Eastern Railey (or Railay) is a “technical” beach on the peninsula of the same name. Though I’m at a loss as to which word to put in quotation marks – “technical” or “beach”. In essence, it’s just a promenade, a concrete footpath laid along the shore, by the sea.
In some places, they created artificial stone embankments for it, and in others, they completely botched the shoreline with cement, reinforcing the natural embankments. The main purpose of East Railay is to serve as a pier. Passenger and cargo boats arrive here from Ao Nam Mao, Krabi Town, and from here they set off to other Railay beaches.
Beach Overview
If you set yourself such a goal, you could walk the entire concrete path from end to end in about 30 minutes. And for practically the entire length of the concrete, you’ll observe a shallow rocky bottom overgrown with mangroves.
The mangrove roots trap rubbish, which makes for dreary landscapes at low tide – plastic, styrofoam, bags, boards, sunken boats. Only the most sloshed or fearless chap would swim here, and most likely, only at high tide.
To be fair, there is a small swimmable beach on this shore, located at the farthest end from Phra Nang, on the grounds of the Railay Great View Resort 3.
Both the beach and the underwater bottom are covered with large stones and coarse sand. During high tide, the beach is completely hidden underwater, and at low tide, you can sunbathe here and swim relatively comfortably, preferably with swimming shoes.
Swimming
Trust me, you won’t fancy going into the water here. The depth, at a glance, is knee-deep during low tide and shoulder-deep during high tide, but most of the beach lies opposite mangrove thickets or rocks. There’s only one area where you can descend to the sea and sit on a beach that more or less resembles a beach – the spot is marked on the map at the end of the post.
Sunbeds and Shade
Shade is created by the dense coastal vegetation and the high mountains among which the resort is hidden. There’s no question of any sun loungers, umbrellas, or other beach holiday attributes – there’s nowhere to put them and no reason to.
With Phra Nang and West Railay available, there’s simply no point in being on this rocky beach. Therefore, the main visitors here are boatmen, who have their own small pier, and resort security on their smoke breaks.
Beach Photos
Amenities
Most of the cafés and small shops of the peninsula are located on East Railay, there are also several hotels, and a couple of resorts open onto it as well. The only pharmacy on the entire peninsula is located on East Railay, and there are special ramps to the sea for machinery – tractors that transport cargo across the mountainous terrain.
Also, all tourists wishing to get to Phra Nang walk along the concrete path because there is no direct route through the hotel grounds.
Accommodation
Although East Railay isn’t swimmable, it’s here that the bulk of hotels are concentrated, both budget and not-so-budget. And if you don’t mind walking 33-66 feet (10-20 meters) to the beach, then the location is quite good, go in one direction – you’ll reach Railay, go in the other direction – you’ll reach Pranang.
- Avatar Railay 3
- Bhu Nga Thani Resort & SPA 4.
- Railay Princess Resort & SPA 3
- Sunrise Tropical Resort 3
How to Find the Beach
Similar to the other beaches of the peninsula, East Railay is accessible by boat from any point of Krabi resort – Ao Nang, Nopparat Thara and Ao Nimmao. Some brave souls make their way to that very beach in the resort by walking along the rocks by the shore during low tide, thereby saving on a one-way ticket.
From West Railay, Ton Sai and Phra Nang, you can get there in 10-20 minutes, following the signs. Essentially, there’s only one road that connects all four beaches of the Railay peninsula. It’s difficult to get lost here.
