What Railay Beach is REALLY Like

Originally Posted on my site OROXY December 20, 2017

I love Thailand. The people, culture, and the country itself are amazing, however I did not enjoy Railay Beach.

In Search of a Beach

There’s no shortage of beautiful beaches in Thailand and I’ve experienced many of them that I would happily go back to visit. However, while island-hopping in the Gulf of Thailand this summer, I kept reading about how wonderful Railay Beach was. It seems like every site I checked sung the praises of this “perfect beach destination” and how clean, quiet, and magical it was: on TripAdvisor, travel blogs, and travel forums - it seemed like Railay would check all of my boxes! So off I went, ready for the serenity I’d been promised. If you read the title, I bet you can guess that I was sorely disappointed. I was there during low season (June-July) and it’s supposedly less crowded. If so, I’d hate to see it when it’s busy.

Getting There

The only way to get to Railay is by long tail boat, usually around 200 Baht a person. (I was coming from Koh Yao Noi and had to stop in Ao Nang along the way, which is where I picked up the longtail boat to Railay.) The longtail boats run off the same system as the songthaew; meaning if you’re the first person that wants to leave you have to wait until enough people want to go before the boat drivers will leave. I had to wait about an hour before there were enough people to leave, and I was not the first to arrive.

It was rather underwhelming from the moment I got there. The longtail boats don’t have a dock so they pull up to about knee-deep water and you have to jump out and walk ashore. I’m all for roughing it, but it still took me by surprise. The actual Railay Beach (West) was pretty trashed and it was not relaxing. There was garbage floating in the water and washed ashore. You couldn’t actually relax on the beach because every 10-15 minutes another long tail boat would pull up to drop more passengers off.

If you haven’t seen a longtail boat it’s a long wooden boat powered by what looks like a propeller attached to a motor separated by a very long metal pipe. They are extremely loud, and if the constant motor noise coming in doesn’t disturb you, the line of longtail boats that packed the bay surely would. There were at least 15-20 boats off to the southern end of the bay at any given time. It definitely looked like the boat drivers may have lived there. I saw several soaping up and taking baths in the bay and it was a little off-putting. I get that it’s a different world, a different culture, and definitely is on a different economic footing than most of the West - but that still doesn’t mean I want to go swimming in motor oil and soap runoff.

East Vs. West

The western side of the peninsula is consumed by an enormous resort that you actually have to walk through to get to the eastern shore. The Railay (East) is set up like a boardwalk with shops and bars all along it, and is where the budget accommodations are located. While reading about it online, it seemed as if there were two beaches: Railay East and West, and that the West beach was nicer, but the East beach was still an option. This was not the case. Railay (East) was a swamp: full of mangrove trees and when the tide goes out during the night, the entire area starts to smell, and comes complete with a biblical plague-level of mosquitoes.

If you’re trying to travel on a budget it gets a little gross as well. The resort looks lovely, but is definitely on the pricey side (especially for Southeast Asia) so I decided to check out the hotels on the east side. The hotel I ended up was one of the higher-rated ones on the peninsula and was overrun with feral cats, exposed wiring, apathetic staff, and spotty Wi-Fi.

The boardwalk itself had some interesting-looking bars, but after walking into one and getting shouted at by one of the staff (I still have no idea what for) I just wanted a quiet place to eat. There were restaurants that had great views of the mud pit, or there was the restaurant that made the bold move of setting up mats where you could actually sit and eat on the mud pit, complete with fresh seafood on display… covered in flies and mosquitoes.

I chose to go to a restaurant instead that was surrounded by fountains that were full of standing water, and mosquitoes.

I only stayed one night in Railay and couldn’t leave fast enough. I guess I could have stayed two nights and actually given the beach on the west side a chance, but I was just too grossed-out by the experience to be that generous with my time.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

Just because I didn’t like Railay Beach doesn’t mean you won’t either. While having dinner, I overheard several travelers talking about how much they loved it (which made me question my sanity a little) but there are some nice things about Railay: There is no denying the views are absolutely stunning. If you can get past the constant motor noise and the cleanliness of the beach. The limestone cliffs coming out of the water in the bay look like they’re straight out of a movie. There is also supposedly incredible rock climbing here, so avid climbers will probably find it much more enjoyable than I did.

When I arrived I was looking for the perfect beach, and had a head full of positive reviews of Railay that definitely overhyped it in my opinion. I can authoritatively say that Railay was not my perfect beach (or anywhere close), but if I had to go back I would spring for the resort, avoid the eastern shore completely, rent some kayaks and paddle out to the many gorgeous cliffs, and maybe try my hand at some rock climbing.

Ignore the Hype

There are so many wonderful places in Thailand, with gorgeous views and beautiful beaches to be had that I simply wouldn’t waste valuable vacation time on Railay. It was also a harsh lesson for me on seeing through the hype from other travelers and marketing photos. It’s important to make sure you’re checking the dates that other travelers visited, how long ago the review was posted, and whether the pictures they used were personal or professional pics.

As with most things, it’s best to see it for yourself and make your own judgement. But when you have a limited amount of time or money to travel, it can be a real letdown when you’re expecting paradise and the reality is so far from it.

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