Instagram Travel
7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Railay, the Thai Beach You Can Only Reach by Boat
Cut off from the mainland by sheer limestone cliffs, Railay in Krabi province is reachable only by longtail boat, and its beaches, caves and climbing walls have made it one of Thailand's most photographed corners.
By BigTravel.in Editorial Team · · 2 min read
Railay sits on a small peninsula in Krabi province, ringed by limestone karst cliffs that make road access impossible; every visitor arrives by longtail boat, usually from Ao Nang or Krabi town. That isolation has kept development lower-rise than much of the Thai coast, while the cliffs themselves have turned Railay into a rock-climbing destination as much as a beach one. Here are seven spots worth the camera.
1. Phra Nang Beach
Consistently ranked among Thailand's best beaches, Phra Nang's white sand and turquoise water sit directly beneath towering cliffs, with longtail boats usually anchored just offshore in the frame of most photographs taken here.
2. Phra Nang Cave shrine
At the eastern end of the beach, a shrine dedicated to a legendary princess sits inside a shallow cave, decorated over the years with offerings left by local fishermen; it remains an active site of worship rather than a purely photographed one.
3. Railay West at sunset
Facing the Andaman Sea directly, Railay West is where most of the peninsula's bars and restaurants line the sand, and its open western aspect makes it the reliable choice for sunset photographs over the water.
4. Railay East at low tide
The peninsula's quieter, mangrove-fringed eastern shore turns to mudflats at low tide, an unglamorous but distinctive contrast to the postcard sand a short walk away on the other side of Railay.
5. The climb to Railay Viewpoint
A steep, rope-assisted scramble up from Phra Nang Beach leads to a lookout over the peninsula and, further along a rougher trail, down to the hidden Sa Phra Nang lagoon; sturdy shoes and a head for exposed rock are essential.
6. Climbers on the karst walls
Railay is one of Southeast Asia's best-known rock climbing spots, with routes of varying difficulty running straight up from the beach; watching climbers on the cliffs above Phra Nang, even without joining in, is a reliably good shot.
7. Longtail boats lined up on the sand
The wooden longtail boats that connect Railay to Ao Nang and Krabi town, moored in rows along the shallows at low tide, have become as much a symbol of this stretch of coast as the cliffs themselves.
Traveller tips
- Krabi International Airport is the nearest airport; from there, road transfer to Ao Nang followed by a short longtail boat crossing reaches Railay.
- There is no road onto the peninsula, so luggage often means a short wade or a porter at the boat landing, depending on the tide.
- Climbing gear can be rented locally, and short guided courses are widely available for first-time climbers.
- November to April brings the driest, calmest sea conditions for the boat crossing; the monsoon months can make crossings choppier.
Where this is
Railay, Krabi, Thailand
