Likes and Love : 4 nights chilling in Railey, Krabi (Thailand)

After the hustle and bustle of Phuket and a few days diving (read my blog post here), we had a few days of lazy chilling in Railey, a secluded bay in the province of Krabi in the West coast of Thailand. Unfortunately for us, we were quite ill towards the end of the trip, but thankfully we had a lovely hotel, The Railey Pricess Resortand Spa, to mong in and feel sorry for ourselves.

arriving to Railey

Travelling from Phuket to Railey is not too difficult – it involves a mini bus from the main bus depo from Phuket to Krabi (about 500 baht, £10), then a taxi to the pier, where you’ll have to catch the famous long tail boats with their coloured clothes tied at the front, much used and loved throughout Thailand to Railey. Depending on the tide, the sea will predict what pier you go from, for us it was Nammao pier.

the longtail boats

I didn’t find the journey too bad but if you asked the Boy and my friend’s boyfriend (both over 6 foot), I guess you’ll get a different answer. If you’re tall, likelihood is you are going to be uncomfortable when travelling in Thailand – the people are small and they like to take everything and their kitchen sink with them on journeys (I have seen chickens as ‘hand luggage’) so what space there was is gone. As my freaked out friend describes it, we were in a “coffin” on wheels. We were also particularly unlucky that that day was a choppy sea, meaning that the longtail boat was up an down more times that Jordan’s knickers, splashing the mini waves into the boat, our faces and on to our luggage. We arrived absolutely soaked and never so grateful to discover that our hotel was opposite a pier. Good choice of hotel.

the dramatic coast line of Railey

jagged rocks hug Railey beaches

Railey (there is an east and west side, separated by a 5 min walk) is a small bay with a tiny collection of nice hotels, shack like restaurants, mini marts and bars that close when the last person leaves. If you are looking for a touch of calm in the madness of Thailand, this could well be the place for you. As we were there in the height of monsoon, the weather was a tad overcast, rained on occasion and didn’t offer the glorious blue skies that we assume but it was still hot enough to don a bikini and for the Boy to get a classic dodgy sunburn and Steph to get a touch of sunstroke.

the infinity pool

Whilst a sleepy little bay, there is actually quite a lot to do to keep you occupied, that is just a stone’s throw away on the longtail boat. Unfortunately, being ill and confined to the hotel meant that I missed out on most activities but you can take one day ferry trips to nearby islands such as Phi Phi and Hong island, try out rafting, and go quad biking, etc. The beaches are small but a beach none the less to chill on.

enjoying the sun

the beach

The only activity I managed on our 4 night stay was rock climbing, which was brilliant! Hard work but so much fun! Krabi is renowned for rock climbing so can cater for any ability. An afternoon of clinging to a rock cost us 800 baht (about £15) and a serious amount of sweat. I forgot to get changed and ended up doing it in white and pink denim hot pants and a white boob tube, but I would advise something more loose fitting and of a darker shade!

made it to the top!

We stayed at the Railey Princess resort and spa which for £25 per night per couple was amazing – infinity pool, helpful and friendly staff, large rooms and set in lush green grounds. There are plenty of restaurants to chose from, most are on the beach front but there are some set off the paths. The menu's are all pretty similar and you'll find they all kind of run into each other, so I don't have any specific recommendations.