East Railay Beach: A Shoreline Not Meant for Swimming
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East Railay is a “technical” beach on the namesake peninsula. Actually, it’s hard to decide which word deserves the quotation marks more—“technical” or “beach.” Essentially, it’s just a promenade, a concrete walkway laid along the shore by the sea.
In some places, artificial stone embankments have been created, while in others, the natural shore has been marred with cement to reinforce the natural embankments. The primary purpose of East Railay is to serve as a dock. Passenger and cargo boats arrive here from Ao Nam Mao, Krabi Town, and depart for other Railay beaches.
If you wanted, you could walk the entire concrete path from end to end in about 30 minutes. For almost the entire stretch, you’d be looking at a rocky, shallow seabed covered with mangroves.
The mangrove roots trap debris, creating dismal scenes at low tide—plastic, styrofoam, bags, planks, and sunken boats. Only the most reckless or inebriated would dare to swim here, and even then, only at high tide.
There is a small, swimmable beach on this shore, located at the farthest end from Phra Nang, within the grounds of the Railay Great View Resort 3. Both the beach and the seabed are covered with large stones and coarse sand. During high tide, the beach is entirely submerged, but at low tide, you can sunbathe and swim relatively comfortably—preferably with water shoes.
Swimming Conditions
Trust me, you won’t want to enter the water here. The depth is roughly knee-deep at low tide and up to shoulder-deep at high tide, but most of the beach is opposite mangrove thickets or rocks. There is only one spot where you can descend to the sea and sit on a patch of beach that somewhat resembles a proper beach. This location is marked on the map at the end of the post.
Sunbeds and Shade
The shade is provided by dense coastal vegetation and the high mountains that shelter the resort. There’s no point in discussing sunbeds, umbrellas, or other beach amenities—there’s simply no place or need for them here.
With Phra Nang and West Railay beaches nearby, there’s no reason to linger on this rocky shore. The main visitors are boatmen with their small dock and resort security on break.
Beach Photos
East Railay Beach, Krabi
Amenities
East Railay hosts most of the peninsula’s cafes and small shops, along with a few hotels and a couple of resorts. The only pharmacy on the entire peninsula is located here, along with special ramps for vehicles—tractors that transport goods across the hilly terrain.
All tourists walking to Phra Nang Beach also pass through here, as there’s no direct route through the hotel grounds.
Accommodation
Though East Railay is not suitable for swimming, it’s where most of the peninsula’s hotels are concentrated, ranging from budget options to more upscale accommodations.
If you don’t mind walking 10-20 minutes to the beach, the location is quite convenient—you can head to Railay in one direction or Phra Nang in the other.
Like the other beaches on the peninsula, East Railay is accessible by boat from any part of the Krabi resort area—Ao Nang, Nopparat Thara, and Ao Nam Mao.
Some adventurous souls make their way to the small beach at the resort by walking along the rocks during low tide, thus saving on a one-way ticket.
From West Railay, Ton Sai, and Phra Nang, you can reach it in 10-20 minutes by following the signs. Essentially, there’s only one road that connects all four beaches on the Railay Peninsula, so it’s hard to get lost.
Beautiful beach, but very busy (therefore no photo), because the water was high and there was only a small stretch of beach. In addition, you can climb rocks and there are monkeys.
The first place in Thailand that I loved was Railay Bay in Krabi and we stayed on Railay Bay East BeachEverything you could need to get a good rest all in one place! Located in Krabi This is located a little away from the city center You can take a walk and explore the surrounding area and the beach is without a doubt the best beach in Krabi Kant Staying in is very comfortable We used their shuttle service from and everything was smooth The pool next to the beach is great The food quality was also good .
🔻22/05/2022 Railay Beach is a small peninsula between Krabi Town and Ao Nang Subdistrict in Thailand. It is only accessible by boat due to high limestone cliffs cutting off the entrance to the mainland. These cliffs attract climbers from all over the world. But the area is also popular because of its beautiful beaches and quiet, relaxed atmosphere. Accommodation ranges from mid-priced bungalows and resorts in East Railay Beach. to luxury resorts that focus on the western Railay Beach area Although one, Railay Wadi, covers the entire waterfront and also has a beachside restaurant at Ao Phra Nang. The 4 main areas of Railay include Phra Nang. Railay West Railay East and Tonsai Tonsai is more suitable for hikers and backpackers and has a more rustic appearance than the luxury of Railay West. and shops and restaurants along the Railay East boardwalk.
Well worth a visit, the water is a lovely temperature. A bit busy at peak times and not much room but we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. You can also rock climb. We got a visit from the monitor lizard 🦎
We visited Sunday 20 July. We took a Longtail boat from Ao Nang, which landed in West Railay Bay, and we walked over to East Railay. West Railay is better for swimming, and has more shops, bars etc.
A wonderful and paradisiacal place like all of Thailand 😍 I recommend it without a doubt. Furthermore, it is not very crowded and you can swim calmly on the beach, not like in Phi Phi.
Beautiful part of Railay with less trash, but rude boat people do exist here. They throw their anchors aimlessly and I saw some instances that it came quite close to people who walk by. They seem to do this as chores so they have become insensitive for the messes or lack of safety that they potentially could cause.Another factor to note is that the floors are rather smooth type of concrete, so when the tide is high, these floors are mostly slippery when covered in seawater. Advisable to watch your steps along here.On this side I also must note that the beach is no where near smooth or swimmable as the West Railay. This side of the beach is rather rocky. Beautiful green Krabi waters though!Postscript, I took this track from my resort to the infamous Phra Nang cave where rock climbers go and where the legendary altar is.
Beautiful beach very crowded which was expected but the amount of plastic on the beach on the way and jelly fish washed up is really sadThe sea is full of jellyfish on this side of the island (it’s current March)
You can say this is a unique place near Krabi, But only 15 minutes boat trip, away from the Ao Nang port.There is three beaches on three side of this area. Which you can walk between them. There are many bars and clubs and restaurants and hotels are resorts in the middle side Railay bay Beach.Rock climbing is one of the famous excursions of this
Beautiful beaches, a little crowded in peak times, but you can still find a spot to swim and bathe crystal clear emerald water.Great little coffee shop on the opposite side where the boats come in.Rock climbing is available here.Don't leave your belongings around when there's monkeys about tip for the novice traveler
Not too amazing compared to the destination where you are likely going to walk. But it's a nice path along the sea. It's an area where it seems like there's just a very low tide constantly, so you can step off the sidewalk and get into the sand. Enjoying the view is the main activity here, but I also saw some places along the way where people were rock climbing.
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