Perfect Thai Beaches: Railay, Ao Nang, & Phi Phi

Discover Thailand's ultimate beaches at Railay, Ao Nang, and Phi Phi. Find your perfect tropical getaway with Jack Corbett's Guide.

Click on the picture to get the video That's what Richard, the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio, did in the film. Ironically, the idyllic beach DiCaprio's character found only exists in the physical sense since the ambience the little colony found in the movie of mostly undiscovered has been replaced by an explosion of boats carrying tourists from all over the world looking for that sliver of paradise that is presented in the movie. Unfortunately Richard's beach has been spoiled by the hordes of boats entering Maya Bay.

But the good news is there are many terrific islands and beaches nearby--all part of that part of Thailand on the Andaman Sea called Krabi. This video, and the following narrative explains why all the Richard's (as portrayed by DiCaprio) looking for that tropical beach paradise need to visit.

Krabi in my opinion is the best combination of spectacular scenery, terrific beaches, and excellent snorkeling I've experienced as a seven years expat in Thailand.

Where the movie was filmed

Most of the movie was filmed at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Ley, the smaller of the two main Thai islands called Phi Phi while other scenes were filmed elsewhere in Thailand. The larger island, Phi Phi Don, is where most of the tourists stay. Getting to Phi Phi Ley takes roughly half an hour by long tailed boat from Phi Phi Don. For that matter one can go there by speed boat, long tailed boat, or even as part of a dive boat excursion from Ao Nang or other places in the the Krabi area. By now you are probably confused so it's time for a short Krabi geography lesson.

There are two connotations to Krabi. The first is as the municipality known as Krabi City. That's where the airport is. The second is as "Krabi Province, the general area itself that is characterized by its many karsts, perpendicular outcroppings rising out of the sea or offshore. If you have ever seen the James Bond movie, "The Man with the Golden Gun", you could not have failed to be impressed by that narrow stiletto shaped small island jutting out of the sea guarding the domain of Bond's nemesis, Scaramanga (as played by Christopher Lee). That outcropping is just one of many karsts that define the geography of Krabi. Now called James Bond island it is one of the favorite tourist destinations in the Krabi area. More than anything else it is the abundance of karsts, both large and small, that make Krabi's scenery the most spectacular I have yet to see in Thailand.

Although Krabi City has the airport, a Big C, most of the car dealerships in the area, and the most people, it is not known for its beaches. It is a half hour taxi ride to Ao Nang, which is the 2nd most inhabited place in Krabi. Ao Nang has relatively good beaches, a large number of hotels to choose from, and a good variety of souvenir shops, restaurants, dive shops, and motorcycle rentals available. Next door to Ao Nang is Tonsai Bay and then Railay, which have some of the best beaches in Thailand, far surpassing Ao Nang's. Tonsai Bay and Railay are surrounded by 90 high cliffs and the sea which make it virtually impossible to get to them except by boat. (which only takes 10 minutes however). Then there's the Phi Phi islands, which can best be reached by ferry which takes roughly one hour from either Ao Nang or Railay. Actually there are six islands altogether with Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley being the largest.

Phi Phi has national park status, whatever that means. It costs 200 baht to set foot on the beach at Maya Bay. Presently no hotels are allowed on the island, restaurants or other monuments to human infestation. This has not stopped the relentless procession of dive boats, long tailed boats, speed boats and other forms of waterborne transport, harbingers of the exploitation that is sure to come. To accommodate all those tourists toilets have recently been built here. And although overnight camping is allowed the specter of future overdevelopment looms ominously. So, if roughing it is not your style just wait a few years. After all, money's number one in Thailand so the hotels, restaurants and shops will be built and so that the place can become just as spoiled as all the other tourist traps polluting the landscape. But wasn't that the point of the movie in the first place--that mankind is self-polluting and that every natural paradise to be discovered will eventually fall prey to human desecration.

This visit we snorkeled on Phi Phi Ley twice. Booking an early morning outing with Adventure Sports on Phi Phi Don, we were informed that our small group would be taken to wherever the snorkeling was best, starting at 7:30 in the morning to avoid most of the crowds. But whether or not we'd ever get to Mala Bay or not would be iffy, our helpful Finnish agent informed us. Although we'd be getting more than enough snorkeling with Adventure Sports the next day, the man recommended that we hire out a long tailed boat for several hours so that we'd arrive at Malay Bay around 5 p.m. after the crowds thinned out. 1500 baht got us a boat and owner who took us to Pileh Bay here we got in a half hour of terrific snorkeling. Then he took us around the corner to Malay Bay where we went onto the beach. The next morning we went back to Piley, then Mala Bay, but whereas the waters on Piley had been nearly perfect the previous evening, we found the whole lagoon to be filled with debris that had been left over from the moonlight cruises that had arrived the night before, thus proving that my prophecy will be fulfilled, that both Mala and Piley Bays will one day soon be completely devastated. Once again, the main message of the movie had been proven, that most human beings are not worthy of the beautiful environments they are often blessed with.

Pranang Cave's Beach on West Railay is often rated among the ten best in the world by many travel magazines. Now that I've tried it out, I can see why. The large open mouthed cave provides a large roof that sunbathers from the sun. Okay, let me explain that one. What I meant was that one can lie out on the beach with a spectacular view of the distant horizon, even even when the view as far as the eye can see is bathed in bright sunlight, there's that large overhang that shields the sunbather from sunrays that normally would be boring down on him. However, one can swim out into the cove into the sunshine or pick another spot down the beach if getting a suntan is preferable to staying out of the sun.

Railay is just ten minutes away from Ao Nang, but you can't get here by car or motorbike. In fact, you can't even walk to Railay because it's surrounded on three sides by high cliffs.

Those nearly insurmountable perpendicular walls make Railay feel like being on an island, but it's not, Railay being part of the mainland as opposed to nearby Phi Phi or Phuket. But before coming to Railay one arrives at Tonsai Bay which has the first beach out of Ao Nang as the long tailed boat sweeps around the point past the Centara Hotel. Tonsai Bay is geared more for backpackers and low budget travelers than the more posh resorts next door at West Railay. Here many of the amenities such as ATM machines are lacking. Last year we had stayed at Tonsai Bay where we hired out a long tailed boat to take us to some prime snorkeling spots a few miles offshore. On the way we had its driver put in at West Railay where I could find an ATM.

This year we stayed our first two nights at Ao Nang where we took a speed boat snorkeling outing to Hong Island and two other stopping points along the way. All three beaches were first rate. The year before we had taken another speed boat snorkeling tour which had taken us to Railay Beach, Poda Island, Chicken Island and a couple of other spots, all within half an hour of either Ao Nang or Railay. It is hard to choose between the two speed boat tours.

If one were to get the absolute best snorkeling, I'd have to give Phi Phi's Piley Bay my number one rating. However, one is likely to be staying on Phi Phi Don to take the best advantage of the smaller island's top notch snorkeling. And although Phi Phi Don is sensationally located in one of the most picturesque landscapes on earth, Phi Phi Don has gotten to be too much of a tourist trap for my tastes. A far better choice would be off the beaten path on the far less inhabited side of the island at Relaxed Beach or one of the other resorts none of which we were able to stay at this year due to their being sold out two months in advance.

Next year my girlfriend and I will likely stay at Ao Nang Beach's Somkiet Buri Resort for which there is no substitute as far as we are concerned. Somkiet Buri's over 400 meters from the Ao Nang shoreline but it's so good that it can rain every day for a week and we'd still be happy. Somkiet Buri is a luxuriant self contained tropical garden with meandering streams and wooden walkways crossing the tropical paradise setting. We have never had a bad room here, which is more than I can say for two other Ao Nang hotels we have tried over the past several years through Agoda and one particularly bad room at Koh Chang that was also arranged through Agoda. The Somkiet Buri's restaurant is a thatched roofed building set off by itself. Aside from its terrific atmosphere I appreciate the fact that this restaurant doesn't gouge its guests with high prices. In fact, one can eat here at least as cheaply as just about anywhere else at Ao Nang. The remainder of our time will be spent at West Railay. Although last year we stayed on Tonsai Bay the ATM machine was about as far as we got over on West Railay. This year we spent one night at the Railay Bay Resort and Spa, and that's exactly where we plan on spending the rest of our Krabi stay for 2013. Here's why.

Although our room was quite good with a location roughly halfway from the main West Railay Beach and East Railay just down from a minimart and an ATM, it was our travel companions' room that really took our breath away. They had their own private courtyard with its own lockable gate with its own private outdoor Jacuzzi. This is the only resort having a room that compared to Somkiet Buri's unsurpassed splendor. But Railay Bay Resort's on what is oftentimes called Thailand's number one beach or if technically not quite on it, its beach is close enough. Sunsets here can be fabulous. I also happen to know from last year's next door Tonsai Bay's experiences that I can easily rent a kayak here which we can take to some gorgeous nearby karsts that have their own private sandbars to lie out on. I also plan on watching lot of the rock climbing that goes on at Tonsai Bay and Railay. This area's got some of the world's finest rock climbing with young people spending months at a time polishing up their skills and classes that offer rock climbing courses from beginners levels to expert.

Although far too many people are discovering Krabi and starting to spoil this wonderland of Karsts, it still offers the most fabulous scenery I've yet to experience in Thailand.