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crackmd
Dec 21, 2005, 8:41 PM
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After we get married next year, my fiance and I are going to have our honeymoon in the Railay/Krabi region of Thailand. Both of us are climbers in our mid-30s with good paying jobs. Since you only get one chance at a honeymoon, we intend to do it in style; let's say the polar opposite of the typical dirtbag trip. By this I mean plush rooms, massages, roomservice, mints on the pillow, you get the picture. Price is really not a concern unless it's like Saudi Arabian Sheik pricing. Where are some names of the plush accommodations in the area? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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thetroutscout
Dec 27, 2005, 12:39 PM
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I'm not sure any specifics but I can find some out. My friend just got back from spending three months there. He climbed a ton, many times with a guide. He stayed in different places, with full accommodations and the most he spent was $5 a night. He spent around $2000 total including airfare. That's pretty awesome! A little cash will go a long way. We're planning on going next year.
^^ike
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crackmd
Dec 27, 2005, 4:11 PM
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I appreciate any info you can give me.
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unabonger
Dec 28, 2005, 2:26 PM
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Crackmd, you'll want to stay on Rai lai side of the beach as opposed to the Tonsia side. Tonsai is the quintessential dirtbagger's accomodation. Electricity only at night, lots of dirt paths, etc.
There is a large variety of resorts on Railai for different price levels. I think we stayed at Sand and Sea? Can't remember but they had various accomadations at different levels, a nice pool, a spa for massages and facials. In Oct 04 we paid around 20$ a night, over at Tonsai the prices were more like 5$/night.
There is one very high end luxoury resort on Railai--the prices are probably high even in US dollars--we peeked in from atop some climbs and it looked very cush. Isolated by fence and sign, however--I'd find it odd to not mingle with the culture though--that place seems like it isolated you in a western style enclave. Boring.
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cam
Dec 28, 2005, 4:03 PM
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In reply to: Crackmd, you'll want to stay on Rai lai side of the beach as opposed to the Tonsia side. Tonsai is the quintessential dirtbagger's accomodation. Electricity only at night, lots of dirt paths, etc.
Not true. While Tonsai does cater more to those on a tight budget, it can accomodate those looking for very comfortable lodging. The Tonsai Bungalows were around $50 a night and had hot running water, electricity any time you wanted it and air conditioning that would make Air Canada hang their heads in shame (why are Air Canada flights so god damned cold anyway?) We were not on our honeymoon, but my wife is a bit of a princess so I think I'm qualified to chime in on this thread. While you will not find any mints on your pillows or be awakened from your slumber by the licks of a kitten on your cheek, Tonsai does offer one thing that Railay does not, by any stretch of the imagimation. You will not find any "families" with screaming brats and parents who seem to be taking a vacation from the discipline of said annoyances, on Tonsai.
That being said, if you really are after a western like lodging experience Railay is the place to find it. The place mentioned before with 25,000 Baht per night prices even employs armed guards that I'm told are there to "keep the locals out of the resort". You don't get more western than that, boy!
To summerize then, allow me to nut-shell it...
Tonsai=climbers with a climbing way of thinking and a climbing way of living.
Railay=tourists with a tourist way of thinking and a tourist way of living and all that western bullshit that you just payed 1500 bucks to fly away from.
Remember that whatever place you choose is not written in stone. Stay at a place for a night and see if it fits the flavour you had in mind. If it does, work out a deal for an extended stay. If it doesn't, look around at other places. Have a great time!
Feel free to PM me if you want more info.
cam out.
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unabonger
Dec 28, 2005, 4:10 PM
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I'm sure that's all true. (Although I'm surprised at $50/night! Whoa! That's about 5-10x the prices I saw on Tonsai. Must've been nice!). By no means did we explore each resort on tonsai. Not all of them were open during our visit, we were there during the off-season, mid-October, I'm certain the droves of tourist of which he speaks were much less than the high season. Overall it was very quiet and not so many tourists at that time.
Personally, if I were going on a dream lover's climbing vacation and wanted a bit of luxury, I'd probably go to Spain or the south of France. My opinion is that Thailand, while beautiful and exotic, can't compare as far as the quality of limestone, gourmet food, and nice accomadations you find in Europe.
To me it suits the long term dirtbagger more than the honeymoon couple. But if you've been to France or Spain then its certainly a worthwhile trip. If I went back I'd probably spend less time at climbing areas and more time exploring the cities and countryside, particularly in the north.
UB
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yevquest
Dec 28, 2005, 4:33 PM
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We did the honeymoon thing in thailand a little while ago. My wife climbs some but not, as she would put it, obsessively like me. She had certain requests: nice beach, pool, minibar or bar close by, and AC. We stayed at Railay Bay Bungalows and had a blast. It's on Railay West (Railay East is fun to hang in but the beach isn't good; it's about a 2 minute walk between East and West and maybe 15 minutes over the hill to tonsai). We had our own bungalow with all the aforementioned requests and had a fantastic time. There's a little spa there where you can get massages, a nice pool, the beach is nice, etc etc. Wasn't too expensive, I think around 30usd with breakfast included although rates are seasonal. While there were some families with kids, it definitely wasn't a problem.
The only real downside we found was having to walk a bit to lots of the climbing but it was never more than 25 minutes or so.
Have a great time. I think my wife enjoyed the trip even more than I did.
Cheers,
Brent
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crackmd
Dec 28, 2005, 5:20 PM
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Thanks for all the great info that has been coming through this thread guys. There have been a couple references to the "high season". When is the high season and when is the ideal climbing season?
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unabonger
Dec 29, 2005, 3:25 AM
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I think the high season is usually thought of as Nov/Dec/Jan. We had good weather in early Oct, but before November it can rain. Like a lot of rain. Tourists were coming in greater numbers when we left in the middle of Oct. More resorts were gearing up and opening. Best climbing probably Dec/Jan.
Have fun!
http://www.wirednut.com/...s/Thailand%20013.jpg
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cam
Dec 29, 2005, 4:13 AM
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High season typically starts after the rains have subsided, right around now actually. Not sure hoew long it lasts. We were there for the first two weeks of November in '04 and it rained HARD every day during the first week for about 30-45 minutes. The second week brought less and less daily rain and the last two days were completely dry.
cam out.
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theclove
Dec 30, 2005, 12:30 AM
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Now is the peak tourist season and the peak climbing season, because it's dry pretty much guaranteed every day. It may not rain at all between now and the end of February. In March it may pour, but usually not for long, and even if it does, it's usually climbable shortly thereafter. In April it rains more and so on.
The best advantage to Railay over Tonsai that no one has mentioned is it has a much better beach, especially at low tide. The low tide beach at Tonsai isn't a beach at all, but rather coral covered with low tide muck. Also, from Railay, east or west, it's a short walk to Phra Nang Beach, which some say is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I'm not sure that's true but it's damned nice. If you are taking a rest day or a rest afternoon, and you are staying at Tonsai, it's a good 45 minute walk to Phra-Nang. From Railay it seems like it's just around the corner. Of course you can hop on a longtail boat to Phra-Nang Beach from Tonsai, but at low tide it's a bitch just getting to a boat. That holds true for getting to boats bound for Ao Nang or Krabi, where you may want to shop and eat somewhere different for a change.
West Railay is also closer to the Thaiwand Wall. I'd much rather be up there than on the upside down 5 bolt routes back at Tonsai. http://www.railay.com/...mbing/gallery2.shtml
The beach in the background of these pics is West Railay Beach, by the way.
Hmmm...what else? Tonsai seems to have a rave about once a week, and a really big rave about once a month. If you are staying at West Railay they will have boats to take you to and from the rave at Tonsai, so you don't have to go through the jungle hump in the dark. You can leave whenever you want. If you are staying at Tonsai, you can't really get away from the noise of the rave until, well, dawn. I'm not sure it's been dawn really, because I've been comfortably sleeping back at Railay when the raves end.
There may be a few more kids over at Railay but I find them less annoying than the faux dirt bag climbers (a few years older maybe than the toddlers back at Railay but still screaming just as loudly) at Tonsai who think flying half way around the planet to party all night and clip bolts all day, at the beach, is roughing it. 8^)
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haji
Jan 20, 2006, 12:07 PM
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Also, unless you really want to check out bangkok, I would look into flying straight through to krabi or chiang mai if possible. Or even staying overnight near the airport and then leaving for krabi. Climbing at the thaiwand wall is way more fun than arguing with taxi drivers and touts. Thai boxing at lumpini stadium is pretty nice though. have a good trip
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morrisrojas
Feb 7, 2006, 6:15 PM
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Check out the next links. They don't have to be expensive to be heavenly. I found this places at a book called "100 best resorts in Thailand' (or something to that effect). They focus in places with charm, romantic getaways. It's really hard to hear from them in travel agencies or magazines. Some of them are private villas at rent while the owners are away most part of the year.
http://www.koyao.com/index.htm
http://www.railay.com/railay/accommodation/dennis_house.shtml
http://www.baanmai.com/en/activities.php
And while not at Kraby/Railay... this next one is just spectacular... imagine bouldering inside your bungalow!
http://www.tamarindretreat.com/
I'm also visiting the region for my honeymoon next May. By the way, do you know any areas for bouldering in the region?
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majoringinclimbing
Feb 16, 2006, 7:07 PM
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How can you find flights from the central US to Railay?
Matt
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majoringinclimbing
Feb 16, 2006, 7:08 PM
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How can you find flights from the central US to Railay?
Matt
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mink
Feb 16, 2006, 8:53 PM
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You can probably get from central US to Bangkok and most US airlines (United, American etc) or a partner airline. To get to Krabi, you can fly either Thai Airways International or PB Air operating from Bangkok. I booked a flight to/from KBV (from Bangkok) on Thai Air directly. You can find flight options on www.thaiair.com. In the end, I had to call their office in CA to book the ticket.
I'm sure some travel agents will be willing to book the whole trip for you (central US to KBV), but I opted not to go this path in order to get cheaper tickets.
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wonderwoman
Feb 16, 2006, 11:45 PM
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We stayed in a sweet bungalo at the Sand Sea for our honeymoon. It was off season (june), so we paid $35 / night and it was stay two nights, and get the third for free. We got it right off the long tail boat.
Congrats on your upcoming wedding! Awesome place to choose for a honeymoon. We want to go back for our 5 yr. anniversary!
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