My initial plan was to just visit Koh Tao to have some rest and then leave Thailand again towards Laos. I changed my plan so I could see a little more of Thailand’s south, of which I had not seen much during my visit 5 years ago. From south Thailand it should then be easy to continue further south towards Malaysia. I’m sure there will be an opportunity to see Laos another time, either during this trip or later in my life.
How to get to Krabi (Railay beach) from Koh Tao
Moving around the south is incredibly easy. In any touristy place you’ll find dozens of tour operators selling ferry tickets, or combined ferry and bus tickets, from one place to another. In Koh Tao you find connections to Chumphon, Surat Thani, Pukhet, Krabi and so on…
Buy the ticket a day or two in advance. In my case there was a ferry leaving Koh Tao towards Surat Thani at 7 am and one at 9:30. The 7 am was fully booked (one day before), so I took the 9:30 one.
From Surat Thani a bus will bring the people to their onward destinations (the two main ones being Pukhet and Krabi).
Once in Krabi a taxi will bring you to your designated beach. Railay is cut off from the rest of the mainland by jungle and mountains so despite not being an island, Railay Beach can only be reached by boat. The taxi driver will know and drop you at the pier, where a longboat brings you within 20 minutes to Railay.
Railay
Railay is one of the most gorgeous settings I have seen in Thailand, and that means quite something. Set on a south-facing tip of Krabi between sea, forest and rocks it is not overrun by tourists, nor shops or restaurant options.
You’ll find Railay beach on the west of this small penninsula and Phra Nang Beach to the south. On the east side is the piers and some cheaper resorts since they are not immediately at the beach. All these locations are within 5 to 10 minutes walking distance of each other.
Besides the usual food and tattoo options, you’ll find here also some offers for rock climing. There is also a very exciting bat cave that you can try to explore (I need to find myself a partner for these caves, they can get scary when you’re alone) and a view point that requires hiking/climbing a rock. From there you can make your way further to a secluded lagoon which requires climbing some steep rocky slopes with the help of some ropes.
Click on one of the pictures to open the Krabi gallery :
![krabi railay tahiland](https://letzexplore.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PXL_20240530_044403845-scaled.jpg "Hiking "path"")
![krabi railay tahiland](https://letzexplore.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PXL_20240530_041749636-scaled.jpg ""de Steve ass heinsto am Bësch"")
