Me, myself and maps
It seems like there's always an approximate way to get there
Railay Beach is “a small peninsula between the city of Krabi and Ao Nang […] accessible only by boat due to high limestone cliffs cutting off mainland access”, and this almost tells the entire story.
No matter where you are, you’ll find a way to get to Krabi, the main town in the province. With Koh Lanta as my starting point, I chose to get there via minivan, but given that the city has a pier and an airport, you can really get there any way you want. Once you make it to Krabi, your goal should be to reach Ao Nang, a smaller town on the east coast. Ask the taxi to take you anywhere on the beach, but as far west as possible.
Walk straight up to the boats and ask for the next one going to Railay. Unless you want to hire an entire longboat for yourself (and pay twice the regular price), you’ll have to wait for other customers to show up. A couple of french people behind me had the exact same request, and we all set foot on Railay West about fifteen minutes later.
What is there to do and see in Railay? Not much, to be honest. Probably less than in other cities of the region, but I dont think you come here for “the things to do”. Sure, you can book boat trips and snorkeling expeditions, but I didn’t do any of that. I just enjoyed that this place was completely car-free, and that it could be explored entierly by walking around. Chilling on Phra Nang Cave beach and on the empty west side of the peninsula was more than enough for me.
When it was time to leave for my next destination, I realized that the boat leaving from Railay did not go back to Ao Nang, but headed east, towards Krabi. It means there’s an “easier” way to get to Railay: there’s a small pier (Ao Nam Mao) halfway between Ao Nang and Krabi that will also let you reach Railay East.
At this point, the fact that it took me another entire day to reach Koh Samui is almost anecdotal. I don’t really mind that we missed the 2:00PM ferry and had to wait one hour for the next one. I don’t really mind that the truck did not take my exactly to my hotel, and that I had to walk about ten minutes to find it either. Travel times are very approximate and much longer than anywhere I’ve been, but travelling slower weirdly makes it more acceptable.
Some other travellers did not share this feeling, but I can understand where their frustration is coming from. Most of the people I’ve talked to are here for two, three or four weeks of holidays, and they need everything to go accordingly to their plan. There’s an itinerary they have to follow. I’ve heard more than once that [destination] was their last or second to last one before returning home.
And yesterday, when asked on the back of the truck that took me to the wrong part of the island, I replied to a group of young backpackers that I didn’t have return date, or a return ticket. This was the first time I found myself saying it out loud.
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