant, so the temp is very bearable in the shade.
On one of our three days on Railay we rented a long tail for half a day to check out Koh Kai (chicken island), the topic of my next post.
drew
