koala

I am trying to decide between staying at Sand and Sea or Railay Bay resort. We will be there the first week of may, and apparently Railay bay is starting renovations then, so they are substantially cheaper than Sand and Sea, but I wonder how disturbing this may be, or if the pool might be out of service. Then I read somewhere that Sand and Sea doesn't even have a pool. Anyone have any recommendations about which one is nicer or know anything about the pool status at either place?

maisymoo

Stayed at Sand and Sea in October 2005. Personally I was not impressed with the place but then I am not a fan of railey either. There are no beachfront bungalows all resorts have there restaurants and pools out the front with the accomodation down behind. Our bungalow was nice nothing special but no complaints. The rooms had no Thai influence at all. They all had little balconys at the front with two chairs. The aircon face across the the fan only bungalows. The best bungalow at Sand and Sea would be the ones right next door to the Pool. yes they do have a nice pool. The frustrating thing was even in high season it was hard to get a lounger and there were no umbrellas for shade. The pool is also situated in a very public area with persons all about. I thought that Railey Bay looked better that Sand and Sea with a nicer pool and nicer looking accomodation. The food at all resorts was average. We found nicer food at Ao Nang which we loved. I would not let the construction noise bother you as Railey is constantly noisy with the drone of long tails day in and day out so much so that I thought it spoiled the beach atmosphere. I am in the minority with my opinion of Railey but to me it was a bunch of average resorts squashed into a tiny peninusla that would only warrant a day trip. Yes it has amazing rock formations and if you are into rock climbing then this is your place. You can hire kyaks of do day trips to nearby islands from there as well. I suppose my opinion is was coloured by the fact we had come from peaceful Lanta prior to busy Railey. I do not regret seeing Railey but would not return.

Lyndie

We're Planning a third trip to Krabi in 2006. We're "over" staying at Railay after 2 awful visits to Railay Bay & Railay Village resorts. There is little advantage to staying at Railay.

maisymoo has a similar opinion to us. I'd recommend neither Sand & Sea or Railay Bay, although Sand & Sea is a nicer property, and it does have a pool, if you must choose between them.

The Ao Nang Villa on Ao Nang beachfront (road in front) is lovely and Railay is easy to get to by longtail. You'll find prices at Ao Nang far more realistic than Railay and there is lots more to entertain you.

maisymoo

lyndie have you thought of staying at Koh Lanta it is about 2 hour trip south of Ao Nang. it is a lovely peaceful island with nice beaches. WE stayed at Lanta Casuarina which was a quaint botique style resort. We had an absolute beach front concrete block bungalow on Long beach which looked out towards Phi Phi. Had a great infinity pool that you could sit in and watch the sunset. I am glad someone has same view as I about Railey as people raved about the place and I was so disappointed when we got there.

koala

thanks for your input. We are into beautiful scenery which is why I was planning on going there, but now you have me rethinking my accomodation location. I hadn't really looked at Ao Nang. I had read really early reports about people waking up and seeing monkeys outside and that kind of got me excited. We are only going to be there for 2 and a half days, so I wasn't sure if traveling to Lanta was reasonable or not. I mostly want to go there to snorkel and kayak and take a few photos. We aren't really lay on the beach kind of people, but a peaceful beach is always better than a chaotic one. How busy is Ao Nang? We are looking for a few days of relative quiteness compared to Bkk and chiang mai.

koala

I read about the monkeys in Railay, but do people see them elsewhere too?

Lyndie

maisy-we were told that Koh Lanta was a built up island with very little charm. We will find out for ourselves, after your recommendation. Thanks for the input!

koala-in our two (Apr & Dec 2004) trips to Railay-not sighted one monkey! Ao Nang is not as nice a beach as Railay West, however you can be over at Railay in 15 mins. You can hire sea kayaks in Ao Nang. Do a search here. I'm moving to India for 6-12 months & I've packed my Thailand reference materials. Sorry! Ao Nang is much more accessible than Railay.

Why not book 2-3 nights in Ao Nang & inspect Railay accom and then decide? May will be warm & humid & some rain in the arvos but it's not a busy time! Have a great trip!

koala

Thanks for your input. When I was looking more at acomodation prices, it did not seem that Ao Nang was any cheaper, and since being a bit more surrounded by nature is important, I am now inquiring about Sunset Beach resort in Railay. Anyone stayed here? I am soooo torn. I know that all I really need is a clean room and nice scenery, but the nicer looking accomodations like Sunset definately tempt me to spend more.

deckerlex

My husband and I stayed at Railay Beach Resort a few years ago, and had no problem with it. Nothing fancy, but it suited us fine. The beach is nicer than Ao Nang, and the scenery is fabulous! We really liked being there, but Ao Nang is a "town", if that is more what you are looking for.
If you take the trail from the opposite side of the peninsula (anyone can tell you where to pick it up) out to another beautiful beach area, you will find monkeys.
More action in Ao Nang, but more scenic at Railay!

Gina

maisymoo

Koala (I take it you an Aussie) just a tip the west side of Railey is better to stay on as it has the nicer beach. The east side is more like a tidal estaury very muddy. I hope I have these two around the right way. Sand and Sea and Railey Bay are both on good side. I am unsure about sunset. Yes we did see monkeys while we were there they seemed to live around the beach side where the Rayavadee Resort borders. You can feed them. Have you also considered Phi Phi as an alternative it has lovely scenery. You can go via a ferry from Phuket. Anyway have a great trip Thailand is an amazing country

LA_FadeAway

Koala, you might look at Sunrise Tropical Resort on Railay East. You can easily walk to the nicer beaches from there and it gets really good reviews.

koala

Thanks for your input everyone. I spoke with my husband and we decided to stay at Sunrise Tropical resort (not sunset as I thought). After reading the reviews about Railay Bay and Sand and Sea having poor service, we decided that it was worth spending a few more dollars on a place that got good reviews, and looks like its nice and clean. Since it seems like everything around there is walkable, we certainly don't mind walking to the nicer beaches. $65 a night is still a good deal for a place like that compared to US prices. Thanks again. P.S. not an Aussie, just love Koalas

nzers

Koala, we stayed at Sunrise Tropical in a Tropical plus villa for 4 nights July 2004 and absolutely LOVED it. Sure, it is on the "wrong" beach, but this has its advantages as it is more private and nearer Phra Nang beach. The walk thru to West Railay is less than 5 minutes and is on a concrete path beside the other resorts ie if you were in a bunglow at the rear of the west Railay property, you had just as far to walk.

Monkeys - when walking to Phra Nang beach, about 1/3 of the way there is the kitchen building of the Rayavadee on your right over the fence. Look up in the overhanging trees - this is where the monkeys hang out.

Also, be sure to check out the Diamond Cave (take a torch in case the power goes out) and walk on up the path to the restaurant at the top. We spied a number of monkeys jumping from tree to tree in the jungle in the distance.

My only other advice would be to wear appropriate footwear (ie flip flops) and shorts when you arrive at Railay as you invariably need to get your feet/legs wet when you get off the boat. We also regret having so much heavy luggage. We were "delivered" onto Railay West beach and had to lug our suitcases up the beach and thru to Railay West - light shoulder bags or backpacks would be better.

Have fun - you will love Railay if you love scenery - it is gorgeous.

nzers

hi50phd

The last is a good point.

We took the ferry to Ao Nang, but weren't told that it doesn't dock at low tide. So, transferred to long-tails and waded in carrying our luggage with some assistance. But walking in a foot of water with suitcase held overhead is quite an experience.

The backpackers by contrast were watching, smiling and walking ashore in their accustomed manner. So, if you have a water leg to your journey, clarify where you will land and how you are expected to get yourself and bags ashore.