Ao Nang → Railay Beach

Railay Beach is one of the few places on earth you simply cannot drive to. Cut off from the mainland by sheer limestone karsts, the Railay peninsula is reachable only by boat — and the most iconic way to get there is the Ao Nang long-tail boat. The crossing from Ao Nang Beach or Nopparat Thara Pier takes just 15–20 minutes, gliding past towering cliffs, turquoise water and the occasional monkey-spotted mangrove before the boat noses onto Railay's soft white sand.

Boats are run by the Ao Nang Longtail Boat Association, which keeps prices fixed and posted at beach kiosks, so you pay the same as everyone else — roughly $5–8 USD per person one-way on a shared boat, or about $25–30 for a private charter for the whole boat. Just walk up to a kiosk on Ao Nang Beach, tell them Railay (or Phra Nang / Tonsai), and you'll be matched onto the next departure. Departures run every 15–30 minutes from around 08:00 until about 18:00, all year round, with the calmest seas from November to April.

Most visitors come as a day trip: beach-hop on Railay East and West, scramble up the famous viewpoints, then catch a boat back to Ao Nang before sunset. Others stay overnight — Railay has no roads and no cars, just jungle paths, beach bars and world-class rock climbing, which makes it a wonderfully quiet base. Before you head back, ask your boatman to stop at Phra Nang Cave Beach, a short hop from Railay's western end and arguably the finest beach in Krabi, with its princess cave shrine and climbers dangling overhead.